Scott McKenzie's Review of 2006
Scott McKenzie takes a look back at the big news in the world of DVD in 2006...
So we’ve reached 2007, but what happened in 2006? What was the big news in the world of DVD in the last twelve months, other than the addition of yours truly to the DVDActive team of course?
The home entertainment market is bigger than ever, with the DVD format reaching a level of maturity and accessibility similar to that of VHS in the late 1990s. However, the internet provides so many more retail opportunities that the policy of stack ‘em high and sell ‘em cheap has never been so widespread. The time between a title’s DVD release and its appearance in the bargain bin can now be counted in weeks rather than months, which means that the lifetime of a major release is now significantly shorter.
With many more major Hollywood productions appearing in cinemas and the opening weekend’s take counting for a major percentage of its total theatrical haul, the studios have reduced the time between theatrical release and DVD release to about four months. This policy is also supposed to cut down on piracy but I’m not sure I agree with that theory. People who want to watch pirated copies of movies will always find a way not to pay for their entertainment, irrespective of whether it will get an official DVD release next week or next year. For me, all the early DVD release does is provide the pirates with a DVD-quality version to find via BitTorrent sooner than ever before. This is also frustrating for the legitimate consumer because the first DVD release is frequently a bare-bones or extras-light version to buy the studios time to put the ‘real’ release together. Superman Returns is a prime example: the recent two-disc edition (admittedly containing an essential comprehensive documentary) has sold by the bucket-load but everyone who follows the DVD market knows that a special extended edition is certain to be released some time in the future.
High Definition has arrived and while the usual bunch of early-adopters have picked up their HD-DVD and Blu-ray players, the general public have shrugged their shoulders in unison. From a hardware perspective, it has been a bad year for Sony, and not just in the home entertainment market thanks to their apparent inability to produce batteries that aren't packed with TNT. Production delays have held up the release of the Playstation 3, the games machine that Sony are hoping will create a market for Blu-ray and with the software of HD-DVD still in the early stages, the jury is still out on whether the HD disc formats will be a success before we’re all downloading high definition content and completely by-passing this pointless format war.
Ever since the re-appearance of Spider-Man on the big screen, every year has seen major releases of comic book adaptations and 2006 was no exception. With Bryan Singer defecting from Marvel to DC, the X-Men franchise was left in the hands of hack director Brett Ratner who did his job and turned in the third instalment in time for its release date. Never mind that it didn’t receive the same critical praise as its predecessors, the money still rolled in. Marvel productions head honcho Avi Arad has said that he learned a lesson following the box office bomb that was Elektra, but has he learned any lessons from X-Men: The Last Stand? The production line way of making movies will only work for so long before the audience tires of men in suits standing in front of explosions and longs for movies that have excitement and a heart.
That’s why my pick of the blockbusters of 2006 is Superman Returns. OK, so it felt like a bit of a re-hash of Richard Donner’s original and there’s not as much action as you’d expect from the Most Expensive Movie of All Time, but as an exercise in restarting the franchise of one of the world’s favourite characters in a way that will ensure future outings for the Man of Steel, it is a successful production. Newcomer Brandon Routh performs admirably in a role that will always belong to Christopher Reeve, no matter how many more sequels are made, but no matter how much we all love Gene Hackman, Kevin Spacey may be the Lex Luthor that everyone remembers in years to come. What must also be applauded is the use of the original titles and music to re-familiarise the audience with the characters when it must have been tempting to do a complete reboot in the style of Batman Begins.
The Da Vinci Code came and went without controversy and quietly made enough money to make sure we’ll see the prequel Angels and Demons remade as a sequel in 2008. Sony Pictures came up with an odd release policy for the DVD, making the extended edition available in some markets but providing the UK and USA with the features-light two-disc edition. King Kong arrived on DVD twice in 2006, initially as the theatrical cut then followed by the three-and-a-half hour extended cut. Peter Jackson’s DVD packages for the Lord Of The Rings movies were some of the best ever produced and it made sound business sense to follow the same path with his latest movie, but with the remake already doubling the running time of the original, did we really need another thirty minutes of monkey action?
Released on DVD in the UK just in time to qualify for inclusion in this article, two movies hit cinema screens at the end of the summer that could only be described as guilty pleasures. This double bill of movies low on intelligence and high on action is Snakes on a Plane and Crank. The former arrived with a buzz of anticipation that meant it could only be met with disappointment from critics and fans, while the latter appeared from nowhere and reminded us what a proper action film for adults should be. Both movies are fast-paced high-concept popcorn-munchers and Crank just edges it for me, with a great performance from Jason Statham as the wonderfully-named Chev Chelios, a hitman that is injected with a drug that will kill him if he stops producing adrenaline. Unfortunately the UK region two version of Crank is a vanilla release, but the up-coming region one disc looks like an essential purchase, with commentaries and plenty of other extras.
The closest thing we have to a modern-day equivalent of video nasties from the 1980s, the ‘horror porn’ sub-genre continued its rise in popularity in 2006. If Hollywood is to be believed, the movie-going public like their horror graphic and extreme and movies like Hostel, The Hills Have Eyes and the continuing Saw saga were some of the most profitable films of the year both at the cinema and on DVD, exceeding many of the mega-budget blockbusters of 2006. The producers of these movies also know how to treat the people who buy their DVDs, offering up unrated versions loaded with special features, in particular the Hostel DVD which contains four commentaries including one with producer Quentin Tarantino and director Eli Roth.
With Hollywood apparently running out of ideas and producing more and more sequels and remakes, it’s no surprise that many of the best films I’ve seen this year were foreign language productions. It’s also an indication of the popularity of world cinema in English-speaking markets that these films receive special edition treatment on DVD. 2006 saw the UK release of a three-disc tin set of La Haine, a comprehensive six-disc set from Tartan containing high quality versions of Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, Oldboy and Lady Vengeance and the official release of Nightwatch that makes inspired artistic use of subtitles. All of these are highly recommended purchases for both the quality of the DVD sets and the movies themselves.
Other DVDs that found a regular home in my player this year included the UK release of Event Horizon Special Edition, which is a significant improvement over the dodgy video and audio quality of the original disc and the spaceship pod packaging certainly looks good on the shelf. The release of M:I:III was a surprising occurrence: a major blockbuster appearing on DVD without a hint of a future double-dip. While I don’t agree with the consensus that it’s the best in the series (in my opinion it peaked too early with the bridge attack), the two-disc package comes loaded with features and a banter-filled commentary with J. J. Abrams and Tom Cruise that actually makes the Cruiser sound like a normal human being for two hours rather than the sofa-bouncing Xenu-hating loudmouth whose personal antics were blamed for the film's under-performance at the box office.
For the British stand-up fans, Ross Noble’s four-disc Randomist set should be top of the wish-list as it’s not only one of the best comedy packages of 2006, it’s one of the best pre-Christmas comedy releases of all time and received the only award I’ve given to any of my reviews this year. Speaking of reviews, the best film I reviewed for DVDActive in 2006 was Michael Haneke’s Hidden, a low key thriller that warms up the grey matter and if you’re watching it with friends, will really get you talking.
Like every other year since the dawn of DVD, we’re still waiting for the final cut of Blade Runner and 2007 is supposedly going to be the year it finally arrives. In the first few months of the year we can look forward to the UK release of British horror-comedy Severance (highly recommended and not in US cinemas until March), intelligent thriller Children of Men and the re-appearance of a certain Mr Bond in Casino Royale, another successful restart to a popular franchise. Harry Potter will return to our screens in the summer and the DVDs of Order of the Phoenix are guaranteed to find their way into millions of Christmas stockings next December. However, the film I’m most looking forward to is Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s joint production Grind House, which at nearly four hours in length, should allow them to put together a DVD set overflowing with deleted scenes, behind the scenes footage and commentaries on a par with the track they did for the special edition of From Dusk Till Dawn. As ever, the quality of DVD releases in 2007 will generally depend on the standard of movies produced but with the studios possibly shifting their focus to the HD formats, will we see a lack of attention to detail for the standard DVD format? Only time will tell...
Editorial by Scott McKenzie
The DVD Market
The home entertainment market is bigger than ever, with the DVD format reaching a level of maturity and accessibility similar to that of VHS in the late 1990s. However, the internet provides so many more retail opportunities that the policy of stack ‘em high and sell ‘em cheap has never been so widespread. The time between a title’s DVD release and its appearance in the bargain bin can now be counted in weeks rather than months, which means that the lifetime of a major release is now significantly shorter.
With many more major Hollywood productions appearing in cinemas and the opening weekend’s take counting for a major percentage of its total theatrical haul, the studios have reduced the time between theatrical release and DVD release to about four months. This policy is also supposed to cut down on piracy but I’m not sure I agree with that theory. People who want to watch pirated copies of movies will always find a way not to pay for their entertainment, irrespective of whether it will get an official DVD release next week or next year. For me, all the early DVD release does is provide the pirates with a DVD-quality version to find via BitTorrent sooner than ever before. This is also frustrating for the legitimate consumer because the first DVD release is frequently a bare-bones or extras-light version to buy the studios time to put the ‘real’ release together. Superman Returns is a prime example: the recent two-disc edition (admittedly containing an essential comprehensive documentary) has sold by the bucket-load but everyone who follows the DVD market knows that a special extended edition is certain to be released some time in the future.
High Definition has arrived and while the usual bunch of early-adopters have picked up their HD-DVD and Blu-ray players, the general public have shrugged their shoulders in unison. From a hardware perspective, it has been a bad year for Sony, and not just in the home entertainment market thanks to their apparent inability to produce batteries that aren't packed with TNT. Production delays have held up the release of the Playstation 3, the games machine that Sony are hoping will create a market for Blu-ray and with the software of HD-DVD still in the early stages, the jury is still out on whether the HD disc formats will be a success before we’re all downloading high definition content and completely by-passing this pointless format war.
Blockbusters
Ever since the re-appearance of Spider-Man on the big screen, every year has seen major releases of comic book adaptations and 2006 was no exception. With Bryan Singer defecting from Marvel to DC, the X-Men franchise was left in the hands of hack director Brett Ratner who did his job and turned in the third instalment in time for its release date. Never mind that it didn’t receive the same critical praise as its predecessors, the money still rolled in. Marvel productions head honcho Avi Arad has said that he learned a lesson following the box office bomb that was Elektra, but has he learned any lessons from X-Men: The Last Stand? The production line way of making movies will only work for so long before the audience tires of men in suits standing in front of explosions and longs for movies that have excitement and a heart.
That’s why my pick of the blockbusters of 2006 is Superman Returns. OK, so it felt like a bit of a re-hash of Richard Donner’s original and there’s not as much action as you’d expect from the Most Expensive Movie of All Time, but as an exercise in restarting the franchise of one of the world’s favourite characters in a way that will ensure future outings for the Man of Steel, it is a successful production. Newcomer Brandon Routh performs admirably in a role that will always belong to Christopher Reeve, no matter how many more sequels are made, but no matter how much we all love Gene Hackman, Kevin Spacey may be the Lex Luthor that everyone remembers in years to come. What must also be applauded is the use of the original titles and music to re-familiarise the audience with the characters when it must have been tempting to do a complete reboot in the style of Batman Begins.
The Da Vinci Code came and went without controversy and quietly made enough money to make sure we’ll see the prequel Angels and Demons remade as a sequel in 2008. Sony Pictures came up with an odd release policy for the DVD, making the extended edition available in some markets but providing the UK and USA with the features-light two-disc edition. King Kong arrived on DVD twice in 2006, initially as the theatrical cut then followed by the three-and-a-half hour extended cut. Peter Jackson’s DVD packages for the Lord Of The Rings movies were some of the best ever produced and it made sound business sense to follow the same path with his latest movie, but with the remake already doubling the running time of the original, did we really need another thirty minutes of monkey action?
Guilty Pleasures
Released on DVD in the UK just in time to qualify for inclusion in this article, two movies hit cinema screens at the end of the summer that could only be described as guilty pleasures. This double bill of movies low on intelligence and high on action is Snakes on a Plane and Crank. The former arrived with a buzz of anticipation that meant it could only be met with disappointment from critics and fans, while the latter appeared from nowhere and reminded us what a proper action film for adults should be. Both movies are fast-paced high-concept popcorn-munchers and Crank just edges it for me, with a great performance from Jason Statham as the wonderfully-named Chev Chelios, a hitman that is injected with a drug that will kill him if he stops producing adrenaline. Unfortunately the UK region two version of Crank is a vanilla release, but the up-coming region one disc looks like an essential purchase, with commentaries and plenty of other extras.
Horror Porn
The closest thing we have to a modern-day equivalent of video nasties from the 1980s, the ‘horror porn’ sub-genre continued its rise in popularity in 2006. If Hollywood is to be believed, the movie-going public like their horror graphic and extreme and movies like Hostel, The Hills Have Eyes and the continuing Saw saga were some of the most profitable films of the year both at the cinema and on DVD, exceeding many of the mega-budget blockbusters of 2006. The producers of these movies also know how to treat the people who buy their DVDs, offering up unrated versions loaded with special features, in particular the Hostel DVD which contains four commentaries including one with producer Quentin Tarantino and director Eli Roth.
Foreign Language
With Hollywood apparently running out of ideas and producing more and more sequels and remakes, it’s no surprise that many of the best films I’ve seen this year were foreign language productions. It’s also an indication of the popularity of world cinema in English-speaking markets that these films receive special edition treatment on DVD. 2006 saw the UK release of a three-disc tin set of La Haine, a comprehensive six-disc set from Tartan containing high quality versions of Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, Oldboy and Lady Vengeance and the official release of Nightwatch that makes inspired artistic use of subtitles. All of these are highly recommended purchases for both the quality of the DVD sets and the movies themselves.
Honourable Mentions
Other DVDs that found a regular home in my player this year included the UK release of Event Horizon Special Edition, which is a significant improvement over the dodgy video and audio quality of the original disc and the spaceship pod packaging certainly looks good on the shelf. The release of M:I:III was a surprising occurrence: a major blockbuster appearing on DVD without a hint of a future double-dip. While I don’t agree with the consensus that it’s the best in the series (in my opinion it peaked too early with the bridge attack), the two-disc package comes loaded with features and a banter-filled commentary with J. J. Abrams and Tom Cruise that actually makes the Cruiser sound like a normal human being for two hours rather than the sofa-bouncing Xenu-hating loudmouth whose personal antics were blamed for the film's under-performance at the box office.
For the British stand-up fans, Ross Noble’s four-disc Randomist set should be top of the wish-list as it’s not only one of the best comedy packages of 2006, it’s one of the best pre-Christmas comedy releases of all time and received the only award I’ve given to any of my reviews this year. Speaking of reviews, the best film I reviewed for DVDActive in 2006 was Michael Haneke’s Hidden, a low key thriller that warms up the grey matter and if you’re watching it with friends, will really get you talking.
Looking Towards 2007…
Like every other year since the dawn of DVD, we’re still waiting for the final cut of Blade Runner and 2007 is supposedly going to be the year it finally arrives. In the first few months of the year we can look forward to the UK release of British horror-comedy Severance (highly recommended and not in US cinemas until March), intelligent thriller Children of Men and the re-appearance of a certain Mr Bond in Casino Royale, another successful restart to a popular franchise. Harry Potter will return to our screens in the summer and the DVDs of Order of the Phoenix are guaranteed to find their way into millions of Christmas stockings next December. However, the film I’m most looking forward to is Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s joint production Grind House, which at nearly four hours in length, should allow them to put together a DVD set overflowing with deleted scenes, behind the scenes footage and commentaries on a par with the track they did for the special edition of From Dusk Till Dawn. As ever, the quality of DVD releases in 2007 will generally depend on the standard of movies produced but with the studios possibly shifting their focus to the HD formats, will we see a lack of attention to detail for the standard DVD format? Only time will tell...
Editorial by Scott McKenzie
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All for the same team, haha.
Nice review. I hope that last shot isn't a spolier for Crank.
Nice review. I hope that last shot isn't a spolier for Crank.
I agree, Superman Returns wasn't nearly as bad as some, if not most, people made it out to be. I thought it was a respectible restart to a franchise that's been dead for nearly 20 years, so, why not? Yes, it wasn't Batman Begins, but what is? If you watch Returns in context with Donner's I & II, then it flows better and some of the references make a little more sense. While Batman Begins was a total reboot of the franchise, Returns was basically very belated and delayed Part III.
I just wished that they would have showed Supes actually going to look for Krypton instead of just stating it in the opening credit prologue.
I just wished that they would have showed Supes actually going to look for Krypton instead of just stating it in the opening credit prologue.
nice rev....and "Grind House" will suck 
I'm looking forward to Grindhouse myself. According to the stills released, they're going as far as to damage the film, or at least make it look damaged. I don't see how this can go wrong.
Superman Returns best movie of the year
Yes, we will all double-dip Superman Returns (will it be my first? Only time will say) and hope to hear news of the sequel...we are still waiting to see if the fight of format is between HD-DVD or BluRay, or between DVD and HD-DVD/BluRay...
I have been anticipating Grind House also. I also read about the damaged film, supposedly in Robert Rodriguez's half they are going to pull a 'Missing Reel' to confuse the viewers. It looks like pure bliss, just like From Dusk till Dawn (My personal favorite of both Rodriguez's and Tarantino's filmography)
Scar_Face016 wrote: I have been anticipating Grind House also. I also read about the damaged film, supposedly in Robert Rodriguez's half they are going to pull a 'Missing Reel' to confuse the viewers.
Funny you should mention that. I always figured they would, but I never had any confirmation. That's awesome, although I REALLY doubt they'll have an entire reel blank. 20 min is a long time to sit in the dark.
Funny you should mention that. I always figured they would, but I never had any confirmation. That's awesome, although I REALLY doubt they'll have an entire reel blank. 20 min is a long time to sit in the dark.
Director7 wrote: Nice review. I hope that last shot isn't a spolier for Crank.
Only a little spoiler really. It's not a movie I recommend for plot development and it's a pretty cool shot so I thought I might just be able to get away with it...
Spoiler Given that Crank is essentially Speed in a cockney, you know what's eventually going to happen to him
Only a little spoiler really. It's not a movie I recommend for plot development and it's a pretty cool shot so I thought I might just be able to get away with it...
Spoiler Given that Crank is essentially Speed in a cockney, you know what's eventually going to happen to him
I wouldn't get my hopes up about a top-quality DVD release of Grind House if I were you. The initial DVD releases of Kill Bill and Sin City were both pathetic, near-vanilla releases. Fairplay, Tarantino and Rodriguez respectively made it pretty clear that this was because of multiple re-releases, but still, I'm not expecting anything special for Grind House on DVD. At least, not for the initial release.
Nice article Scott.
Kong Kong is 13 minutes not 30 minutes longer. While it is too long ironically the original is far to short.
Kong Kong is 13 minutes not 30 minutes longer. While it is too long ironically the original is far to short.
I just cannot understand the general view of writers like this who dismiss the HD formats so effortlessly. I got an HD DVD drive for my 360 and was totally blown away by the quality of the pics and sound. So much so that I am now refusing to buy SD DVDs. I have over 1000 at the moment! My collection of HD discs is growing rapidly and there are sum truly astounding discs out there. Anyone who dismisses the HD formats so easily as this writer cannot have seen them running... It really is that simple.
legalbeagle wrote: I just cannot understand the general view of writers like this who dismiss the HD formats so effortlessly. I got an HD DVD drive for my 360 and was totally blown away by the quality of the pics and sound. So much so that I am now refusing to buy SD DVDs. I have over 1000 at the moment! My collection of HD discs is growing rapidly and there are sum truly astounding discs out there. Anyone who dismisses the HD formats so easily as this writer cannot have seen them running... It really is that simple.
My issue isn't with the picture and sound quality, it's with the way HD movies are being distributed. The only reason we're faced with two different formats is that the two parties couldn't get together and agree on a standard format.
To move from a non-HD home setup to being able to fully appreciate HD movies is pretty big investment for most people and my point is that by the time we get affordable dual format players, HD quality downloads may be available which means that HD-DVD and Blu-Ray will not take over from SD DVD as the major distribution medium.
I didn't dismiss HD content and I agree that it is the future of home entertainment but I don't think HD-DVD and Blu-Ray in their current incarnation as two competing formats are.
My issue isn't with the picture and sound quality, it's with the way HD movies are being distributed. The only reason we're faced with two different formats is that the two parties couldn't get together and agree on a standard format.
To move from a non-HD home setup to being able to fully appreciate HD movies is pretty big investment for most people and my point is that by the time we get affordable dual format players, HD quality downloads may be available which means that HD-DVD and Blu-Ray will not take over from SD DVD as the major distribution medium.
I didn't dismiss HD content and I agree that it is the future of home entertainment but I don't think HD-DVD and Blu-Ray in their current incarnation as two competing formats are.
Fair enough Scott. I take your point about the two competing formats. However I wouldn't agree about the investment issue. My HD DVD drive cost me £130! I plan to buy a PS3 (another £425) just for Blu Ray movies. I don't really think you could call a total investment of £555 a big investment given the quality of the upgrade over SD DVD. I've demonstarted HD DVD to a number of people who have come to my house over the Xmas period. Most of them aren't particularly big movie buffs but ALL have been very impressed by the demo and since then all of them (no kidding!) have gone out and purchased HDTVs...
You forget Legal you need a Xbox 360 to use the addon making it nearer £800. That's a lot of money and of course two consoles just to play HD.
I'll get into HD when a dual supporting player comes for about £350 or less. I can't see either format winning any time soon.
I'll get into HD when a dual supporting player comes for about £350 or less. I can't see either format winning any time soon.
You're completely sidestepping the issue of having to buy a new HD-ready TV to enjoy the benefits. What's the point of having HD/Blu-ray if you can't view them? Your HD-DVD drive may well have cost you £130, but the 360 it's attached to is another £280-£300. So, add another £600/£700 minimum for a decent set, and you're already over a grand (even more if you get a PS3 for BD as well). The average person doesn't have that kind of disposable income. To top it off, the software is overpriced for what it is.
Basically for Joe Public DVD was a massive step up from VHS, with its superior audio-visual capabilities, interactive features and ease of use. All that HD offers is better audio and video, which requires the consumer to invest in expensive hardware. It's not like you can pop down to the local Tesco and bring home a player for £30 (or even £150). Let's face it, that's the main reason DVD became as big as it did, not because of the rich early-adopters.
Basically for Joe Public DVD was a massive step up from VHS, with its superior audio-visual capabilities, interactive features and ease of use. All that HD offers is better audio and video, which requires the consumer to invest in expensive hardware. It's not like you can pop down to the local Tesco and bring home a player for £30 (or even £150). Let's face it, that's the main reason DVD became as big as it did, not because of the rich early-adopters.
How can you say the software is overpriced for what it is? Check out the prices for HDDVDs on PlayUSA.com or any one of a number of other sites. £15-£20 for an HD disc with all of the interactive features that you can get (MI3, World Trade Center etc etc) is not a bad deal at all. At least IMO. I'm also still not convinced that it is too expensive to upgrade. Is £1000 or so really beyond the "average" person? I'm not too sure... For me, the upgrade was well worth it, even to spend another £425 on a PS3 just for movies. I was quoted £1300 for a Panasonic standalone Blu Ray player yesterday!!!
legalbeagle wrote: Is £1000 or so really beyond the "average" person?
Yes. Joe Public won't upgrade their home entertainment system until they absolutely have to. Like Chris said, DVD as the top home video medium picked up when shops stopped stocking VHS and switched solely to DVD, which coincided with DVD players dropping significantly in price.
Like it on not, most people have other things they have to spend their money on. For example, there is a significant proportion of people still watching analogue TV when you can pick up a Freeview box for under £40. There are two reasons for this: apathy and not wanting to fork out the money. Both of those reasons are even more relevant to the current HD formats.
Yes. Joe Public won't upgrade their home entertainment system until they absolutely have to. Like Chris said, DVD as the top home video medium picked up when shops stopped stocking VHS and switched solely to DVD, which coincided with DVD players dropping significantly in price.
Like it on not, most people have other things they have to spend their money on. For example, there is a significant proportion of people still watching analogue TV when you can pick up a Freeview box for under £40. There are two reasons for this: apathy and not wanting to fork out the money. Both of those reasons are even more relevant to the current HD formats.
I would still return to my original point about the fact that seeing is believing. I have demonstrated my HD set up to family and friends over the Xmas period and have been amazed at their responses. It's one thing to view something and make the right noises so as not to hurt the owner's feelings... But its quite another thing to then turn around and buy an HDTV the next day. My brother has bought 2 HDTVs (both 42" since the demo I showed him as well as an XBOX 360. He is trying to get his hands on an HD DVD drive as we speak. If the product is good enough (and I think that HD DVD certainly is) people will be drawn to the medium as I have highlighted above. I believe that HD DVD is a significant leap beyond current DVD and that difference is plain for all to see. Price is a factor... but it is just ONE factor.
Ooops... sorry about the smiley. Typed my above post in a bit of a hurry...
since the demo I showed him as well as an XBOX 360. He is trying to get his hands on an HD DVD drive as we speak. If the product is good enough (and I think that HD DVD certainly is) people will be drawn to the medium as I have highlighted above. I believe that HD DVD is a significant leap beyond current DVD and that difference is plain for all to see. Price is a factor... but it is just ONE factor. Ooops... sorry about the smiley. Typed my above post in a bit of a hurry...
I'd say it's the overriding one. It's nice that your brother and you have that kind of disposable income, but I can tell you right now that most people do not, regardless of what you might think.
As for the software, it's overpriced when you take into account that all it offers is an improvement in audio-visual quality (which a lot of people don't care about anyway). If you look at the first BD title on Play.com (Ultraviolet), it's £8 more than the SD version and has no additional features. So that's £8 more for a higher resolution transfer of a film. How many average people do you think are going to go for that? Christ, most non-techies I know don't even understand what HD is.
As for the software, it's overpriced when you take into account that all it offers is an improvement in audio-visual quality (which a lot of people don't care about anyway). If you look at the first BD title on Play.com (Ultraviolet), it's £8 more than the SD version and has no additional features. So that's £8 more for a higher resolution transfer of a film. How many average people do you think are going to go for that? Christ, most non-techies I know don't even understand what HD is.
Fair enough, Chris. I must admit I'm still not totally sold on Blu Ray. I just haven't seen many movies running on it, and those that I have had the chance to see have been dissappointing. I've seen Tears of the Sun, Chicken Little etc and they've all had dissappointing pic quality. Hopefully the newer dics will correct the graininess and "flat" transfers so far... I'm mainly referring to HD DVD above. The quality is MUCH better than SD. Also, there ARE some good (and unique) features to HD. The video commentary is one (the MI3 one is particularly good) and also being able to select options and features without leaving the film is great. Miami Vice (Reg1) is another good example of HD features being put to good use.
Thanks for all your thoughts above guys. Just wanted to fight the HD corner... ;-)
Thanks for all your thoughts above guys. Just wanted to fight the HD corner... ;-)
Okay, I thought I'd step in and add my two cents here. I consider myself a techie and an early adopter to just about anything having to do with movies and I have the aforementioned XBOX drive and a PS3. Up to this point I've been far more impressed with HD DVD discs over Blu-ray as far as picture quality and features go, but now that 50GB Blu-ray discs are becoming common and they are now starting to use VC-1 compression over MPEG-2 the gap is closing fast. Earlier titles I've seen such as The Fifth Element were horrid by hi-def standards, but the quality has certainly stepped up with titles such as X-Men: The Last Stand being a great Blu-ray disc. From an audio/visual perspective I've been impressed with a number of HD DVD titles so far, the standout being King Kong. It won't be long before the two formats become virtually indistinguishable from one another, though you have to consider that given an advantage in specifications Blu-ray discs should eventually pull ahead in overall quality. Right now, both formats are better than their standard counterparts in the audio and video departments, though I haven't been thrilled that for the most part HD DVDs have been little more than ports of their DVD cousins with better audio and video and early Blu-ray titles lacked a lot of features found on DVD.
But does any of that really matter to most people? Even leaving HDTVs out of the discussion I don't think so, and it probably won't matter for a few more years. It took DVD about five years to become commonplace in households and a bit longer to overtake VHS, and given that the leap DVD was over VHS is far greater (and not just from an audio/video standpoint) than from DVD to HD discs it could take longer for most people to care. Add in that we have two competing formats to confuse and befuddle the masses and it's easy to understand why most people are perfectly happy with standard DVDs. Do you think the Average Joe really knows that if he buys an HD DVD player that he won't be able to buy X-Men in high definition down the road or know which format to buy if he wants to get Star Wars later? Nope, but they do know they can get anything they want on DVD.
I like both of the new formats, but I like the possibilities that they hold more. Hopefully we'll see a lot more movies released this year on either format that people actually want, titles that could carry a few people over such as The Matrix, LOTR, etc., and some innovative features on every release, not just a handful.
But does any of that really matter to most people? Even leaving HDTVs out of the discussion I don't think so, and it probably won't matter for a few more years. It took DVD about five years to become commonplace in households and a bit longer to overtake VHS, and given that the leap DVD was over VHS is far greater (and not just from an audio/video standpoint) than from DVD to HD discs it could take longer for most people to care. Add in that we have two competing formats to confuse and befuddle the masses and it's easy to understand why most people are perfectly happy with standard DVDs. Do you think the Average Joe really knows that if he buys an HD DVD player that he won't be able to buy X-Men in high definition down the road or know which format to buy if he wants to get Star Wars later? Nope, but they do know they can get anything they want on DVD.
I like both of the new formats, but I like the possibilities that they hold more. Hopefully we'll see a lot more movies released this year on either format that people actually want, titles that could carry a few people over such as The Matrix, LOTR, etc., and some innovative features on every release, not just a handful.
Well put Matt. Nice to see someone else who is excited about the possibility of HD!! It appears that nobody else has picked up on the leak from Warners today that they have plans to release "Total DVDs" which have Blu Ray AND HD DVD versions on the one disc... If others follow suit that could end the format war and help to propel more people into embracing HD.
As for movies to move people into the new formats, how bout anything by Spielberg, or the Alien franchise(tho NOT AVP) or classics from Disney...hmmm
As for movies to move people into the new formats, how bout anything by Spielberg, or the Alien franchise(tho NOT AVP) or classics from Disney...hmmm
I'm skeptical about the whole Total HD discs thing. The technology seems sound in theory and I'm sure it'll work fine eventually, but the problem will be getting many of the studios, such as Sony, to buy into it. I can't see Sony offering up a disc that contains both over just Blu-ray, and the same goes for HD only studios like Universal who are all standing pat on one format. You would obviously have Warner on board and probably Paramount, both using it as a cost saving measure over producing identical titles for each format, but other than that it gets sketchy.
I am looking forward to HD DVD in the future but not right now. My s**te luck is, I usually buy the format that loses & I'm screwed.
As for the films of 2006
"Superman Returns" was a dissapointment for me (its just o.k.). It was supposed to be an epic film (it is the return of Superman not Wallace & Grommit) instead it's just big & rehashed.
"X3" was good, but, couldn't help feeling as if their was something missing with this film. Ratner sucks as a director.
"Borat" was the best comedy of the year (I hadn't laughed this hard in a long time). Definite DVD purchase for this one.
"Casino Royale" was a great film & the best Bond film since "Goldeneye". Craig is decent as a younger, more visious Bond, but, I will wait & pass judgement on him once the next Bond film hits theatres in late 2008.
"Rocky Balboa" was a decent farewell to the Italian Stallion, that once again proves if you keep on punching you can make it at any age. It's 20 times better than "Rocky V" & if you have the first five films in the DVD collection, please don't b***h about how your not going to buy it. You will (at a decent price).
As for the films of 2006
"Superman Returns" was a dissapointment for me (its just o.k.). It was supposed to be an epic film (it is the return of Superman not Wallace & Grommit) instead it's just big & rehashed.
"X3" was good, but, couldn't help feeling as if their was something missing with this film. Ratner sucks as a director.
"Borat" was the best comedy of the year (I hadn't laughed this hard in a long time). Definite DVD purchase for this one.
"Casino Royale" was a great film & the best Bond film since "Goldeneye". Craig is decent as a younger, more visious Bond, but, I will wait & pass judgement on him once the next Bond film hits theatres in late 2008.
"Rocky Balboa" was a decent farewell to the Italian Stallion, that once again proves if you keep on punching you can make it at any age. It's 20 times better than "Rocky V" & if you have the first five films in the DVD collection, please don't b***h about how your not going to buy it. You will (at a decent price).
so let's say this...
1) 'Superman Returns' VS 'Batman Begins' SR was better... still weak!
2) the upcoming hits 'Grind House' VS 'Order Of The Phoenix' I must say none of them are on my list for go watch it at the big screen
3) 'X3' was the worst X-men movie! EVER!!!
4) I havent seen 'Casino Royale' nor 'Rocky Balboa' the thing is that I'm not a huge fan of either or! so I cant really say much!
5) 'Borat' I didnt have a chance to go see it... but I'm sure it's pretty outrageous! and so it'll be the upcoming hit 'Epic Movie' (im really looking into this)
and finally
6) I hope next horror/thriller movies get better and stop making those c**ppy-low-stupid horror movies!! they're all the same!!!
1) 'Superman Returns' VS 'Batman Begins' SR was better... still weak!
2) the upcoming hits 'Grind House' VS 'Order Of The Phoenix' I must say none of them are on my list for go watch it at the big screen
3) 'X3' was the worst X-men movie! EVER!!!
4) I havent seen 'Casino Royale' nor 'Rocky Balboa' the thing is that I'm not a huge fan of either or! so I cant really say much!
5) 'Borat' I didnt have a chance to go see it... but I'm sure it's pretty outrageous! and so it'll be the upcoming hit 'Epic Movie' (im really looking into this)
and finally
6) I hope next horror/thriller movies get better and stop making those c**ppy-low-stupid horror movies!! they're all the same!!!
At least LG is about to release a player that does both HD formats...but of course will it be region free? Don't forget when you upgrade that if you want to go all the way you will need at least a 7.1 amplifier.....
Oh, great article Scott
Oh, great article Scott
i waned make a new friends guardadito_atlas14@hotmail.com you can add me in your contact or spd_jose@yahoo.com
My favorite DVDs of 2006:
1. Cars (Widescreen)
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2-Disc Special Edition)
3. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Widescreen)
4. Over the Hedge (Widescreen)
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2-Disc Special Edition)
6. World Trade Center (2-Disc Commerative Edition)
7. Ice Age: The Meltdown (Widescreen)
8. Superman Returns (2-Disc Special Edition)
9. Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
10. Ice Age: Super Cool Edition
1. Cars (Widescreen)
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2-Disc Special Edition)
3. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Widescreen)
4. Over the Hedge (Widescreen)
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2-Disc Special Edition)
6. World Trade Center (2-Disc Commerative Edition)
7. Ice Age: The Meltdown (Widescreen)
8. Superman Returns (2-Disc Special Edition)
9. Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
10. Ice Age: Super Cool Edition
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Erm, I mean, good job.