# Spider-Man Trilogy on Blu Ray Marks End of Format War?



## space86

Will Spider-Man Trilogy, Die Hard Trilogy and Pirates Trilogy on "Blu Ray Only"
mark the end of the HD Format War?


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## apexmi

space86 said:


> Will Spider-Man Trilogy, Die Hard Trilogy and Pirates Trilogy on "Blu Ray Only"
> mark the end of the HD Format War?


Not by a longshot


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## Chris Blount

Nope. The Dreamworks and Paramount HD-DVD defection extended the war.


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## Mavrick

It looks as if HD-DVD will have the Harry Potter Trilogy on 12/11/2007 and they already have the Matrix trilogy so I would say that the format war is far from over.


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## Sirshagg

Mavrick said:


> It looks as if HD-DVD will have the Harry Potter Trilogy on 12/11/2007 and they already have the Matrix trilogy so I would say that the format war is far from over.


Then there's the potential for Star Trek (I've heard this series has a few fans)


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## FogCutter

We could enter a situation where most households have both formats. Within two years players will be very inexpensive, most new TVs and AV receivers have two or more HDMI ports.

During the VHS/Beta war, having two VCRs was an expensive proposal and many TVs had only a single RF hookup that might or might not work in tandem, not to mention having to feed the antenna signal through two VCRs.


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## Snoofie

FogCutter said:


> We could enter a situation where most households have both formats.


Not an uncommon thing for video game fans. I have had Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft gaming systems at the same time and had exclusive games for each one. Those of us that remember VHS/Beta wars think that one format MUST win out, but the newer generation is used to having to buy multiple equipment to have access to everything they want. Blu Ray or HD DVD just means buying a player for each.


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## machavez00

Star Trek groups outnumber Star Wars groups
The Godfather Trilogy is still to come, as well as Indiana Jones
Warner Brothers controls much of the MGM library.


> How much of MGM's back catalog Turner actually obtained was a point of conflict for a time; eventually it was determined that Turner owned all of the MGM library, dating back to pre-merger days, as well as the pre-1948 Warner Bros. catalog, the entire RKO library, and a good share of United Artists's own backlist.


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## Gmaxx

Have you seen Spidey 3? It will not be deciding wars any time soon. It was awful and I really liked the first two.


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## Stewart Vernon

I like Spider-Man... I want to buy Spider-Man... but I bought an HD DVD player. Blu Ray is just way to expensive right now, and there are more than enough HD DVD movies to keep me happy in the meantime.

Lots of Disney/Sony/FOX stuff I wish I could get on HD DVD... but not worth the cost of a Blu Ray player right now to get them.


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## DCSholtis

Try looking around it might be possible that you can get an HD-DVD import of it.


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## Carl Spock

I looked through the uk version of amazon.com and I think Spidey 1 & 2 were there. It would be easy enough to search them.

Discs were expensive, at least 50% more than you'd pay here, but still, I found a Yes live disc that I might spring for that's not a domestic release. I can buy the regular DVD here but I really like Yes.


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## Carl Spock

I just checked. $11 for the regular domestic Yes DVD or $37 dollars for the HD-DVD version from England. I think that domestic is looking better and better.

At least I did find out that a Pat Metheny HD-DVD that I only thought was available in Europe is a U.S. release for just $16.95. Here.


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## DCSholtis

There are many more websites to search for imports than the Amazon regions though.


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## Drew2k

I know I've read that there's no regional encoding on HD-DVD movies, but what about the special features? Are they also not encoded by region?


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## Capmeister

HDMe said:


> I like Spider-Man... I want to buy Spider-Man... but I bought an HD DVD player. Blu Ray is just way to expensive right now, and there are more than enough HD DVD movies to keep me happy in the meantime.
> 
> Lots of Disney/Sony/FOX stuff I wish I could get on HD DVD... but not worth the cost of a Blu Ray player right now to get them.


My Spidey3 DVD looked pretty good upconverted by my HD-DVD player.


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## Stewart Vernon

Capmeister said:


> My Spidey3 DVD looked pretty good upconverted by my HD-DVD player.


My DVD is "in the mail" supposedly from Amazon. I combined a couple of orders, some of which didn't release until this week, so that's why I don't have it yet. I suspect I will agree that the regular DVD will look nice in the meantime.

As an aside, I have compared upconverting vs just feeding my TV 480p and letting it upconvert... and thus far I really haven't seen a difference. The HD DVDs look really sharp, definate big improvement there.. but thus far my TV does at least as good of an upconvert as the player so I didn't gain anything in that respect.

I've also, on another front, seen some import HD DVDs but doing the price compare they are a lot more expensive than I'm willing to pay per movie. I suspect we may see an end to this "war" sooner than any of us think, so I'm willing to wait... and buy DVDs of stuff that I can't get on HD DVD in the meantime.


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## DCSholtis

Drew2k said:


> I know I've read that there's no regional encoding on HD-DVD movies, but what about the special features? Are they also not encoded by region?


Special Features have no region coding as well.


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## ibglowin

Harry Potter 5 Disc Box Set is out day and date in both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD.



Mavrick said:


> It looks as if HD-DVD will have the Harry Potter Trilogy on 12/11/2007 and they already have the Matrix trilogy so I would say that the format war is far from over.


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## paja

Capmeister said:


> My Spidey3 DVD looked pretty good upconverted by my HD-DVD player.


Ditto! It looked great on my XA2.


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## Lord Vader

I have no horses in this race, as I've been biding my time waiting to see which way this war goes. IMHO, however, if I were to make a prediction, I'd say HD wins for one big reason: Sony and their ineptitude. The fact that a Sony honcho came out yesterday and admitted he believes the battle is at a stalemate, when not too long ago Sony believed otherwise, doesn't exactly bode well for the ultimate triumph of Blu-Ray.

Sony's pricing, marketing, etc. has done more to inhibit Blu-Ray's blowing away HD than anything else. It's very difficult for consumers to pass up HD DVD players when such devices are being priced at $99. If that continues long enough, there will be so many of them out there that no $400-$500 Blu-Ray or $1000 dual format will ever be able to get a foothold.


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## HIPAR

I don't believe any exclusive title will win the format war. I just bought a used widescreen copy of "Casino Royale' for eight dollars on a good old fashioned DVD. It looks darned good on my Samsung up-converting DVD player. 

That war will be won by the side who prices the disks for the bargain bin. 

--- CHAS


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## Brandon428

lol. I support both,but I honestly feel Blu ray is a far more superior technology and as BD players become cheaper HDDVD will die quietly,although I hope HDDVD stays around longer than I expect.


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## machavez00

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Sony-CEO-Wishes-BluRay-had-Collaborated-with-HD-DVD-89353
Sony CEO Wishes Blu-Ray had Collaborated with HD DVD
Format wars haven't been good for anyone involved


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## GoLaLakers

machavez00 said:


> Star Trek groups outnumber Star Wars groups
> The Godfather Trilogy is still to come, as well as Indiana Jones
> Warner Brothers controls much of the MGM library.


WB only controls the pre 1981 MGM titles. That still leaves MGM with over 4,000 titles.


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## FogCutter

machavez00 said:


> Format wars haven't been good for anyone involved


Not true. The consumer is the winner here. Prices will continue to fall quickly. Sony would have kept players at $1000 plus for years if Toshiba wasn't stabbing them. The conflict is giving us more advanced machines at lower prices sooner than we could have expected.

Maybe we need a third format to speed things up even more.


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## Brandon428

I hope they will co-exist somehow. If both format players become cheap 150 each its possible that it'll be around for a while.


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## machavez00

GoLaLakers said:


> WB only controls the pre 1981 MGM titles. That still leaves MGM with over 4,000 titles.


pre 1986 MGM and some of UA


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## TheRatPatrol

FogCutter said:


> We could enter a situation where most households have both formats. Within two years players will be very inexpensive, most new TVs and AV receivers have two or more HDMI ports.
> 
> During the VHS/Beta war, having two VCRs was an expensive proposal and many TVs had only a single RF hookup that might or might not work in tandem, not to mention having to feed the antenna signal through two VCRs.


I agree, but what needs to happen is for a player to come out under $200.00 that will play both formats, the technology is there to do it.

The problem with VHS/Beta is that you had to have 2 different players as you had 2 different tape sizes. You don't have that problem with discs, as they are the same size.


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## Tom Robertson

True, but a dual format player does have a dual license fee problem. 

What a stupid war to put the consumer into. I understood the cartivision/Betamax/VHS war, they were exploring a wholly new technology trying to figure out if said would work. This war didn't need to happen, but manufacturer egos can be big. Sigh.

Happy Holidays!
Tom


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## Stuart Sweet

I guess I'm on the HDDVD side officially now...

see my setup.


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## machavez00

Stuart Sweet said:


> I guess I'm on the HD DVD side officially now...
> 
> see my setup.


Welcome to the light side of the Farce.


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## elaclair

Sirshagg said:


> Then there's the potential for Star Trek (I've heard this series has a few fans)


Sadly, not so much because Paramount has decided to put the price of these in the roof. The last time I looked, the SD version for TOS was $125 per season. Don't know the price of the HD version, but you can bet it's more than the SD version.......

Now then, when are we gonna get the Stargate series in High-Def??


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## elaclair

FogCutter said:


> Not true. The consumer is the winner here. Prices will continue to fall quickly. Sony would have kept players at $1000 plus for years if Toshiba wasn't stabbing them. The conflict is giving us more advanced machines at lower prices sooner than we could have expected.
> 
> Maybe we need a third format to speed things up even more.


Although you're correct in that "the war" has caused a faster decrease in the cost of hardware, the flip side of that is people are staying away from both formats in droves...waiting for a winner to appear.

Two things that could accelerate the outcome would be a sub-$200 BD player, and Warner going Blu-exclusive . The first one is a given, just a question of when, the second will supposedly be decided by Christmas software sales of Warner titles.


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## Steve

Sony may be laying the PR groundwork to throw in the towel, according to recent comments by Sony CEO Howard Stringer. /steve


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## Carl Spock

elaclair said:


> Sadly, not so much because Paramount has decided to put the price of these in the roof. The last time I looked, the SD version for TOS was $125 per season. Don't know the price of the HD version, but you can bet it's more than the SD version.......


Far be it for me to defend the blood suckers at Paramount but while the SD versions of Star Trek were about $100 most anywhere initially, they are currently available for about $50 a season. Of the five series, only the SD versions Voyager and Enterprise remain at the $100-115 per season price point. I just bought all 7 seasons of Deep Space Nine for $238 on a super-duper sale at deepdiscount.com. That's only $1.35 an episode. The sale goes through today.

The HD-DVD version of Season One of Star Trek is expensive, $133 at most places on the Internet. I got it at deepdiscount on sale for less than $107, still expensive.

The picture looks stunning, BTW.


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## TheRatPatrol

Tom Robertson said:


> True, but a dual format player does have a dual license fee problem.


Don't they already have a dual player out for $1200? How did they deal with the dual license fee then?


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## Tom Robertson

theratpatrol said:


> Don't they already have a dual player out for $1200? How did they deal with the dual license fee then?


$1,200 has room for dual license fees. $200 does not--yet. 

Happy Holidays!
Tom


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## Jason Nipp

Tom Robertson said:


> $1,200 has room for dual license fees. $200 does not--yet.
> 
> Happy Holidays!
> Tom


Tom, my sister has the LG Super-Blu dual format player. The HD-DVD interactive menus don't work, I thought I heard something about them being disabled...


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## Jason Nipp

Brandon428 said:


> lol. I support both,but I honestly feel Blu ray is a far more superior technology and as BD players become cheaper HDDVD will die quietly,although I hope HDDVD stays around longer than I expect.


I see this sundays ad's both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray "1080p" players are the same price now. The cheaper HD-DVD units are mostly the 1080i version not the full 1080P versions.

But honestly, I agree I feel Blu-Ray is the better technology, and realistically, Blu-Ray's high format storage capacity will allow for less compression.

But my primary reason for my preference of Blu-Ray is for one reason only... Sony immediately opened the Hardware technology up for licensing...where as right now the only mass produced standalone HD-DVD hardware is Toshiba's own offering.... I feel having other vendors offer equipment helps hardware/software development and in turn you can expect a better selection and wider range of quality, features, and pricing...


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## elaclair

ggergm said:


> Far be it for me to defend the blood suckers at Paramount but while the SD versions of Star Trek were about $100 most anywhere initially, they are currently available for about $50 a season. Of the five series, only the SD versions Voyager and Enterprise remain at the $100-115 per season price point. I just bought all 7 seasons of Deep Space Nine for $238 on a super-duper sale at deepdiscount.com. That's only $1.35 an episode. The sale goes through today.
> 
> The HD-DVD version of Season One of Star Trek is expensive, $133 at most places on the Internet. I got it at deepdiscount on sale for less than $107, still expensive.
> 
> The picture looks stunning, BTW.


Hmm, then I guess I better go shopping  I've been watching the re-mastered TOS series, and although I get a pang of nostalgia when I see the new CGI, the improvement to the picture overall will let me look past that. ST-TOS and Battlestar Galactica are the two series that would make me consider opting for an HD-DVD player....


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## space86

The New Star Trek TOS is coming to Blu Ray Disc.


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## Stewart Vernon

space86 said:


> The New Star Trek TOS is coming to Blu Ray Disc.


I must have missed seeing that announcement.


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## Carl Spock

We've all missed that announcement.

Paramount has about a year left on an exclusivity contract with HD-DVD. After that, who knows?


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## Cholly

space86 said:


> The New Star Trek TOS is coming to Blu Ray Disc.


I don't know where you got this. High Def Digest shows NO Star Trek releases on Blu-ray Disc. However, Star Trek TOS season one was released on HD DVD on November 28.


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## Stuart Sweet

If I may first say that I was not a fan of Spider-Man 3. 

That being said, I saw a bit of in at Circuit City on a Sony 1080p display. The quality was almost too good. It looked like videotape, not cinematical at all.


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## elaclair

Stuart Sweet said:


> If I may first say that I was not a fan of Spider-Man 3.
> 
> That being said, I saw a bit of in at Circuit City on a Sony 1080p display. The quality was almost too good. It looked like videotape, not cinematical at all.


Stuart, If you get a chance, look at POTC-At World's End. Talk about a reference image!!!

I understand that the same can be said about 300 on HD-DVD.......


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## BubblePuppy

I bought BluRD because of POTC..buggers, now I am going have to buy a HD player for Shrek!!!! Damn these format wars!!!!!:nono2: :eek2: :blauesaug :new_cussi


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## Stuart Sweet

elaclair said:


> Stuart, If you get a chance, look at POTC-At World's End. Talk about a reference image!!!
> 
> I understand that the same can be said about 300 on HD-DVD.......


Comparing 300 on DVD to 300 on HD-DVD, the difference is fantastic, well worth it. The PIP version of 300, where they show the footage before color and tone correction and the other digital magic, is also really very telling. Without the computer work the film would have been incredibly goofy.


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