Batman Begins & Matrix - How come these are on HD and not Blu-ray? (1 Viewer)

[DaViD Boulet]

Well, it was (something that HD DVD had that BD didn't) until profile 1.1 which "streeted" in players in October.

Warner said they wanted to wait until some of those players got into the hands of consumers before putting PIP on Blu-ray discs, and that's why they waited with these two titles.

Note: the PS3 will be firmware updatable to 1.1 spec/PIP functionality.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

IME = In Movie Experience

 

[Dave Moritz]

Hey David, some of us did not know.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Sorry. that's "so water under the bridge" at this point I'm confused how it still gets asked. Glad to have helped clarify!

dave

 

[Dave Moritz]

No problem David I apreciate the clarification.

Hope you had a nice thanksgiving and I want to wish you a Merry Christmas.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

To you too!

dave

 

[Douglas Monce]

David,

Just curious because I haven't really been keeping up with this. I know that no 1.1 players came out in October, but are there any on the store shelves yet? Also I assume that the PS3 can be upgraded to 1.1, but has Sony confirmed this yet, and does any one know when this will be done?

Doug

 

[Sanjay Gupta]

The Panasonic BD-30 which is fully profile 1.1 compliant has been on sale for a couple of weeks now. As for the PS3 update to make it profile 1.1 compliant, it is rumored to be expected in December, before the first profile 1.1 Blu-Ray software is released. Although Sony has yet to officialy confirm the release date or for that matter the intent to ever release such an update, several relatively reliable sources on the net have said that such a release is imminent.

 

[PaulDA]

While some have skirted this issue, would not cost be a factor for at least older catalogue titles being released in HD DVD and not Blu-Ray? And that includes cost for time (many more facilities that can make HD DVDs than Blu-Ray discs) as well as money.

Moreover, the interactivity issue appears pretty straightforward as well, with regards to titles listed in the thread title.

Also, is there not some rumour regarding Warner Bros. and choosing to go with one format only at some point (similar to Paramount's recent decision)? Perhaps, if they are mulling that over, they are reluctant to commit all their titles to both formats at this time.

In the end, I don't mind the two formats as I think, without them, a hi-def disc player would still cost around 1000$ and the pressure to correct intial quality problems (like those with the first release of The Fifth Element in Blu-Ray and the first Samsung Blu-Ray player--I'm not picking on Blu-Ray, just using a well-known example) would have been lessened. While I got into HD DVD first (just this week, and, officially, not until Christmas), I plan on being format neutral--cost is what determined which one I tried first.

I have DVD-A and SACD playback gear. Hell, I even have a MiniDisc home deck (and I use it). So multiple formats don't bother me. But to studios/companies making marketing and production decisions in an area that is still in its infancy, many factors need to be weighed--including target audience, perceived (if not real) demographic investment in a particular format and technical issues (the interactive stuff, in this case). In the meantime, I plan to enjoy what I can--after all, isn't it the movie, rather than the format, that counts?

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Yep. Paidgeek and other industry sources from Sony have given us the green-light on profile 1.1 on the PS3, though no exact date has been offered. My guess is December or January. They may bundle 2.0 profile at the same time.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Excellent summation PaulDA. I can easily see where your points may account for no BD Casablanca. If the investmetn to tool up, the price per disk and the relative lack of sales on classics were weighed together and found to be not worth it to the studios, one can understand the decision better than if just one of those factors was considered without the others.

 

[Dave Moritz]

Has there been any news on if these titles on Blu-ray will have Dolby True HD tracks or Uncompressed PCM? I am assuming that the Bluray version will most likely include a uncompressed PCM track. And since I really do not care for DN that WB chooses to actual use with Dolby's surround formats. I am seriouly considering buying Batman Begins on Blu-ray and I might even pick up the Matrix Trilogy on Blu-ray as well? It all depends on what my cash flow looks like and what other titles I am looking to buy at the time.