Digital Bits rumor mill info on Universal's 2007 HD DVD releases (HEROES this August! (1 Viewer)

[Paul.S]

Gig 'em, Norman.

Interesting, that mention of an SD Serenity streeting in July. The HD DVD was one of U's first. Seems unlikely that we'd now get a Serenity SE HD DVD a little over a year after the HD's first release; are they now gonna release new supps on an SD with no day-and-date HD counterpart?

 

[Tim Glover]

Well things can always change. No risk in any comment with that in mind. It's just that Bill can't seem to say anything remotely positive about HD DVD without spreading stuff from "his sources"....and he may be right. I do believe that in 2008 all studios will go neutral.

Just like when Bill's "sources" told him last month that Dreamworks was waiting to release films in HD when one of the formats began selling alot...well, Dreamgirls arrives on both HD DVD & Blu-ray this spring. Guess his sources decided to change (after all things can/do change )

Universal's titles this spring and summer were fairly big news for HD DVD & it's just not cool to throw out that exiting line.

Toshiba & HD DVD announce cheaper players on the horizon. Bill goes on record saying this is bad for the format etc....Yet Sony announces a new player for $599 and says BD players will be $299 later this year. I thought that was bad for the HD format? Where's the negative commentary?

There was none.

That's why there is such cynicism with his comments. I truthfully really don't care a frogs fat ass who ends up winning this. I have supported HD DVD so far but all this is rather nuts. What I hate the most is the unfair reporting and bias that has a purpose.

We could use a little "We report, You Decide" going on here.

 

[Paul.S]

I again feel you but it should be said that, IIRC, Bill's criticism was of the possible HD repeat of what the Chinese manufs have done in the SD market, namely, $50 DVD players at the grocery store contributing to the 'race to the bottom.'

Tosh promoting/mentioning these bottom feeder manufs also making HD DVD units (as a way to stave the critcism of their being the only manuf making HD DVD players) is different from Sony announcing that their own second gen standalone will be comparably priced as the 'cheaper' PS3.

 

[Sam H]

There are a number of these I would buy (nearly 20+) but I'm not going to sell off the SD DVDs just yet until it's made official by Universal.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Well, part of my thinking on MEET JOE BLACK is mmmmm Claire Forlani in HD! There may also be an element that's saying CAT PEOPLE? Nastassja Kinski in HD? MMmmmmm.

 

[Shawn Perron]

Or maybe the source that provided him with the release title line up also provided him with additional info about the Universal shakeup? I find it funny that in the same exact rumors column, Bill announces a title list and this is taken as money in the bank, but his comments about Universal going neutral are somehow 100% unbelievable. Either he's got a somewhat reliable source for Universal info, or he doesn't.

 

[Norman Matthews]

Like I said, it's the presentation of the comment. It's so non-commital, without even anonymous attribution, that it sounds like nothing more than just a few more sticks on the fire.

He's made his position known, so as far as I'm concerned, all his comments that come within the orbit of Universal exclusivity and the format war, lacking hard sourcing, deserve to be taken with a healthy dose of salt.

 

[Tim Glover]

Now that's the spirit!

....Very nice HD content indeed

 

[Grant H]

Nice news about Heroes, sort of.

I was actually planning to buy this on DVD, but knowing it's going to be out at the same time on HD, I'll hold off since I'm not buying into HD-DVD anytime soon. So, for the time being, Universal has actually lost a sale from me. I'll just have to hope that some day they support Blu-ray so I can buy it and the handful of other titles they've released on HD (Dune, The Thing, Serenity (which I see has a SE DVD coming, argh)) that I'm interested in. Some DVDs I don't mind buying, knowing eventually I'll be able to pick up an HD version at bargain-bin prices, but I don't really like to double-dip on series box sets.

Reminds me of way back when, when a few Fox titles I wanted were only available on some other doomed format. But eventually Fox came around and it turned out to be not so long a wait.

Still, for anyone with an HD-DVD player that's going to be functional for a while (think they'l spin as long as the LD players some of still have in the rack?), some nice treats.

 

[ppltd]

You talking about BD maybe? I personally think they are both doomed, but that won't stop me from buying.

 

[Ryan-G]

Maybe he is biased, but in honesty, we all should be. Tosh shouldn't have brought us to this pass when it became obvious that they couldn't win. Instead they made for a ridiculous money grab, with a couple studios hoping to make a buck on another round of format-war-based double dips, and Microsoft hoping to gum up PS3's release by making one of it's headlining features appear dubious. There's absolutely no reason for this whole mess, and Universal is the one that can end it so we can get some decent movies without having to worry about formats.

 

[Rob_Walton]

The release list and the closing comments are both without corroberation. It's in the eyes of the viewers that these rumours take on substance. Or not. It is certainly an interesting phenomena to watch how a good rumour is taken as a given, while a potentially bad one is attacked as unconvincing. Lovin' the religeousity of some format bangers!

 

[Norman Matthews]

All of this says to me that you're agreeing that the line is meaningless. If there was anything to it, he opens himself up to everything you just described. Once again, like I said in the post under discussion, "If he actually knew more, he would have either posted more or less, depending on the circumstances."

The fact that that portion of his post was a perfect non-update tells me he doesn't know enough to get himself into trouble if what he posted was true, so he doesn't know anything new. Exactly as you said.

 

[Norman Matthews]

But at the beginning of his post he clearly states the sourcing of all the release info: "Our industry sources have checked in with some MAJOR release info today."

No such sourcing for the jab at the end, just "we've learned."

No religiosity here! Just some plain old reading comprehension.

 

[ReggieW]

Why do these posts have to always turn into Bluray vs. HD-DVD slugfests?

RIDICULOUS.

We have a "rumored" list of Universal's plans for the next few months, and the thread very predictably devolve's into the usual us vs. them fanfare.

If this Universal list pans out, I think it will be GOOD NEWS for owners of HD-DVD players, regardless if you like the titles or not. I do not think there is a trojan horse title coming from either camp that'll convince the consumer to rush out and by an HD player and upgrade all of their equipment to the tune of thosands of dollars.

I've got a feeling that the more support Universal and forthcoming C.E. manufacturers (Onkyo will announce their player in the coming weeks) give HD-DVD, the nastier these threads will become. I wish supporters of each format could just play nice or simply post in the forums dedicated to their preferred format.

Frankly, I am waiting to hear from Adam. If this list is indeed true (it sounds about right to me), I wonder why they haven't gotten back with him yet?

 

[Rob_Walton]

Why do you make an assumption that the vague sourcing at the start of the article applies only to the info you like? That makes absolutely no sense. The quote you've used isn't even followed directly by the rumoured Universal release schedule, but by first Buena Vista news and then Sony tidbits. There's no fresh source provided for the Universal releases, so why do you expect one for the upheaval comments?

 

[Norman Matthews]

Because it says his industry sources had checked in with "release info." The Universal release info is just that -- release info. The rumors of executive upheavel are not release info. It's very simple why those words apply to some parts of the post and not others -- because that's what those words mean.

Regardless, I'm done discussing this. He's cast his lot as a partisan participant in this war, no longer just a disinterested reporter, and anything he says about the war henceforth deserves to be treated as just that -- partisan.

 

[BrettB]

Current high def reviews at the bits;

HD DVD: 29
BD: zero

Come on Bill you big ole Blu-ray homer. People are gonna start questioning your commitment to your $ony puppetmasters.

 

[Rob_Walton]

Universal deciding to release on both formats would very obviously be "MAJOR release info". Attempting to re-define the opening sentance to fit only the parts of the article you like is pretty silly. TDB uses industry sources to come up with information not yet released to the general public, and this sourcing could be for any part of the article.

 

[Paul.S]

Could be that U sends him more freebie review copies than Sony/Di$/Fox?