Starz Home Entertainment (Anchor Bay) Goes Blu (1 Viewer)

[John Berggren]

whither one goest....

 

[Norman Matthews]

Well, that's much more convincing.

 

[ppltd]

While I am a dual format owner, this is still deheartening news.

 

[Douglas Monce]

I didn't know that Target carried the hardware of either format. At least the one near me doesn't. And half heartedly support the software for both Blu-ray and HD DVD.

Doug

 

[Douglas Monce]

I am dual and I really like the combos. I don't have to go out and buy an SD version of a movie if I want to take it with me in my portable player if I am say, waiting in an airport on a 5 hour lay over. I spend a lot of time in waiting rooms and lobbies so this is a good thing for me. Plus I can take it to someone's house who only has SD.

I say big thumbs up for combo

Doug

 

[Shane Martin]

IF BR wins, the combo would go away. THANK GOD.

 

[Dave_P.]

Duped post

 

[Paul Arnette]

Well, they carry the XBOX HD DVD add-on and the Sony PS3, but hear what you're saying. Still that (hardware) is the rumor. I think it has something to do with Sony HDTV experts being stationed in stores like Target and Wal-Mart, but now I'm probably theorizing too much. Anyway, the important part I wanted to clarify was that it was BD exclusivity on purely a hardware basis.

 

[Vincent_P]

I should be noted that the rights many of the titles Bill Lustig worked on when he was at Anchor Bay are and have been reverting to him. He's been re-releasing a lot of the old AB stuff (including many of the Argento titles) on his Blue Underground label, so these will not be a part of any Stars/Anchor Bay Blu-ray releases.

Vincent

 

[ReggieW]

Doug,

I don't have a problem with combos as far as practicality, but when your average buyers waltzes into Best Buy and See's Children of Men with a $36.95sticker on it, he'll say "no thank you" and pick up the SD-DVD version for $19.95. I am not talking about what you or I may like, I am talking about the fact that it makes HD-DVD more expensive than BD for new releases. With BD having most of the studio support, this is not a good position for HD-DVD to be in. I still believe that Universal will have to take a risk and release a major new release without an SD-DVD counterpart this Fall. Universal's new releases usually msrp at $29.95, so price the combo at $32.95 (so it can likely still be priced @ $19.95 the first few weeks by big retailers) and slap a SD-DVD sku on it. Bottom line: Sony did the same thing on the hardware side with the PS3 by installing BD players in a few million homes, the HD-DVD will have to begin doing this on the software side. Amir reported on AVS that this is well within reach and they could handle the volume if a decision was made to pursue this route. If this is the case......

What are they waiting for?

 

[Jim_K]

and that's really an unfortunate attitude to have, the fact that such a popular independent studio like AB/Starz is getting in the HD game and the prospect of titles (whether it be Blu or red) should be great news for any movie enthusiast.

I can somewhat understand HD-DVD only owners getting disheartened by the exclusivity (been there/done that) but it goes with the territory of a format war.

 

[ppltd]

It is certainly not an unfortunate attitude to have. This competition has, IMHO, been a very good thing for both formats. It is unfortunate that Starz decided on a single format, cutting out the availability of these films to half of the HD community. That they have decided to release in HD is a good thing. The way they have decided to is unfortunate.

 

[Jari K]

Really? How so? I haven´t seen any significant gains from the format war, when it comes to software (=films).

If HD DVD-fans want e.g. Starz-titles, they have to buy a Blu-ray-player. If Blu-ray fans want e.g. Universal-titles, they have to buy a HD DVD-player. It´s actually as simple as that at the moment.

If this current situation is a "very good thing", then I guess I have missed something. Format war have only one advantage (IMO): Cheaper prices with hardware (players) and even that is debatable (like I have said earlier, I would rather buy one more expensive player than two "cheaper" ones).

Only time will tell that what titles Starz will actually release on HD. If they´re titles like Halloween, Romero-films, etc, I´m really happy. I assume that most horror-fans should be also. Don´t blame Starz, blame the format war.

 

[Will*B]

I agree. I think this is good news. The more indie's that join one format or another, the sooner this war will be over and we can concentrate on doing what we all like best: collecting great films in the best quality on the market.

As for the Starz catalogue, I'd absolutely love to see a BD version of their Dawn of the Dead ultimate set, as well as other cult favorites such as Evil Dead.... (To be honest, Masters of Horror I can live without.....)

 

[Jari K]

I have to agree.

 

[Paul Arnette]

I agree too. In fact, I would dare say it has had the opposite affect.

Listen, what I am about to say is purely my own selfish point-of-view, but, for me, this format war has outlived its usefulness. It has driven down hardware prices to be sure, but I already have a high-end player from both formats, and I sure as hell do not intend to buy another from either camp until a victor has emerged or a format has secured complete studio support.

So where does that leave me? Waiting on content, and waiting, and waiting. Two formats are giving smaller content providers cold feet, and they are even causing the majors to only release 'safe' titles (witness the delay of Ghost and An Officer and a Gentlemen recently).

I used consider myself format neutral, which, incidently I think is a bit of a misnomer unless you're buying a BD and HD DVD copy of each title a neutral studio releases, but I'm this close to seeing if I can wait Universal out on BD support. I feel like if I support HD DVD now, all I'm really doing is dragging the format war out and hurting HD adoption as a whole.

:donsflamesuit:

 

[Norman Matthews]

At this point in the cycle, I can't imagine the emergence of a victor in the war doing anything other than slowing the releases by the exclusive majors. If HD DVD disappeared tomorrow, does anyone think that would make Disney and Fox say, "Okay, now we can really start releasing stuff"? (The same applies to Universal the other way, of course.)

On the other hand, I think the emergence of a victor would pretty clearly increase the participation by smaller studios and labels. (I think it'd be pretty much a wash on the neutrals -- Warner and Paramount would just stay the course.)

However you weigh those two sides is personal preference, but I think this idea that if only one of the two sides would give up the ghost then the floodgates would open is more than a bit of wishful thinking.

 

[Paul Arnette]

That isn't exactly what I meant. It is my thinking that the emergence of a victor would help with the overall adoption of HD optical media, which would, in turn, lead to more content. I wasn't trying to say that BOOM! tomorrow there would be tons of new HD releases. However, if BD emerged as the victor, I would think that there would be a lot of Universal releases out of the gate in short order.

 

[Norman Matthews]

That wasn't so much directed specifically at you as at a general sentiment I've seen floating around. Your post just reminded me of it.

I also think the number of people sitting on their hands, just itching to get into an HD format, any format, as long as there's only one, is smaller than most people think. My personal feeling is that we're at least another year from those first truly mass-market adoptions, war or no war.

 

[GregoryP]

This year is the 20th anniversary of Hellraiser. Seems like the perfect opportunity for a Blu-Ray release.

I'll be lobbying hard for one at the EMA next month.