Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas HD-DVD Combo 11-21-06!

Tim Glover · 09-12-2006, 01:51 PM

Ron Howard's How The Grinch Stole Christmas makes it's HD-DVD debut Nov. 21, 2006....

From dvdactive...

Quote:

Universal Home Video has sent over artwork for a HD DVD/DVD Combo release of Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas which stars Jim Carrey, Christine Baranski, and Jeffrey Tambor. The disc will be available to own from the 21st November, and should retail at around $34.98. The film itself will be presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, along with English Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Surround and DTS 5.1 Surround tracks. We have no word on extra material for this one, although the features should be identical to the standard DVD already on the market

Gekkou · 09-12-2006, 03:07 PM

Quote:

The film itself will be presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen

I wonder why they keep saying that every now and then. They aren't anamorphic, they're natively widescreen with no squishing involved, unless they were referring to the DVD side.

Otherwise good news though. I think I've only seen this one once.

BrettGallman · 09-12-2006, 06:53 PM

Awesome news. I love Christmas movies. But as far as Christmas titles go, though, I want to see Christmas Vacation in HD the most.

Ronald Epstein · 09-12-2006, 06:59 PM

I know everybody hates this film.

I absolutely loved it! Captured the original animated special perfectly!

I think that this film is going to look gorgeous on HD-DVD!

You know, months ago, when I had just a DVD player, I was totally
in favor of these combo discs. I thought it was a great idea for
people who still own DVD players and were thinking of one day buying
a HD-DVD player.

Now? I really dislike these combos. Yeah, they do allow us to play
the movie on any piece of equipment in our home --- but I'm not
particularly happy with the pricepoint.

Very happy to see GRINCH will be out on HD-DVD!

Tim Glover · 09-13-2006, 12:57 AM

It's far from perfect....but still enjoyable. It should rather glorious on HD-DVD. It does capture alot of the original animated version although I do feel that one is indeed superior. Hopefully we'll get that one soon too.

Christmas Vacation would be AWESOME!

**HTF Ads**

David_Jr · 09-13-2006, 12:34 PM

Quote:

but I'm not
particularly happy with the pricepoint.

Ron, Universal missed a real opportunity to get HD-DVD in the hands of the masses. The masses won't pay that much for such an old catalogue title just for the added HD side as most of them probably already own this title on DVD and don't have HD players. A $19.99 SRP (15 or 16 retail) might (a big might I know) have pushed potential player buyers over the edge to upgrade, especially at Christmas time. The $35 SRP is going to make this new format look really expensive to the masses who might find the quality upgrade negligible. I'm an enthusiast and I won't pay that much. I got three kids, a mortgage and two car payments.

Michael Osadciw · 09-14-2006, 01:53 PM

I thought this thread was about the old cartoon. That would have made my day!!

Paul Hillenbrand · 09-14-2006, 02:50 PM

It will be interesting to see how this disc will look.

I was disappointed with the DVD when it first came out, because of the very soft focus of the picture. It was pointed out at the time that the theatrical film was intentionally made soft by the director, but any additional resolution would be most welcomed by me.

If the HD DVD will make it look as clear as I saw it at the theater, I'll be glad to pay the price for the holidays.

Paul

Dan M · 09-15-2006, 05:39 AM

I dont understand the theory behind these combo dics. Whats the point? Why would anybody who owns an HD DVD player want a standard def copy of the same movie? And vice versa. Why would anyone want to pay that kind of premium who doesnt own an HD DVD player just for the SD DVD? Just because they might be 'thinking' about buying into HD DVD down the road still doesnt warrant paying that much for a movie in the mean time IMO ....I dont get it. How is this good marketing strategy?

This is seriously hampering my buying decisions. I've already decided against buying Land of the Dead because of this

Paul_Scott · 09-15-2006, 06:02 AM

the combo disc is sound in theory- its the price points they are coming in at that makes the theory untenable.

what they could have done was had
1) a standard dvd complete with extras on a second disc
2) a combo disc with no extras (the HD version would amount to the 'extra')
3) an HD DVD with the standard dvds extras

1 and 2 would be priced the same, while a slight premium would be tacked onto 3.

If that were the case, if Joe Six Pack wanted to get a jump on his HD collection, he wouldn't be put off by a higher sticker price in relation to what he has always picked up. And on the other hand, if HD owners wanted to pick up the title, we wouldn't be penalized or asked to subsidize other peoples adoption of the format.

In any case, it is more than stupid to price combo discs at a premium- if anything they should be 'loss leaders' designed to build a base. As of now, they are turning off the base.

Not very well thought out at this point.

as far as Seasonal fare goes, I'm looking forward to the announcment of A Christmas Story. never picked up the sd DVD, so I'm thinking this will be a good opportunity to add that one to my collection.