Any worthwhile "purple" double dips? (1 Viewer)

[Ensign Eddie]

I finally went purple last week after buying a Sony 350 ($219 from Amazon).

I have quite a collection of HD-DVDs (a lot of them bought at a discount after HD-DVD threw in the towel).

So, my question is whether there are any BD versions of released HD-DVDs that are worth the double dip?

I know there are a lot of HD-DVDs (especially Warner) that seem to be better than their BD counterparts (mostly due to having HD soundtracks), but are there any counter-examples of the BD being better?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[Brandon Conway]

The only one I know of off the top of my head that is better on BD is American Gangster.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

Transformers
The Mummy

 

[Southpaw]

Number 1 on this list should be "Miami Vice". The DTS-HD Master Audio track is outstanding and a 100% improvement over the DD+ treatment that the HD DVD received. Not to mention the increase in disc space meant more room for picture quality to be improved. I'm so glad I double dipped on this in BD format.

Also, I think you are going to notice a lot of Universal titles on this list. Once "The Kingdom" is released, it will probably be added because it's getting a master audio upgrade on Blu. Many of Uni's HD DVDs had DD+ tracks on them and they are now strictly going with master audio.

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

The aforementioned "Transformers" and "Miami Vice", to which I would add the several titles that include HD versions of additional cuts/versions that the HD DVDs do not. IIRC, this would include "American Gangster", "The 40 Year Old Virgin", "Knocked Up", and the upcoming "Serenity". I would also add several titles that include either extras (in HD) or lossless tracks that were not on the HD DVDs, such as "Heroes: Season 1",the Jack Ryan films, and "Top Gun".

 

[PaulDA]

What extras will Serenity have that the HD DVD does not? Just curious.

 

[Jason Seaver]

I'm guessing everything that was on last year's "Collector's Edition" DVD.

 

[Ensign Eddie]

If I bought Serenity again that would be a quadruple dip for me!

BTW, what's different about The Mummy?

 

[Paul Arnette]

High res audio but more DNR. :frowning:

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

Looks like we can add the first two "Bourne" films to the list, as they have lossless tracks where the HD DVD did not ("The Bourne Ultimatum" has lossless on both versions).

 

[Brent M]

Yup, the HD-DVD of The Mummy actually has better PQ than the Blu-Ray and the pictures over at AVS prove it without a shadow of a doubt. As for the audio track, the edge goes to the Blu-Ray, but it definitely wasn't enough to make me double dip(especially in light of the PQ situation).

As for Transformers, I rented the Blu-Ray just to see if the TrueHD track was a huge improvement over the DD+ on the HD-DVD and I honestly couldn't tell much of a difference at all. I A/B'd the 2 discs for well over an hour and if I were to close my eyes and try to pick out which was which at volume matched levels there's no way I could tell one from the other. I'm sure the TrueHD has an advantage, but again I didn't find enough there to make me double dip.

Oh, and just so this doesn't turn into a "format war" mentality, these are MY observations that were made using MY own equipment so they're not scientific proof or anything like that. I'm sure others will have different opinions.

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

It should be noted that Paramount is releasing an Extended Cut of "Transformers" next year as a tie-in to the sequel, which would count.

 

[Ensign Eddie]

I sure hope it doesn't devolve into that. It certainly was not my intention if it does. I am firmly Purple now. Amy Adams radiantly Hi-Def in Enchanted should be reason enough for anyone to go Blu.

 

[TonyD]

did these get released on blu?

 

[Ensign Eddie]

They are due January 27th according to this thread.

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

I almost forgot the Peter Jackson "King Kong", which will come with both the theatrical and extended cuts (HD DVD only had theatrical), and may come with more extra content.

 

[PaulDA]

It seems there is at least one that is better in "red"--Jarhead, at least for those who value extras. It seems most of the extras on SD DVD and HD DVD were sacrificed for lossless audio, as that represents the only upgrade over the "red" version. (what one thinks of this film is another discussion, but I got the "red" one in an HD DVD blow out sale for 4.99$ and I don't consider lossless audio, by itself, for me--to forestall any unnecessary arguing--a sufficient reason to "upgrade" any of my "reds" for "blu" and, in this case, I get a bunch more extras).