I ordered the BD from amazon yesterday. At first they didn't give a delivery est. Then a couple hours later they sent an email with an estimated arrival date of 12/31/2007 - 01/03/2008
Seems like this is Amazon specific or just basic supply and demand issues. My Blu-Ray copy shipped last week and I received it on the 18th. Also checked the 5th disc and it's the workprint. All is well with me.
Even if I was still waiting I seriously doubt I'd go apeshit and order the HD DVD version instead, playback reliability trumps impatience in my world . Besides it's not like this has an expiration date and you can't enjoy this it you get it too far past the release date.
In my experience with HD DVD I've had disc lockups, lip synch issues and other weird happenings, never had a playback problem with BD. Call it lucky or whatever but the probability of having a playback problem with HD DVD is much greater than BD in my world and with my equipment.
The main reason why I opted for the PS3 over a standalone player almost a year ago was that it seemed the most futureproof which I seem to have been right about. It also turned out to be one of the most (if not the most) reliable players from both HDM formats based on reading other peoples experiences on this and other boards.
Nothing turns me off more than having a playback problem interrupt the experience of watching a movie.
Ordered the HD DVD 5-disc (no briefcase) version Tuesday afternoon from Amazon. I, too am a Prime® member. It was waiting for me when I got home yesterday (Thursday).
I'm not going to watch it until after Christmas (taking the week after Xmas off), in case my wife also picked it up for me as a gift.
You must be quite lucky or the A1 is just a better player than the XA2.
The fact is I've had numerous playback problems and I'm hardly alone from reading comments here and on other messageboards so I know I don't just have a defective player. It is what it is.
Most people shrug the playback issues off as do I most of the time but it's real and still an annoyance. I see no point in burrying ones head in the sand pretending payback issues aren't a common occurance with HD DVD.
Even though I've never experienced an issue with BD I have no reason to doubt the fact that others have had problems with that format.
Just based on what I've read here on the HTF (a very limited sampling, I'm sure) it seems like there are many more posts about playback issues with HD-DVD versus just a smattering with BD.
And I'm sure there could be a number of different reasons for that to be the case rather than just that the players are less reliable.
But...it sure seems that way to me (that there are many more HD-DVD playback problems than BD) based on what I read here.
Perhaps, you have a bad player because I can't remember the last time I had a playback problem with my XA2.
Also, I just received the HD DVD of Blade Runner that I ordered from Amazon yesterday. So it's ready for the christmas gift wrap. Also, I received word from WHV that my BRD of Blade Runner shipped yesterday.
I think he has been lucky, as my A1 has locked up and had sync issues on more than one ocation. :frowning: It does produce a very nice picture and sounds good for the money I paid.
Back to the subject at hand.
Was the supply problem only with the suite case collectors edition or both HD releases? Today was payday so I went to my local Fry's and they had around 9 Blu-ray copies on the shelf of Blade Runner (Blu-ray). I did not how ever notice any suite case collectors editions but then again I can not say I really tried to look for it.
Add on to post: Just got done watching the final cut of BR on Blu-ray and I have to say that not only was the picture extreamly good but so was the sound!
I checked over the set and no noticable damage and I can not wait to check out the other discs. But so far Disc 1 was a real treat and I have to say that WB did a good job on this release. Now if we could only get Lethal Weapon 3 and 4 in HD I would be really happy.
Come on WB what about it? Where is Lethal Weapon 3 & 4 ??? :frowning: Peferable with Dolby True HD and not Dolby Digital, oh and NO DN!
I understand where you are coming from. Given your position and HTF's huge popularity I can understand you wanting new releases on time.
However, your comment worries me a bit. Maybe I misunderstood. Are you honestly saying that, when choosing between owning a given movie that is available in both HD-DVD and Blu-ray, you would pick based solely on which format is consistently delivered on time?
I don't know, maybe it's because I live abroad and I am used to waiting up to a week or more for shipments to arrive, but wouldn't it make more sense to choose the better, overall, format?
I hear you there. But I'm not exaggerating when I say I've had no playback issues with my A1, Unless you consider fairly slow loading a play back issue.
I have had several playback issues with my BD-P1000, but that was mostly because of scratched blu-ray rentals, or titles that it just doesn't have enough horse power to actually play, such as Dragon's Lair. Also getting past the menus on The Day After Tomorrow and Nature's Journey, which more often than not made it impossible to play the feature.
I FINALLY got my set today from Amazon after finding a ton at my local Best Buy this morning. From talking with one of the employees the DFW area stores just got a large shipment in and had restocked. Checking BB online with local pickup confirmed what she said. So if you're still on the hunt for the BD version check out BB online to see if any local stores now have them in stock.
From my experience it involved both formats. Although from my short shopping experience this morning I found the HD DVD version was now harder to find. Go figure... Being neutral I thought would help seeing as I didn't care which version I found. Problem was I couldn't find either.
I was at Best Buy, Circuit City and Target last night, and I was very proud when I saw BB totally sold out of all of their initial Blade Runner stock, CC still had just a few of the 2-disc DVD edition, and Target was also totally out of stock. I still haven't laid eyes on either HD version of Blade Runner (still waiting for my briefcase set next week).