Batman Begins and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to be released in Q3 (1 Viewer)

[Sean Bryan]

About the August 29th Harry Potter date:

HighDefDigest posted an update:

Late yesterday, we reported on early specs and box cover packaging for one of HD DVD's most eagerly anticipated releases, 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,' that appeared on Warner Home Video's official retail and press website (only to later disappear) .

We've since got an update from the studio on the magical goings-on. We've been told in no uncertain terms that Warner has not yet officially announced the title, and any details that may have appeared on the studio's website are not confirmed.

However, given the level of excitement amongst HD DVD fans for 'Harry Potter,' even the swift disappearance of the news still leaves us hopeful that an official release announcement is imminent. Have faith, muggles!

Needless to say, we'll keep you posted as soon as an official announcement comes our way. In the meantime, 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' remains filed securely under the "Pending Announcements" section of our comprehensive HD DVD Release Schedule.

 

[Paul.S]

Sean: Regarding your post #16, I feel you. But an issue I see with a highly desirable title streeting now to help drive player sales is, if the disc is marginal in some way (lack of supps, p.q., s.q.), how long it takes for the studio to revisit the title and do it better. Their perspective is often to just let the existing SKU recoup/earn more money and not revisit it 'prematurely.' Since you mentioned Warner, look at the SD history. I think Twister and Batman were both early releases. Despite both having done boffo b.o., it wasn't until yeeeears passed that we got a proper SE of either.

I think the only precedent we have for across-the-board re-releases becoming a corporate priority--regardless of whether there's a marketing hook in the form of, say, a new theatrical release starring the same big actor--is when Sony re-released all of their first SDs because (according to a Col/Tri exec I remember saying this) they were embarrassed by those ugly, 'blue block' menu screens on their first discs.

Definitely a conundrum at play.

 

[Sean Bryan]

Sure, I can see how that could be a concern. The thing is, based on what has been released on HD DVD so far, a big title released now should be expected to have excellent picture quality and sound, and at least all of the extras from the most recent special edition DVD (as a matter of just being the norm for all releases).

Going above and beyond that with special new "HD" extras probably wouldn't happen (unless they wanted to produce an in-movie-experience). So, while this could be a concern for some, I think it would really only be an issue (if it actually was at all) for those who are really gung-ho about fancy new "next gen" HD extras and interactive stuff.

I wouldn't dream of this type of thing coming from a studio that is kinda wishy-washy about support to start with. But I could see studios like Warner Brothers and Universal (who typically have the biggest share of the home video market and are releasing lots of titles early on ) doing something like this, at least I could "dream" that they would do it.