High Def. Titles wanted. Who do I have the better shot with? (1 Viewer)

[Ryan Wishton]

I am thinking of being an early adapter. I will definately have a player by Christmas. Having a plasma with no Hi-Def at all kind of sucks. But, I won't pay those cable rates. They are insane. $120 a month in our area just for an HD package with no movie channels.

I have been using my tv solely for basic cable and dvd's.

Anyways, here is a list of titles I would be interested whenever they appear.

New Line Cinema titles as a whole (Lord of the Rings, Elm Street, etc.) I love how they handle their discs. They were also among the first companies to do anything special with DVD itself.

Which format will New Line Cinema be supporting? We have heard nothing about their title lineup, but it's rumored that they are already working on their main franchises for a Hi Def format.

Anchor Bay? I would want Halloween and some of their other titles. Which format will they support?

Then of course new movies as released as well. But, it's pretty much a given both formats will support new movies as they come out for awhile until whoever wins actually wins.

Here is a short list of items I would be interested. Which format would I have the better shot with?

Basically, I wouild want support from the following studios. MGM, New Line Cinema, Disney, Anchor Bay, Paramount, 20th Century Fox.

Of course others as well, but those are the main ones.
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Hi-Def's of the following:

Lord of the Rings Trilogy (New Line is supposedly already working on these)
Halloween
Friday the 13th (The Paramount Movies)
Nightmare on Elm Street (New Line already working on definately. Was verified a couple weeks ago. I just don't know for which format. Maybe both?)
Angel (The Hi-Def broadcasts)
24 (The Hi-Def broadcasts)
The National Lampoon's Vacation Series
The James Bond Series
The Disney Animated Classics
The Alien Series



Star Wars: But, we know these probably won't arrive until 2010 on any new format. Look how long regular DVD took. So, I will leave that off the list.

That's just a short list.

 

[Juan C]

Blu-ray all the way. Considering Universal is not a top priority for you, then you aren't missing anything.

On the contrary, if you chose HD DVD, you'd be cutting yourself off from Fox (Angel, 24, Alien), MGM (Bond) and Disney (yes, Disney supports Blu-ray).

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

I'm trying not to set myself up for disappointment, but if Lucas does 30th Anniversary releases in HD, and they're still being distributed by Fox, there's another one for Blu-ray.

 

[Daniel-M]

Lucasfilm has said there wil be no HD-reelase of Star Wars or Indiana Jones until the war is over

 

[Brent M]

Daniel,

Do you have a direct quote or a source to back that up because I've never heard them give an absolute "NO" on the subject.

 

[Ryan-G]

In fact, IIRC, wasn't he pretty adamant about waiting for the blue laser media to release SW's in the first place?

Not entirely sure why'd he pass up an opportunity anyways, not that I have a problem with him, But Lucasfilms never seems to miss an opportunity to sell someone another copy of Star Wars.

 

[Greg T]

Oh... Star Wars will be released on Blu Ray...and maybe hd dvd if its still around.....you can count on it.

 

[Michael Osadciw]

FYI, Anchor Bay has been very quiet on the subject. I've been trying to get word out of them, but it seems that they aren't going to make their minds up until the format war has started (maybe to see who has more momentum). I can't see them waiting for the war to be over...because who knows when that'll be...even though Blu-Ray seems to have one up again...

Mike

 

[Patrick Nevin]

My wet dream is coming true. YEPPIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[JediFonger]

ryan, you can definitely get basic HD rates from your cable provider. you just have to *know* more than their sales do. they always try to sell you a higher-priced package.

my comcast cable bill comes to $18 for basic HD-cable. if i wanted HBO-HD, i think it goes upto $30-40ish. not sure. just FYI.

 

[Antonio S]

Basic cable is about $18.00 a month in this area also.
As YiFeng says, they seldom tell you. I believe this may be a Fed or State requirement.
I'm still using rabbit ears since Hurricane Charlie blew through here. Still a bit p.o'd at Comcast for continual lies to all of us about their reconnect dates.
May put a tower next to the house with a directional antennae.

 

[JediFonger]

BTW, that $18 is really only for 7 HD local channels:
-PBS
-NBC
-ABC
-CBS
-FOX
-UPN
-WB

all HD and also available in SD. there are misc. channels not worth mentioning. you also have access to OnDemand menu which offers *FREE* movies. i htink that's the only bonus. i can access on demand FREE movies they're showing, which is awesome. 2bad the HD films don't broadcast in HD (at least the free ones). haven't paid for ondemand HD yet. is it Dolby Digital?

the only reason i need it is cause i live in a valley surrounded by hills blocking almost every type of reception. if i could get over the air, i'd buy a HD OTA receiver. if you have that option, do that if you only want OTA channels. but if you want HD premium svc, you're going to pay for it.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

I pay $71.76 a month for the extended digital package with HBO, both tiers of HD channels (locals and Discovery HD plus an additional tier for HDNet, INHD 1 and 2, and various HD sports channels), 1 HD-DVR in the living room, 1 in the master bedroom and 1 regular HD cable box in the home office. A couple of hundred channels including digital music and a million pay-per-view options, including some in HD. And this from the cable company (Adelphia) that ranks dead last among cable providers in the J.D. Powers quality survey. The folks at your cable company need to put the crack pipe down.

Regards,

Joe