I am afraid of buying DVD's now (1 Viewer)

[Junior_V]

I was supposed to buy "The Maltese Falcon", "Marie Antoinette"
But then I thought what if they are gonna be released on HD DVD. I think im gonna skip on buying these.

Anybody know wich classics is gonna be released on HD DVD?

 

[Eric Peterson]

If it's classic films that you are concerned about, I would expect them to roughly be released on the same time schedule that they were with SD-DVD except for obvious exceptions that are just now making it to SD-DVD.

"The Maltese Falcon" is certainly a title that I would expect on HD soon, but Marie Antoinette I wouldn't expect for quite some time. I think that most titles will be released in the same order that they were on SD-DVD (In order of customer demand).

The first titles out will be "The Searchers", "Wizard of Oz", "Casablanca", etc...

 

[Larry Sutliff]

Yeah, big titles like CASABLANCA, GONE WITH THE WIND and WIZARD OF OZ will probably be on HD DVD/Blu-Ray within the next year IMHO. But stuff like(for instance) Universal's Karloff and INNER SANCTUM sets will probably take awhile to show up on HD. I'm buying 'em now. Life is too short.

 

[Junior_V]

the only reason I want Maltese Falcon is becuse "Satan met a Lady" is on it.
But I would not be suprised if "Satan" will have a regular transfer on the HD DVD if it will be released

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Eventually? All of them. Or a great many of them before the next big TV format. If HDTV and 1080p remain the standards for 20 or so years (which seems likely since people don't like changing broadcast standards at short intervals) almost everything ever released in SD and everything moving that gets released moving forward will be in HD. But when a given title gets released is another matter. Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are still niche products (as is HDTV itself, although it is moving into the mainstream.)

For the time being I'm renting some stuff, buying stuff I really like and watching it scaled to 720p on my HDTV, and ignoring both hi-def disc formats. When the war is over, players are affordable and a larger market brings disc prices down I'll worry about double-dipping. For right now I'm pretending that hi-def DVD doesn't even exist.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'm thinking of buying an external scaler to go along with my HD DVD/Blu-ray players so it really isn't going to make much of a difference for me. I preordered the Bogart collection because of the other four titles in that boxset and not necessarily for "The Maltese Falcon" which I expect to be on HD DVD. Don't get my wrong, I love "The Maltese Falcon", but I doubt those other four titles will be out on HD DVD anytime soon.

I've stopped buy any new dvds of films from the last 20 years or so.

 

[Bradley-E]

I am strictly buying HD DVD titles unless for example it is something like The Preston Sturges Collection coming out in November and this weeks Boris Karloff collection; because it may take a while for them to hit HD. But I am playing close attention to what is being released day and date. Paramount is releasing REDS on HD DVD the same time as the standard DVD. Plus Warner is releasing many Classic Films on HD sooner than later.

Take in account that you can still play existing DVD's you own or buy on your DVD DVD player.

Also, both Universal and Warner have been releasing titles with HD DVD and Standard DVD combo on the same disc. You could start a collection now if you wanted to. Warner's KISS KISS BANG BANG is a Combo disc that I purchased before I was set up with a HD TV and Player.

 

[george kaplan]

To each their own, but I'm far more afraid of buying an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray than I am a standard dvd. I don't know which one will survive, but I'm pretty sure that my dvds will outlast at least one of those two formats.

 

[Bradley-E]

It is difficult to determine what format will do the best. Blu-Ray is much more expensive to 'try', with players almost double the cost of a HD Player. The only studios supporting BOTH formats so far are Warner and Paramount. Universal is only supporting HD DVD at this time while Sony, Fox and Disney are only supporting Blu-Ray. There seems to be a push right now to get Blu-Ray moving because it is not selling as much as HD DVD. Best Buy had it front page in thier ad this Sunday. HD DVD has the edge currently in sales; I'm not sure of the reason other that it was introduced first and has had more time, the price is more in line to a persons budget, perhaps the "DVD" brand as part of the name is more reassuring than a not known one "BLU-RAY". Who really knows, it is a crap shoot. I purchased my first Standard DVD player a week for any movies were introduced and at that time had no regrets in doing so. I'm quite happy now with HD DVD and have no regrets in my decision of supporting it. Whatever the case will be, it is the wave of the future and eventually will be one, the other or both.

My suggestion is to buy a HD Television first. If you are a cable subscriber they will come and replace you current box with one that unscrambles the HD channels. You will get the major networks, ESPN, TNT, Public Television (L.A. is KCET) and if you subcribe to HBO, Cinemax, Showtime you will get those channels in Hi-Def. Most of the time (about 98%) the films are showing OAR or at least wide to fill the entire screen. HBO ran "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" 2:35 and it looked Awesome in Hi Def. In addition there is a broadcast Company called HD Net and they have about 4 or 5 channels one of which only shows movies, OAR, uncut, unedited with no commercials. Last week they showed A CLOCKWORK ORANGE and ROSEMARY'S BABY back to back and they looked great. How awesome is that? The HD net channels are costing me about $5.00 extra a month, which is 2 visits to a coffee house.

Get your HD TV first, at least you could still enjoy watching movies on it. You'll see what films look like even before they hit HD DVD.

 

[Jon Martin]

Honestly, I don't know why you would wait to buy those titles.

Even if they are released on another format, it won't be for a year at the earliest. And then there is the whole format war, which will be around? You can still play the SD DVD in either format, so you are safe.

And it isn't like these are $125 laserdisc box sets. It is, what, $15 to buy one? Less than two tickets to the movies. And do you stop going to movies because they will one day be released in HD?

Unless money is a major factor, or if you don't plan on watching them for a couple years, I don't see why people hold out for the HD release of a title they really want.

Even if you buy it, and a new release is announced, you can sell them pretty easily.

 

[Thomas T]

Why worry so much? As another poster aptly put it, life is too short. Why wait around for a HD version of a title that may nor may not see the light of day on HD anytime soon? Enjoy it NOW, you could get run over by a car next month or struck by lightning! Enjoy it now before that lightning bolt hits you!

 

[Bob Cashill]

I've seen a DVD screener of the new FALCON, and it is the stuff that dreams are made of. SD, HD, whatever--buy it.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Who am I to tell somebody else how to spend their money or that life is too short?




Crawdaddy

 

[JoshRas]

Well, the thread starter was saying he was afraid to buy SD dvd's now so either he is wondering aloud or wants others opinions on the topic. I have no clue about the movies he brought up but if they are just coming out to dvd now, how long before they come out on HD-DVD? 5 years? 10? Regular dvd has been out about 10 years now and HD-DVD will probably never be as big as standard dvds. So like the guy said, unless you want to wait that long for a release that may never come, go for it!

What thing I do notice about the HD-DVD topic, people sure do get testy! Thats no shot at anyone particular, but with any thread I read about it, it usually gets heated. BTW, I would like to get HD-DVD, but like others am waiting for a price drop and more big titles. I would probably only replace my faves anyway.

 

[Jerome Grate]

My sentiments exactly. DVD will be around a long time after one of the HD formats has moved on. Get em' and don't worry about it. Remember, the new HD players will upscale to 1080i and they do it very well, so you don't really lose here.

 

[Lew Crippen]

I’m not afraid of buying DVDs but it has been about two years since I purchased any—a decision I made when I realized that I wanted to get into the HD formats. In the meantime I used Netflix (in the States) and video rentals in Mexico to watch movies. I’m still watching, just not collecting.

I slightly disagree with George, in that when I buy into the new formats (and I’m waiting for gthe 2nd gen players), I won’t care if one format or the other does not last. Suppose for example that one of the formats dies a couple of years after I bought the player. I’ll still have the movies I collected during that time and a machine on which they can be played.

Even if on the day the format died, all of the movies became available on the competing format, I won’t be out that money, as I’ll still be able to watch them. I’ll only be out the money that I spent for the player—and by that time, I’d probably be buying a new combo player in any case.

So I see the risk as very low.

 

[Marvin]

.. unless you happen to have a TV that doesn't have HDMI inputs (grrrrrr...).

 

[george kaplan]

Lew,

I see your point, and I too am waiting for at least 2nd (and probably later) generation, but I do think that the defunct format will run a risk of being unplayable. Think 8-track tape. If you tried to fix an old player today, and needed replacement parts, good luck.

I could be wrong, but I suspect that one of these formats will die before I am ready to jump on. In the meantime, considering that we're still waiting (after all these years) for regular dvds of films like The African Queen, Night Train to Munich, Up in Arms, A Matter of Life & Death, The Blue Dahlia, The Exterminating Angel, and many, many others, I'll gladly buy films I want that make it to dvd, without waiting, perhaps many, many years, for them to make it to HD.

 

[Bradley-E]

My advice is to get a HD Television first. You can enjoy Hi Defination television and movies without supporting any Disc Format.

 

[Jerome Grate]

oopsies, you're right about that.:frowning: