1146 replies to this topic

[bondrules]

http://legacy.macnn.com/

A new report shows the Blu-ray disc player sales are falling, despite Toshiba dropping its HD DVD format players back in February. The sales of Blu-ray disc players were expected to skyrocket but a NPD Group study found the opposite. US sales of standalone Blu-ray players fell 40 percent from January to February, still in the midst of the HD DVD fall, before increasing by just two percent in March. This leads many to believe the price of Blu-ray players and media still isn't low enough for mainstream adoption.

The NPD concludes consumers aren't willing to spend the extra money on what they perceive to be a minimal increase in quality over standard DVDs, a claim it backs up with the 5 percent rise in sales of upconverting DVD players in the first quarter of 2008. Other reasons could include the HD players' high prices and the poor economy, as well as HD downloads offered from the likes of Microsoft. Standard DVD players sales are also down, to the tune of 39 percent in Q1, but surprisingly, HD DVD player sales fell 13 and 65 percent month-to-month from January and February, respectively. Despite the format's demise, HD DVD discs are still on sale and at a discount, while the players themselves can play and upconvert standard DVDs, which helps extend their longevity.

[Professor Dent]

While the HD-DVD format war is over, the DVD format war is still ongoing. There are no plans to lower Blu-ray prices (see here & here) so Blu-ray will continue to be outsold by DVD. Sure, the big blockbusters like Iron Man, Indy 4, & The Dark Knight will sell big but for a lot of people, including me, I see no reason to upgrade 99% of my existing DVD library. Although, I will be anxiously awaiting to enjoy the Bond Blu-ray's in a few weeks.

[Turn]

Actually, I've seen prices for Blu-ray players falling recently. Saw a Sony model for $200 in an advertisement just last week. The one I just bought retailed for $400, but buying it along with an LCD TV knocked $100 off the price and this is the latest Sony model, so I jumped on it.

I haven't gone nuts buying Blu-ray DVDs so far. I got a 3-pack free when I bought the other two items, but have so far purchased Close Encounters, Natural Born Killers and The Godfather Trilogy, all for substantial discounts. There is no comparison to regular DVD, I am sold on it.

As far as upgrading my collection, I will for many movies, but others just won't require it. The Godfathers were a no-brainer as it's my favorite trilogy of all time. I am pretty sure I will buy the Bonds, although the UEs look great being upconverted on Blu-ray. Some I've held off on, such as the Planet of the Apes series, which is coming out soon. As for TV series and such, I don't see any reason to upgrade or go for anything Blu-ray.

[stamper]

ORANGE ALERT ! I'm currently watching the BRs at night, and get this... all documentaries are NEWLY EDITS in 1080i, all are REDONE AND RECUT using the original ones as templates and IMPROVED ! Patrick Macnee narration is still there of course ! They reshot all inserts, reinserted all movie clips, and upscaled neatly whatever other clip was blurry last time !
Even some of the trailers that were lacking original titles last time in the UEs have now they titles BACK and in high def !!
These releases raise the bar for bonuses ! This is the template to follow. I hope this send the message to the rest of the majors community : WE DON'T WANT ORIGINAL BONUS FEATURES IN 480p trown in like a bone to a dog, we want them re-edited, either identical shot by shot, or improved if the filmmaker feels it lacked last time, in GLORIOUS HIGH DEF ! It can be DONE !

Looks like those who stick to DVD will miss out the new, improved documentaries by John Cork et al in glorious HD and featuring new, better edits !!!

[DamnCoffee]

WOW! I cannot wait to see these!!!

[Blofeld's Cat]

I think I'll keep my standard format DVD's....in my opinion, BlueRay is DOA

From Video Business 10/10/08:

"Worldwide Blu-ray Disc set-top player unit sales will outpace most other consumer electronics items over the next four years, according to an independent report released this week.

Blu-ray player unit sales, not including Sony PlayStation 3 game consoles, will total 5 million globally this year, up from about 800,000 players sold in 2007, according to Kurt Scherf, principal analyst at Dallas-based Parks Associates. Annual Blu-ray player unit sales will jump eightfold within four years to about 40 million, Scherf said.

Revenue from Blu-ray disc sales in the U.S. alone is expected to approach $1 billion this year."

Bond in High-def? I'm in, baby

But Blu-ray still only eats a very small percentage of the total consumer pie, which is why Toshiba are banking on a DVD upscaler as reported here.

[dee-bee-five]

Okay, so I was sniffy and sceptical about Blu-Ray. Couldn't see the point; couldn't believe there'd be much improvement over DVD. I was a Luddite.

Then I saw Casino Royale on Blu-Ray and did a huge turnaround. I already have the Bond Blu-Rays on order as a result...

[Loomis]

The thing is, can one also notice the Blu-ray difference without also upgrading one's TV set?

[oatesy]

The thing is, can one also notice the Blu-ray difference without also upgrading one's TV set?

If you have a regular 525 line TV set then it is unlikely you will see much difference. If you connect your DVD player via an HDMI or component inputs and you can see where there are compression problems in DVDs(such as macroblocking or colour banding) or edge enhancement (the halo like rings around areas of high contrast such as the shot of Roger in the Islamic area of Cairo - with the Mosque wailing calls in the background - where Roger is silhouetted against the sky in the UE DVD) then you will see an improvement, as there should be no video artifacts on a well authored Bluray disc.

There will be a slight up-tick in detail because BluRay can downsize the 1080 lines of resolution to the 525 to match your TV, whereas DVD really only delivers 400 lines of resultion at max. But it depends on how you get the Bluray signal into your TV. If you're using composite video cables then you are wasting your time buying Bluray

[Loomis]

Thanks, oatesy.

[dee-bee-five]

The thing is, can one also notice the Blu-ray difference without also upgrading one's TV set?

I should have added that I bought a new laptop with a Blu-Ray drive and it was comparing the CR DVD and Blu-Ray discs on that which convinced me.

[Loomis]

Cool. I was actually thinking of going the laptop-with-Blu-ray-drive route myself (the Sony Viaio, or whatever it's called).

[dee-bee-five]

Cool. I was actually thinking of going the laptop-with-Blu-ray-drive route myself (the Sony Viaio, or whatever it's called).

I hope that's not a bit of product placement on CBn...?

Mine's not a Sony - it's an HP - but the Blu Ray playback really is awesome.

[Brix Bond]

I have to say that I'm not over-keen on buying the Bond films on Blu-ray at the moment for the simple reason that the entire catalogue is not yet available. Don't get me wrong, I'm itching to buy them but I'm going to wait until QoS apperas on Blu-ray as it will certainly appear as part of a 22 film box set and will probably work out better value.

I shudder to think what I spent buying the DVDs as they were released each month back in 1999/2000!

[Professor Dent]

Okay, so I was sniffy and sceptical about Blu-Ray. Couldn't see the point; couldn't believe there'd be much improvement over DVD. I was a Luddite.

Then I saw Casino Royale on Blu-Ray and did a huge turnaround. I already have the Bond Blu-Rays on order as a result...

One word of caution is that not all Blu-ray's look as good as Casino Royale. It has that looking through a window quality that makes you do a double take when you see it. The Bank Job is a great example. It looks good but not as stunning as movies like Casino Royale or Transformers.

[Mr. Arlington Beech]

I'm little doubtful about the whole Blu-ray issue.

I think sometime in the future, when they will be really cheap, I'll buy a Blu-ray player, and of course some Bond movies in that format (I don't know if the entire collection 'cause I've already have them in standard DVD). But the thing is I'm kind of upset, of this relative fast change of formats.

I know that Blu-ray technology isn't something that new, and that the Blu-ray players can work with standard Dvds, but even so...I recently bought a LCD TV (Full HD)with a upscaler dvd player, and Bond movies looks really good, ok my be not that good as blu-ray I suppose, but I don't think it's such a great difference in the end, except for the technology buffs.

I think within a time when all get used to blu-ray image, there will not be such a big impact with the quality. For me the eternal improvement from VHS to DVD was the comfort of the chapters selection and the extra space for bonus material, and I' don't see improvements of that range in Blu-ray technology.

Edited by Mr. Arlington Beech, 14 October 2008 - 03:26 AM.

[Qwerty]

James Bond Blu-ray discs and a PS3 to be won...

http://commanderbond...n...&item=50037

[Bondian]

http://legacy.macnn.com/

A new report shows the Blu-ray disc player sales are falling, despite Toshiba dropping its HD DVD format players back in February. The sales of Blu-ray disc players were expected to skyrocket but a NPD Group study found the opposite. US sales of standalone Blu-ray players fell 40 percent from January to February, still in the midst of the HD DVD fall, before increasing by just two percent in March. This leads many to believe the price of Blu-ray players and media still isn't low enough for mainstream adoption.

The NPD concludes consumers aren't willing to spend the extra money on what they perceive to be a minimal increase in quality over standard DVDs, a claim it backs up with the 5 percent rise in sales of upconverting DVD players in the first quarter of 2008. Other reasons could include the HD players' high prices and the poor economy, as well as HD downloads offered from the likes of Microsoft. Standard DVD players sales are also down, to the tune of 39 percent in Q1, but surprisingly, HD DVD player sales fell 13 and 65 percent month-to-month from January and February, respectively. Despite the format's demise, HD DVD discs are still on sale and at a discount, while the players themselves can play and upconvert standard DVDs, which helps extend their longevity.

What with so many PS3 consoles breaking down (It's happened to me and thousands of others). What options have we really got if we want perfection and quality with our "double-dipping".

[dee-bee-five]

Okay, so I was sniffy and sceptical about Blu-Ray. Couldn't see the point; couldn't believe there'd be much improvement over DVD. I was a Luddite.

Then I saw Casino Royale on Blu-Ray and did a huge turnaround. I already have the Bond Blu-Rays on order as a result...

One word of caution is that not all Blu-ray's look as good as Casino Royale.

Thanks for that. I've got the first batch of Bond Blu-Rays on order; the proof, I guess, will be how good the older films look. If there's not much improvement, then I might have second thoughts about upgrading the rest. Of course, enhanced picture/sound can do nothing to improve a script, so I guess Thunderball's still going to bore me...

[NVT]

I think I will wait for the ultra HD virtual 3D in your face format technology.

On a more technical note, not many films are made in HD format, what they tend to do with the films for the blue-ray transfer is re-master them using the best prints available and fill in the extra pixels.

[stamper]

Wrong, any movie shot in any period is HIGHER RESOLUTION than HD format, a typical 35mm film negative hold about 4 times more information than any Blu-Ray out there. They almost never use "prints" a print is 4 times removed from the negative, it's like using a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy. Really the things said here are just typical internet gibberish... FEUD.
HD is the future, period. Jump in or stay behind. Anyone spilling nonsense as above is just out to crap this thread.

[dee-bee-five]

HD is the future, period. Jump in or stay behind. Anyone spilling nonsense as above is just out to crap this thread.

But if the quality isn't hugely improved - and while it is with Casino Royale, someone has mentioned it isn't with all films - then it won't be the future. Despite all the hype about HD television, I haven't picked up on a huge buzz amongst consumers for it thus far; certainly not in the way consumers embraced DVD. In these uncertain times, I believe a lot of people are thinking that this is yet another new format to convince us to buy the films we already own all over again and they're cynical about it. That said, the Casino Royale Blu-Ray certainly encouraged me to buy the batch of Bonds coming out this week. If I'm impressed with them, I'll buy more. If not, I'll stick with DVD for the foreseeable future, thanks.

[Arbogast777]

Here's an excellent REVIEW of the "From Russia With Love" Blu-ray. A sample...

"I was a bit guarded about these new Bond Blu-ray releases but am thrilled to say that my #1 favorite - From Russia With Love - looks fabulous in 1080P. Hopefully, the below screen captures will bear out the higher level of detail - that exceeded my expectations for this, now 45 years young, film."

[dee-bee-five]

Here's an excellent REVIEW of the "From Russia With Love" Blu-ray. A sample...

"I was a bit guarded about these new Bond Blu-ray releases but am thrilled to say that my #1 favorite - From Russia With Love - looks fabulous in 1080P. Hopefully, the below screen captures will bear out the higher level of detail - that exceeded my expectations for this, now 45 years young, film."

Very interesting; I'm still glad I ordered these. I just hope we don't get all the nonsense we had on CBn about cropping issues in GoldenEye or whatever when the excellent Ultimate Edition DVDs were released. Life really is too short...

[Qwerty]

Here's an excellent REVIEW of the "From Russia With Love" Blu-ray. A sample...

"I was a bit guarded about these new Bond Blu-ray releases but am thrilled to say that my #1 favorite - From Russia With Love - looks fabulous in 1080P. Hopefully, the below screen captures will bear out the higher level of detail - that exceeded my expectations for this, now 45 years young, film."

Definitely liking the sound of that.

[Daddy Bond]

Wrong, any movie shot in any period is HIGHER RESOLUTION than HD format, a typical 35mm film negative hold about 4 times more information than any Blu-Ray out there. They almost never use "prints" a print is 4 times removed from the negative, it's like using a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy. Really the things said here are just typical internet gibberish... FEUD.
HD is the future, period. Jump in or stay behind. Anyone spilling nonsense as above is just out to crap this thread.

Yeah, I've never really understood why people think HD is higher resolution than film. Film is MUCH higher resolution than HD. That's why you can put out a Blu-ray version of an old movie like Gone with the Wind made in the late 1930's, because film is STILL better than HD.

That's like my friends wanting to watch the full screen version of a movie because the wide screen version "cuts out all the picture at the top and the bottom of the picture". I then bang my head against the wall and show them how full screen (not widescreen) robs them of the full movie. I have been amazed at how many people still think that the lose picture when it is in letterbox. Sure, there have been examples letterboxing cropping production originally produced in non-widescreen(for example, apparently Season 1 of the 1960's classic TV show Route 66 had the top and bottom of the picture cut off in order to make it fit wide screen TV's (a dumb move) - black borders on the right and left would be a MUCH better solution, but generally widescreen gives you all or at least MUCH more of the original picture than full screen AND film is MUCH higher resolution than HD.

That's why, even in the future, if they should come out with even higher resolution TV's, they will be able to produce the old classic movies in that higher resolution because the film stock is so high in resolution.

[jaguar007]

yep. Show me a HD TV that is as large as a movie screen and I will show you an HD TV with a crappy picture.

[Renard]

here is the link (scroll down)

[Jeff007]

Looks good! Might need to get a blue ray DVD player to enjoy these.

[sharpshooter]

There is a visible improvement here. The film looks so lifelike.