Author Topic: Blu-ray Thread (Read 43003 times)

buzzing · « **on:** November 26, 2007, 07:23:55 pm »

Swear there was a thread for hi def movies. But cant see it.

btw: Does anyone have Planet earth on Bluray. Saw it when it was on tv, and it looked good.

Noticed they've got the hi def versions out, but only the USA version is fully hi def. Uk one is "only" 1080i

Is it poss to get a uk one with 1080p?

Edit: Link to Bluray tier ratings

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1168342

Ben S · « **Reply #1 on:** November 26, 2007, 07:38:46 pm »

HD-DVD isn't region encoded so if HD-DVD is your format of choice, get the US version. Seems a bit daft they would only do the uk release in blag hd.

Sez_20 · « **Reply #2 on:** November 26, 2007, 07:47:23 pm »

http://www.playusa.com/DVD/Region_1/3-/3343287/-/Product.html

According to this it is region encoded Ben..

Anyway, I've put this on my 'christmas list', might change my mind now.

Ben S · « **Reply #3 on:** November 26, 2007, 07:52:36 pm »

Play are wrong, there is no regions for HD-DVD

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD-DVD

buzzing · « **Reply #4 on:** November 26, 2007, 08:24:50 pm »

Was after bluray

red-oz · « **Reply #5 on:** November 26, 2007, 09:51:26 pm »

Ive got it on Blu-ray and just checked it, its 1080i. But its a quality watch though although some scenes arent in HD and this stated on the box.

Paul_McG · « **Reply #6 on:** November 26, 2007, 10:11:59 pm »

UK HD DVD release is 1080i (all scenes), even in 1080i its amazing quality.
My tv is not full 1080p so happy enough with 1080i

UK version is 5 disc (and cheaper) , US version 4 disc although I dont know if anything is missing from US version ?

As mentioned HD DVD is not region coded - Play state that they only play on North American DVD players but its no true.

Got plenty of HD DVD's from PlayUSA.com with no playback problems - One of my Favs being the Trashy Transformers which I have had for ages before it is released here , cracking picture quality if a kids movie

red-oz · « **Reply #7 on:** November 26, 2007, 10:17:52 pm »

The UK version has 5 discs. 4 of which are Planet Earth series and the fifth is Natural World : Snow Leopards & Desert Lions

gray-- · « **Reply #8 on:** November 27, 2007, 12:06:37 am »

How many mbit/s is 1080i? I've got access to a beeb r&d resource which has Planet Earth at approx 17mbit/s, or 8gbyte/hour, that sound about right? A hefty download anyhow!

buzzing · « **Reply #9 on:** December 4, 2007, 09:27:39 pm »

Was watching this the other day and noticed quite a few scenes have grainy bits.

Thought it was my tv, but apparently other people have has same probs.

Joby · « **Reply #10 on:** December 5, 2007, 10:46:33 am »

I got the US version on Blu-Ray when it came out. Works fine on my UK PS3. Bought it from Movietyme. Think the ten minute 'how we made this' sections are missing - don't know if they are on the UK version maybe?

Quite a lot of Blu-Rays say they are for a particular region, but aren't actually region-locked. Movietyme have a section on their shop for Blu-Rays that will play in the UK.

Andy @ Allerton! · « **Reply #11 on:** December 5, 2007, 11:50:41 am »

I've seen a few HD Demo tellies in Currys and I've not been that impressed by them

Is this because they're not showing HD Stuff - or are they just overrated?

Live4pool · « **Reply #12 on:** December 5, 2007, 04:34:24 pm »

do the american versions not have Sigourney Weaver narrating??

absolutley no point what-so-ever in getting them unless its Attenborough narrating

Ben S · « **Reply #13 on:** December 5, 2007, 04:39:22 pm »

Clicky the linky to the play site above and read.

buzzing · « **Reply #14 on:** December 5, 2007, 08:44:50 pm »

Quote from: Andy @ Allerton on December 5, 2007, 11:50:41 am

I've seen a few HD Demo tellies in Currys and I've not been that impressed by them

Is this because they're not showing HD Stuff - or are they just overrated?

They've got shite settings and shite source.

Same tv that looks dud in one shop can be class in another

Sez_20 · « **Reply #15 on:** December 5, 2007, 09:02:24 pm »

Quote from: Andy @ Allerton on December 5, 2007, 11:50:41 am

I've seen a few HD Demo tellies in Currys and I've not been that impressed by them

Is this because they're not showing HD Stuff - or are they just overrated?

Quote from: buzzing on December 5, 2007, 08:44:50 pm

They've got shite settings and shite source.

Same tv that looks dud in one shop can be class in another

Some of them actually are shite. Never understand why people spend so much money on something they put no research into buying. Some see the telly in the shop displaying a poor picture, and still buy it!

And what buzzing said, settings, cables etc. make a difference although you'd think a shop with any sense would whack all the settings up, play a decent bluray disc on a top player etc...but they don't $:-\$

Joby · « **Reply #16 on:** December 6, 2007, 08:22:57 am »

Quote from: Live4pool on December 5, 2007, 04:34:24 pm

do the american versions not have Sigourney Weaver narrating??

absolutley no point what-so-ever in getting them unless its Attenborough narrating

Mine's got Attenborough. I heard something similar, but when I looked into buying the US Blu-Ray it was definitely the original narration. And I now own it, and it is the full BBC version.

I think maybe when they put it on TV they had Weaver or something?

Live4pool · « **Reply #17 on:** December 6, 2007, 12:15:43 pm »

Quote from: Ben S on December 5, 2007, 04:39:22 pm

Clicky the linky to the play site above and read.

ahhh right, thats a relief, Attenborough's acting in it

buzzing · « **Reply #18 on:** December 29, 2007, 08:49:15 pm »

Anyone brought any new BluRay or HD-DVDs that are a "must have"

blert596 · « **Reply #19 on:** January 1, 2008, 08:36:50 pm »

Very good info on all the Blu Ray releases and whether theyre region free or not

http://bluray.liesinc.net/

Sez_20 · « **Reply #20 on:** January 2, 2008, 12:56:31 am »

Quote from: buzzing on December 29, 2007, 08:49:15 pm

Anyone brought any new BluRay or HD-DVDs that are a "must have"

Planet Earth... boss.

gomez · « **Reply #21 on:** January 2, 2008, 01:29:52 am »

Been told that Blade Runner is superb, Usuall Suspects is boss.

wacko · « **Reply #22 on:** January 2, 2008, 09:33:56 am »

Quote from: gray-- on November 27, 2007, 12:06:37 am

How many mbit/s is 1080i? I've got access to a beeb r&d resource which has Planet Earth at approx 17mbit/s, or 8gbyte/hour, that sound about right? A hefty download anyhow!

That's right. Sometimes more depending on the encoding (h.264 is the standard for discs, I think, but some broadcasts are in DVB-S 1, i.e. MPEG 2, and I've seen 25mbit/s).

Joby · « **Reply #23 on:** January 4, 2008, 10:49:18 pm »

Warner Bros have just gone Blu-Ray exclusive.

http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,1700383,00.html
http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=803

The Blu-Ray site comment seems a bit vainglorious - "It's all over folks"... Might be the end, long-term, for HD-DVD.

TheKid. · « **Reply #24 on:** January 4, 2008, 10:59:59 pm »

love the way Warner, when asked if money had changed hands, said that sony would be covering "promotional costs" or something to that effect

buzzing · « **Reply #25 on:** January 4, 2008, 11:05:08 pm »

Quote from: Sez_20 on January 2, 2008, 12:56:31 am

Planet Earth... boss.

Got that. Started the thread about it

Wanted to know if there's anything else out there

blert596 · « **Reply #26 on:** January 5, 2008, 10:50:48 am »

Whilst not the final nail in the coffin, the decision by Warner to go Blu Ray exclusive will probably be the final nail in the coffin for HD DVD. With only three studios now supporting HD DVD it would appear the format war may now be over. I suspect at least one more studio to anounce a shift from HD DVD withi the next month. Even Toshibas response seemed somewhat accepting of the inevitability of it.

Rumour has it that up to $250 mill was being bandied about by Sony toWarner to get them to choose exclusivitivity to Blu Ray, but this has been rejected (although $150 mill rumours still persist). Toshiba can have no grumbles about the poaching after what they did with Paramount.

Personally I think its great news. I wasn't really bothered which format won, but with all the consumer confusion over the formats your average Joe Public didnt have a clue as to what was going on.

Lets hope that Sony/Panasonic etc get their act together and start releasing some decently priced hardware, and quickly adapt to final version players.

Unfortunately, it looks like Region coding is here to stay, but thats more to do with the studios than the perceived actions of the Blu consortium.

Microsoft are gutted obviously. how long before the 360 get a Blu Ray add on? And their latest offering will nw be shelved I think. And with Apple now fitting Blu Rays in their machines I think we have a sure fire outcome to the war.

Happy days, as Ive got a Blu player

¡Basta Ya! · « **Reply #27 on:** January 5, 2008, 10:55:03 am »

Quote from: blert596 on January 5, 2008, 10:50:48 am

Microsoft are gutted obviously.

[evillaugh]mwa mwhaha mmwhahahahahahhhahahahahah[/evillaugh]

Quote

And with Apple now fitting Blu Rays in their machines

I've either woken up in a parallel universe or this isn't (yet) true. Will probably be true after MacWorld... but not yet. They are in full support of it and have been long time backers.

As it stands, two massive companies still back HD-DVD's.

Joby · « **Reply #28 on:** January 5, 2008, 11:26:28 am »

Quote from: ¡Basta Ya! on January 5, 2008, 10:55:03 am

New Line are Blu-Ray exclusive now - part of Warner, and included in the announcement. LOTR as Blu-Ray exclusive...

Mac are rumoured to be announcing Blu-Ray drives in their top-end hardware at CES, sometime in the next few days.

HD-DVD are down to 25% of releases. It's just too low to be sustainable, surely. No-one in their right mind would buy an HD-DVD drive today, knowing what we do about studio support. (Although if you already have one, that's different...)

¡Basta Ya! · « **Reply #29 on:** January 5, 2008, 11:40:14 am »

Quote from: Joby on January 5, 2008, 11:26:28 am

New Line are Blu-Ray exclusive now - part of Warner, and included in the announcement.

Ah well, that's good news.

Quote

Mac are rumoured to be announcing Blu-Ray drives in their top-end hardware at CES, sometime in the next few days.

They'll probably put them in MacPro's at MacWorld San Francisco before CES in Las Vagas.

Matt S · « **Reply #30 on:** January 5, 2008, 12:06:20 pm »

Quote from: blert596 on January 5, 2008, 10:50:48 am

how long before the 360 get a Blu Ray add on?

pretty sure there is one already, or certainly one on the way. Some gaming nut I know seemed to know about it.

Looks like bluray might do the business (mainly thanks to the PS3 I'd guess), there are certainly more bluray films than HDDVD from what I've seen in the shops.

I agree with you, I didn't mind which format 'won' and I thought they'd probably co-exist but it would be great to have some clarity over what was best to buy.

TheKid. · « **Reply #31 on:** January 5, 2008, 12:21:14 pm »

like you matt, i didn't mind which won, mainly as not having a hd telly it didn't bother me (although now a new telly is on it's way). I always suspected blu ray might come out on top with sony behind it tho, and also that although 360 supports hddvd, you have to buy an add on (how much is that by the way?) which i imagine a lot of people wouldn't bother with buying

BazC · « **Reply #32 on:** January 5, 2008, 01:01:40 pm »

Obviously having the PS3 I wanted the Blu Ray to win (otherwise a couple of years down the drive the blu ray drive would have been obsolete).

And now that there seems to be more and more clarity over which format will come out on top, more people will probably take the plunge on a blu ray player- with the cheapest being the PS3. There must be a lot of HD tvs around now that need a HD source to show off?

USgooner · « **Reply #33 on:** January 5, 2008, 02:25:56 pm »

Director Michael Bay posted this message on the Official Michael Bay forums:

"Well another studio down. Maybe I was right? Blu ray is just better. HD will die a slow death. It's what I predicted a year ago. Now with Warner's down for the count with Blu Ray. That makes it easier for Wal-Mart to push Blu Ray. And whatever Wal-Mart pushes - wins. Hd better start giving out those $120 million dollars checks to stay alive. Maybe they can give me some so I can give it to my Make-A-Wish charity, just to shut me up. Have faith people Transformers will come out in Blu-ray one day"

http://www.n4g.com/industrynews/News-97178.aspx

Matt S · « **Reply #34 on:** January 5, 2008, 03:21:57 pm »

Quote from: TheKid. on January 5, 2008, 12:21:14 pm

like you matt, i didn't mind which won, mainly as not having a hd telly it didn't bother me (although now a new telly is on it's way). I always suspected blu ray might come out on top with sony behind it tho, and also that although 360 supports hddvd, you have to buy an add on (how much is that by the way?) which i imagine a lot of people wouldn't bother with buying

same here, I just got myself a HDTV, and have a 360. I'd probably get a blu ray player than upscales normal DVD's too rather than trading in for a PS3, Much prefer the 360 for gaming (prefer the controllers), but its far too loud to use as any kind of media centre. Once I have that I just need to invest in a decent sound system and i'm all set!

BazC · « **Reply #35 on:** January 5, 2008, 03:26:08 pm »

Quote from: Matt S on January 5, 2008, 03:21:57 pm

same here, I just got myself a HDTV, and have a 360. I'd probably get a blu ray player than upscales normal DVD's too rather than trading in for a PS3, Much prefer the 360 for gaming (prefer the controllers), but its far too loud to use as any kind of media centre. Once I have that I just need to invest in a decent sound system and i'm all set!

Read a review comparing the PS3 as a blu ray player to another Sony one which cost £700+. PS3 had more features due to its constant expandibility (it upscales DVDs from a firmware update a few months back)- 24p and picture in picture features have been added lately for example. And compared to the £700 machine the colours weren't as good, but were still good enough. It would seem that the PS3 is a very good Blu Ray player in its own right.

buzzing · « **Reply #36 on:** January 5, 2008, 03:30:34 pm »

Kinda glad BluRay won. Not only as I have a ps3, but because of all Xbox fan boys for constantly going on about me getting a ps3

keithcun · « **Reply #37 on:** January 5, 2008, 03:40:50 pm »

Quote from: buzzing on January 5, 2008, 03:30:34 pm

Kinda glad BluRay won. Not only as I have a ps3, but because of all Xbox fan boys for constantly going on about me getting a ps3

But it's overpriced, Sony sucks, no games, crap games, I don't want a media player blah blah blah.

Always said that the PS3 was a bargain at it's original price, now it's just a steal. I might even get meself one soon.

theCanadian · « **Reply #38 on:** January 5, 2008, 04:17:37 pm »

I saw Planet Earth on BluRay at my friend's house yesterday. Niiice.

Joby · « **Reply #39 on:** January 5, 2008, 05:10:28 pm »

Quote from: Matt S on January 5, 2008, 03:21:57 pm

I'd probably get a blu ray player than upscales normal DVD's too rather than trading in for a PS3

Ignoring all the gaming stuff, the PS3 is an excellent upscaling DVD player. Much better than I expected. It's pretty quiet too, so can be used for movies. The Blu-Ray quality seems great too - I prefer my Planet Earth Blu-Rays to watching it on Sky HD, for example.

PS3 will also always stay up-to-date, so for example they upgraded Blu-Ray to 1.1 recently so it can do picture in picture.