Benjamin Feingold, head of Sony Home Video and the man commonly nicknamed "Blu-ray Ben" due to his prominent role in garnering industry support for the format, has stepped down. Whether he did so voluntarily or was pushed is unknown, but I certainly wouldn't trust the man who allowed turkeys like the terrible transfers for the Blu-ray releases of The Fifth Element and House of Flying Daggers to be put out under his watch to be in charge of anything video-related. Stepping in is former MGM Home Entertainment boss David Bishop.
Update, 12:53: He was fired. And he was also in charge of the UMD line - sort of speaks for itself.
Webmaster & Slave of GOREZONE. Your #1 source for bloody daily horror news. www.gorezone.net
Re: The official HD-DVD / Blu-Ray Thread
Universal boss takes swipe at Blu-ray:
Recently there has been some speculation from the Blu-ray camp that Universal, currently the only one of the big-name studios exclusively committed to HD DVD (as opposed to Paramount and Warner, who release for both formats, and Sony, Disney and Fox, who are currently Blu-ray exclusives), would begin releasing Blu-ray material as well. A comment from Universal Home Entertainment president Craig Kornblau, however, has pretty much put the final nail in that coffin:
"The reviews are in and HD DVD is hands down the leader in picture quality, audio experiences and interactive capabilities that have never been seen before," said Kornblau.
"Look at the blogs, look at the reviews by the early adopters and even look at the mainstream media - HD DVD has maintained its first-to-market advantage and delivered on the promises of providing the best high definition image and sound quality at the best value for consumers today. Take today's announcement of new players from Toshiba, new PC hardware from Niveus and new titles like 'The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,' and add the hardware and movies that are coming this Fall and you can see why HD DVD is poised for a strong holiday."
Webmaster & Slave of GOREZONE. Your #1 source for bloody daily horror news. www.gorezone.net
Re: The official HD-DVD / Blu-Ray Thread
all of the Warner HD-DVDs and Blu-ray Discs due on 10/10 will include all of the special features that were on the standard DVD versions, and we've already told you about the IME features on the Batman Begins and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory HD-DVDs. On the audio side of things, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Polar Express will feature Dolby Digital Plus 5.1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will also feature a music-only track in Dolby TrueHD 5.1. Batman Begins will feature in both Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Dolby Digital Plus 5.1. Finally, The Corpse Bride will feature audio in Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 EX, along with a music-only track in Dolby Digital Plus 5.1. On the Blu-ray Disc side, Syriana and 16 Blocks will both feature audio in Dolby Digital 5.1.
Webmaster & Slave of GOREZONE. Your #1 source for bloody daily horror news. www.gorezone.net
Re: The official HD-DVD / Blu-Ray Thread
Sony has just officially announced the Blu-ray Disc release of Layer Cake and Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down (144-minute version) on 11/14 (SRP $28.95 each). For the record, both titles will be released on the new 50GB dual-layered BD-ROM configuration. Both titles will feature 1080p video and uncompressed PCM 5.1 audio. We believe (and we're working to confirm) that Black Hawk Down will include at least some (if not all) of the standard-def extras that were released on the previous 3-disc set. Extras on Layer Cake are TBA.
Webmaster & Slave of GOREZONE. Your #1 source for bloody daily horror news. www.gorezone.net
Re: The official HD-DVD / Blu-Ray Thread
I never had ANY hopes for UMD, or what I call DUMD. No extras, no sales - Nothing special, no special titles, nothing exclusive to the format, just a bunch of titles that one can buy anywhere else. Hell, they should have focused on special video-game based film titles for the Playstation, maybe episodes of TV shows.
Anything that reminds me of a Mini-Disc or a UMD brings me back to a failed toy that played what seemed to be mini DVD. UMD is an expensive gimmick that's failed!.
As for Blu-Ray, let it die.
Edited by: Raleigh Nightwolf at: 10/3/06 12:00 pm
Re: The official HD-DVD / Blu-Ray Thread
Blu-ray to begin region coding; HD DVD remains region free.
To keep a lid on piracy, the Blu-ray Disc Assn. has decided to use regional codes for film discs released in the format. The coded discs will debut this fall.
New code system differs from the one in place for standard DVDs in that Japan, the Americas and East Asian countries other than China all share Region 1. Europe and Africa are grouped in Region 2, while China, Russia and any remaining territories are lumped into Region 3.
New system will be used for pics and games including Sony PlayStation 3.
To thwart the use of all-region players, Blu-ray regional codes will be burned into the optical discs.
The rival HD DVD camp, led by Toshiba, will not use regional codes.
Decision to using a coding system emerged from talks between Advanced Access Content System members who belong to the Blu-ray Disc Assn. Warner Bros. reportedly opposed the system, citing the ineffectiveness of the current coding setup for conventional DVDs, but was outvoted.
Webmaster & Slave of GOREZONE. Your #1 source for bloody daily horror news. www.gorezone.net
Crazed Serial Killer
Posts: 4340
(10/5/06 7:29 am) Reply
Re: The official HD-DVD / Blu-Ray Thread
Yet ANOTHER strike against Blu-Ray. At this point it's almost like they're daring you to support their shitty product. To be honest, I'm almost ready to support HD-DVD just to help them win the format war and put the nails in the Blu-Ray coffin.
--DO NOT SUPPORT LIONSGATE AND GO OUT OF YOUR WAY TO PERSUADE OTHERS NOT TO EITHER--
Re: The official HD-DVD / Blu-Ray Thread
lets just boycott sony they've always believed in region coding. i saw fuck both formats until dvd is dead and one of them is the standard then i'll think about wasting 20 bucks on the player.
If you ever see me getting beaten by the police, put down the video camera and come help me!
Re: The official HD-DVD / Blu-Ray Thread
Sony has officially announced that Click will be their first 50GB Blu-ray Disc release next week, on 10/10. Black Hawk Down (on 11/14) and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (on 12/12) will also be 50GB dual-layered titles. As we expected, Click will include ALL the DVD bonus content in full 1080p high-definition. Black Hawk Down will include Blu-Wizard, which according to Sony is "a unique playlist technology which lets consumers customize the way they watch special features." The disc will include all of the audio commentaries that were on the 3-disc DVD version, along with the complete The Essence of Combat: Making Black Hawk Down documentary in standard definition (as it was originally shot). Talladega Nights will feature the unrated edition of the film and all of the DVD extras in high-definition (except the Sirius, Daytona 500, Nextel Cup and NASCAR TV spots).
Webmaster & Slave of GOREZONE. Your #1 source for bloody daily horror news. www.gorezone.net
Re: The official HD-DVD / Blu-Ray Thread
Universal has announced the HD-DVD release of Casino and The Scorpion King on 12/19. Casino will carry an SRP of $29.98. The Scorpion King will be an DVD/HD-DVD Combo disc and thus carry a slightly higher SRP of $34.98.
Webmaster & Slave of GOREZONE. Your #1 source for bloody daily horror news. www.gorezone.net
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