Warner officially announces Total Hi Def hybrid disc
By Richard Lawler 
posted Jan 9th 2007 10:04PM
posted Jan 9th 2007 10:04PM
Warner Home Video's press conference concerning the Total Hi Def disc that has HD DVD and Blu-ray all on one disc is currently ongoing, and it has stated that the discs are able to contain dual layers of both HD DVD and Blu-ray on one disc. The first Total Hi Def releases will hit in the second half of this year, but no specific titles have yet been announced. At the conference, Warner used a copy of Superman to show off how it worked in an HD DVD player, Blu-ray player, and the recently announced LG Super Multi player that plays either. Finally, Warner claims it will not cost "materially" more than a regular disc. At the conference, already an exec from Best Buy has come out in support of the format, but whether or not other studios would ever pick up on Total Hi Def releases is still unknown, although Warner claims they would not have to pay any licensing fees to Warner for using it. For more information, check out our live coverage of the Warner Home Video press event.
All this hybrid stuff sure is making a mess of things.
Toshiba needs to cut prices deep even if they loose money to get going.
As far as hybrids are concerned...will this disk make it more likely to see studios that support just 1 side to release the movie on this and give both formats the movie...or is this really just going to be used by the studios that already release for both HD DVD and Blu Ray?
While I somewhat agree with the above post. This is the best for the end consumer. If they can keep these prices down I think people would warm up to this over a $1200 duel format player.
JUST END THE FORMAT WAR NOW! I WANT MY HD movies.
Am I the only one that thinks this is a FANTASTIC idea? Especially w/ major retailers getting behind this!! Seems like a big "DUH" to me! If Warner can do this, and it costs minimally more, why won't it work! I can understand some studios resisting at first because of political reasons, but money talks in a capitalist system!!
If it works well, and Warner is charging $0 for royalties, I would think it would be a no brainer for studios supporting both, followed later by studios currently supporting one or the other!!
This is groundbreaking to me!! If it works, it makes no difference which player you buy! You can choose based on features, price, looks, etc. - the way it should be in a capitalist system!!!
Am I missing something???
If this is supported by all studios then this would be great... I can play the new Bond movie on its hybrid disc on the HD DVD player through my XBOX 360 I got for $160 from CC with the $40 coupon.
Dumb idea. If anything, it's LG's hybrid player that will help decide the format "war". Unfortunately, the stats and polls show that as far as this "war" goes, the war is over. HD DVD sales outnumber Blu-ray 3 to 1. We don't need a hybrid disc! We need more studio support.
I feel sorry for Blu-ray supporters who will end up with obsolete discs and players.
Just like this one.
Um...I'm sorry Tauron...
I think maybe you're living in the Bizzaro world. Or maybe, you just haven't been checking the dates of the articles you're looking at...
Here are some more recent (Jan. 07) articles for you. Truth is, I've been seeing so many of these articles in the past couple of weeks, I personally couldn't give a s#!t anymore. I just quickly scanned and grabbed a couple for your education.
So here you go...Time to get your ejibicasion(^_^)b
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/02/05/ps3-driving-blu-ray-movie-sales-outpacing-hd-dvd/
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Toshiba-Calls-for-an-Amnesty-in-the-Blu-ray-vs-HD-DVD-War-28106.shtml
Now, if those aren't current enough, please check if you may, this last one:
http://www.eproductwars.com/dvd/
It's the format wars updated every 15 minutes.
While it's true that in some areas, the margins are too close to make any kind of definitive statement, it's clear that in other areas, one of these formats is definitely getting blasted.
Also, please notice down the left hand column in every section. It tells you who the current leader is. If you look at the graph, you can see how long it has enjoyed that lead.
It also shows you the current numbers for both Blu-ray and HD DVD sales in each category.
But what you should remember when looking at these numbers, is that they are cumulative, and that if one of these formats launched sooo long before the other, is it really gaining ground, or is it maybe the other way around?
If you want, I got that last link from this forum.
Actually, now that I'm looking, these posts do seem to support your claim that...ah!!!
...Look at those dates.
I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say (@_@;)
Now, I'm not gonna say that I'm right and you're wrong. I surely have not checked every site out there. I'm sure there are still plenty of claims coming from both sides. I'm not an analyst (never noticed the spelling of that word b4. is that right???), nor do I pretend to be. But if you're gonna make such bold "I know all there is to know about everything!" statements, at least have something to show for it instead of spittin' it out so damn blindly. It just makes you look like a fool...
S#!t, how cute! You're just like my little cousin (^o^;)
[edit] Damn! Only 3 URL's on this post (>_
I think the real question is will there be any loss of quality on these "Total" HD discs? Looking at the back of the box screen shot, I also wonder about the fact that only the HD-DVD version supports HD Dolby Digital sound formats, and there is no mention of DTS support. Other than that, if the quality is there, I think it's a good idea in that a) it can get Hi-Def movies into more homes more quickly and b) it enables companies to make just one version of the product, although given the absurd propensity to release pointless "special edition" DVDs, that might be a moot point.
ok so kinda a neat idea but........... who cares. This really isn't a revolutionary idea because REAL techno geeks have both. My question is will it cost more for the disc????? The big deal is you can't watch a blu ray and an HDDVD at the same time so is this really neccassary?
Well the majority of the consuming population aren't "techno geeks," so they are more than likely to have only one of the new format players.. I am curious to see which of the formats will have the better picture and sound quality on the newest players from both camps (as apparently hd-dvd has a superior picture quality due to more advanced codecs"
Correct me if I'm wrong but, You can use the same codecs on each disc, its just a matter of size and stuff like that.
Adding to my above comment, I think it is a very cool idea to think that you could take your hybrid disc from your home (which has an hd-dvd player), to a buddies home (who owns say a blu ray player.) Its the ultimate in compatibility.
Please HD gods! Choose a format for us that will stick! I don't care which one, just make it ONE so we don't all waste our money one way or another.
About the format war: it's simple. As long as there's no winner I won't buy any player at all. Unfortunate maybe, but I don't want to end up with films AND a player wirth nothing...
no no you are completely correct about the same codecs possibly being used on both discs, but apparently from what ive read on the reviews of blu ray titles, most blu ray movies that have been released are on the older mpeg-2 format while all of the hd dvd titles are in vc-1 (which apparently is better).. i am wanting to see a feature running on blu ray and hd dvd (apples to apples) so the comparison can be easier made.
i'm going w/anything that supports porn
I also wonder what would happen if you put this thing in that hybrid player by LG.. i mean most drives pick up if its a cd, dvd, hd-dvd etc. but this thing is both. I mean if its blu-ray on one side and hddvd on the other than it would make sense but if both are on the same side it would give that LG player some hell trying to figure out what it was.
And i am completely with you boofray
I would like to see a display in BestBuy (or anywhere for that matter) of a PS3 and an Xbox360 running thier HD movies on two identical TV's side by side and let the consumers decide for themselves whether there is a difference.
Toshiba can't cut prices more than they already are. They are already taking a huge loss on HD-DVD just to try to beat Blu-Ray in sales. In reality, both technologies cost about the same and would sell for the same price. But Toshiba is taking the loss in hopes of winning the war which has already been won by Blu-Ray.
To the person that said HD is outselling Blu-Ray, apparently you've forgotten about the PS3 which has sold millions. If you actually look at the numbers, Blu-Ray is outselling HD-DVD and has more and better supporters.
sorry, I had to cut out some of the links on the last post, including the link to that forum...
oh well, trust me, it was old (^o^)
Hello CrazedFiend (your user name suits you),
Thanks for the links. I checked a couple out and I see what you're saying. However, I never made any ' I know all there is to know about everything!' statements. I based my statement on stats and polls which were current at the time I wrote the original comment, which you have taken such exception to.
As far as your other comments are concerned...I will not comment. I prefer to communicate with grown-ups.
What really get's to me is Best Buy (My local store anyway)has HD-DVD players on the shelves not connected to any display but carries more HD-DVD titles on their sheves but they have Blu Ray connected to a display with fewer titles on the shelf. It isn't fair to the consumer who would like to make a sound decision which format to go with Best Buy if you are reading this make it a fair game for consumers DISPLAY BOTH FORMATS!for comparison.