HD DVD and Blu-ray releases on December 11th, 2007
By Ben Drawbaugh 
posted December 10th 2007 2:45PM
posted December 10th 2007 2:45PM
This is the week that we've been waiting for. No, it's not because we just love Harry, it's because we can't wait to see how the red version of Harry sells against the blu. Why? Because, the HD DVD edition isn't free (like 300) and with all the stand-alone HD DVD players to hit the street recently, we think it's got the best chance yet of out selling blu. But Harry isn't the only big title this week, as Blu-ray has High School Musical 2 and Lost: The complete Third Season. Meanwhile, HD DVD has a huge title in the way of The Bourne Ultimatum. December doesn't have many more blockbuster titles, but there are a few in the coming weeks including the Simpsons Movie, as well as Rush Hour 3.HD DVD 355 vs Blu-ray 388*
Blu-ray
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Warner)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Warner)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Warner)
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Warner)
- Harry Potter Years 1-5 Giftset (Warner)
- High School Musical 2 (Walt Disney)
- The Legend of Zorro (Sony)
- Lost: The Complete Third Season (Disney)
- Rent (Sony)
- SOS! Tokyo Metro Explorers: The Next (Bandai Visual)
- The Bourne Ultimatum (Universal)
- Freedom: 3 (Bandai Visual)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Warner)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Warner)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Warner)
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Warner)
- Harry Potter Years 1-5 Giftset (Warner)
- Picture This (Ally Distribution)
* Blu-ray total does not reflect 32 Paramount titles that were previously available.
Let the Harry Potter buying begin!
I recently told my wife that my self-gratifying, technology splurge was done for now. With these Harry Potter releases, I'm going to have to suspend that. :)
I'm asking for HP for Christmas so my copy will probably not get purchased in the 1st week available.
Led Zeppelin was just cancelled. No further release date given. Was already delayed once.
Crappy.
I don't see people who buy $99. HD-DVD players purchasing $110. Harry Potter gift sets... maybe it's just me...
It's just you because I have a 99 dollar A2 and I'm giddy like a little school girl about Potter. I think it's an immensely imaginative story, and I can't wait for it and the new installment. The wife is at least as excited.
I'll get Bourne too, but that shaky camera thing really annoyed me. My wife really hasn't seen it yet because she was pregnant and the people that came to the movie from a fish fry made her sick.
@SRBaker:
You know, I'm really getting sick and tired of this bullsh!t class warfare that people like you and h4ldol seem to revel in -- this smug superiority that if you buy on the cheap you're *obviously* not really serious about high def.
Yeah, I only jumped into the HDM arena when I got that $98 HD DVD offer at Wal-Mart. (Guess I'm just a Joe Six-Pack now, eh?) If BD players ever get to the sub-$200 range, I'll be grabbing one of those, too. But now that I have a high def player, I'm going to use it! I also happen to be a big Harry Potter fan and I plan on buying the HD DVD gift set.
This attitude of yours and h4ldol's that EVERYONE has to put the same value on a high-def player that you two do is not only pissing me off to no extent, but it's also completely WRONG! However, I will be more than happy to mutter a few choice words under my breath to you and h4ldol as the HP HD DVD gift set crosses the barcode scanner. Oh, by all means please DO forgive me if I would rather spend the $400 difference between a Wal-Mart, fire sale HD DVD and a decent PS3 on something other than a PS3. I do so beg forgiveness that my value for a BD player differs from yours.
Why, yes, I just so happen to be pissed off at the elitism I see in this place. Why do you ask?
When the hell is Gladiator or Braveheart coming out!?
FREEEEEDOOOOOOMMMMM!
according to high def digest charts, top 10 hd dvd vs top 10 blu ray are neck and neck... and wouldn't we be suprised that harry potter is in the top 10 for both, along with bourne and live free or die hard... intresting week... thanks to a blu-ray bogo sale, top 100 looks crazy, but retailers other than amazon have limited bogo titles, making this an intresting week... idk... high school musical does look like a kids only purchase, whereas bourne is one of the best action movies of all time... I call it 50/50 with hp selling 50/50 hd to blu.
I just wish someone would win this damn thing all together so I can be confident in my purchase!
Oh or what about Bad Boys 1 or 2 and The Rock, some good action flicks there...
"Gentlemen, start your (flame) engines!"
150-comment thread comin' right up!
Paul, we wouldn't even HAVE "(flame) engines" if the elitist snobs on both sides would do the world a favor and shut the hell up.
I agree with John, just because I bought in to HD-DVD in no way means I am a hobo or whatever you think we are. I think it means we are more careful with money and don't jump at the opportunity to buy a $500 player than a few years from now is not 100% sure to be supported. I have all the best High Def TV and Audio gear I could afford (as a college student) and I wanted to take it the next step by going to HD Media. HD-DVD at $99 was an easy first step in. And actually, I think us "Joe-six pack" people are much more willing to purchase disks, because they only spent $99, thats almost $400 in DVDs had we Bought Blu-Ray. So how about we change this view to people who don't want to waste their hard earned money on what could become a doorstop. And like John up there said, if Blue-ray gets a sub $200 player, I would probably not hesitate to buy one.
Guys guys, lay off of SRBaker. He was an early adopter and overpaid tremendously on his rig so he feels the need to put down other people to feel better about himself.
Most likely it's h4ldol (or a supporter). Of all of the BD elists on this site, h4ldol is the one who's always using financial means as a scale for whether or not someone should be deemed a high-def supporter or not. According to his profile, the account was just created today.
I know it was made way back in the 20th Century, but some of us old farts are very happy getting "Blade Runner" in 5 different versions for less than $30. A bargain if there ever was one.
I don't know why its not hard to equate that those that are willing to overspend on a player are more willing to buy more titles. If you were really budget conscience, you would be doing what I am. Get both players and a netflix account. Otherwise, your entire library could become obsolete.
Me too. I reopened my Netflix account specifically to rent both HD formats.
Actually, it is most likely a zealot troll from that cesspool Blu-ray.com.
They like to call to arms all of their drones (FUD spreading idiots) to flood sites anytime HD-DVD is mentioned in any kind of light, good or bad.
definately a good week for analysis. for what it's worth, i was in wal-mart last weekend running some errands and they goofed and put out the kiosks for the harry potter films. there were tons of blu-ray version, but the standard and hd version looked pretty bare.
This is what I worry about - retail buyers who are drinking the Blu-ray kool-aid refusing to order enough HD DVD versions. If the HD DVD sells out nationwide, and there were more BDs available, then of course the BD will still win the sales numbers if the HD discs weren't available to buy.
Its really hard for your library to become obsolete. If you own the titles and the player, those DVD's will never be "Obsolete" YOU will always still be able to play them. I mean, if you still have a huge collection of VHS's and a VCR, is your VHS collection really obsolete? I mean, you can still play them right? I mean, you can argue that the technology is obsolete, bt you get where I am coming from I hope.
You have to think more along the lines of a laser disc collection as opposed to a VHS collection. Would you want a large collection of laser discs right now? I guess no one would ask to borrow a movie from ya at least...
This article asserts that this week might be one where red outsells blu on the same title, and I don't see that happening based on what we know about mass influx of $99. players. I'm certainly not implying that everyone who shops at Walmart is a "hobo" – what I'm saying is that a player sold at $99. is more likely to be an impulse purchase. Or perhaps more likely, a second player, and I don't see that shifting the balance on more copies sold of a particular title in the grand scheme of things. No one on this forum is representative of the public at large, so I don't see the anecdotes here representing the masses, and isn't that what we're trying to predict? The actions of the masses? Allegations of class warfare and elitism on my part are baseless. I haven't commented in weeks but next time I'll be sure to be less flip about it. And for the record, I would have purchased the cheaper player if it was the one I wanted. Waiting 9 months for the first true blu-ray player to come out in '06 was painful, I assure you.
You also forgot to add the Girls Gone Wild being released. I know 100% sure on HD DVD did not check on Blu Ray. Finally something nude in true hd, lol!!
@ Joe
Really? I'll look forward to that.
And btw, you get internet access in prison? No wonder so many people don't mind being locked up anymore. Internet, PS3's, cable TV, free food, and shelter; that's not a bad deal if you can get over the gay sex part.
Yup, GGW is dual-format:
bluray:
http://www.amazon.com/Girls-Gone-Wild-Sexiest-Moments/dp/B000YGORFY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1197339010&sr=8-1
and hd-dvd:
http://www.amazon.com/Girls-Gone-Wild-Sexiest-Moments/dp/B000YGORG8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1197338991&sr=8-1
both are $16.95 at amazon.
yup, the a Girls Gone Wild feature will be on both BluRay and HD-DVD. Amazon's got both for $16.95 now.
LMAO
My Led Zeppelin HD DVD wasn't delayed or cancelled.
Hmmm, can anyone guess what Warner are up to?
LMAO.
Go on, tell us that funny one about the Blu-ray supporting studio exec starting off those Warner rumours, again.
No, no, no.....they are......really.
That's why they've started canning Blu-ray releases.
Hilarious.
You are aware there are adult movies already available on HD DVD? There is a thread just on adult HD DVD at avs forums. Can even watch some prev at the studis sites.
High School Musical 2 on blue ray. Format war is over
"High School Musical 2 on blue ray. Format war is over"
NOPE...Paramount has the rights to Grease 2...HD DVD wins
Sorry HD DVD fanboys if the truth hurts, but the fact is that people who can only afford to buy $100 players, whether they be "frugal not-so-early adopters" or upwardly mobile Joe 6-packs, are just not going to buy the relatively expensive HDM that the studios are so concerned about. That is the downfall of HD DVD, and why the massive walmart firesale of noisy, clunky 1080i cheapies will not have the hoped for effect of increasing HDM sales to narrow the embarrassingly wide gap between blu-ray and HD DVD. You all know this to be true, you are just unwilling to accept it. With Warner's blu-ray exclusivity announcement forthcoming at the 2008 CES in January, it's no surprise that HD DVD fanboys are in such a panic these days. Hey, I'm dual-format, but I look forward to the day when HDM becomes unified and hence, strengthened and its prospects brightened, by the adoption of a single and superior format... blu-ray of course.
we will see wont we.
"With Warner's blu-ray exclusivity announcement forthcoming at the 2008 CES in January, it's no surprise that HD DVD fanboys are in such a panic these days."
Strange, I read rumors they are going HD DVD exclusive.
I bet they release how HP out sold 300 as the top selling HD movie and supporting both formats is the way all studios should go. The HD DVD owners will agree and embrace equal support and blue ray owners will cry they can't compete without their exclusives.
Go engage in self-fornication and STFU.
I'm guessing SRBaker has never bought first-party printer ink cartridges.
This bears repeating:
(http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/the-state-of-hd-dvd/the-state-of-hd-dvd-330684.php)
"When I compared Warner's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix discs, the Blu-ray edition in a PS3 and the HD DVD in an Xbox 360, the differences were startling. Never mind that the HD DVD has an entire online component that the Blu-ray can't yet implement, with features such as mobile downloads and user-organized live screenings. Never mind that you could watch the entire HD DVD with pop-up actor-commentary windows on screen—if Warner had implemented this in the Harry Potter Blu-ray, it would have been compatible with exactly one currently shipping Blu-ray player.
The surprising thing was, even when you compared the exact same experiences, the HD DVD behaved much better. Every so often an icon appears in the top left corner of the screen, indicating a behind-the-scenes featurette about that particular scene. On the HD DVD, you click it, watch what you want to, then click Enter again to return to the point you left off in the main movie. With the Blu-ray, the system had no way of returning you to the movie; it could only dump you in the featurette menu, where you were stuck watching more of those. Sure, these problems could be Warner's programmers, and not a format issue, but Warner is going for as similar an experience on both, and it clearly can't do everything on Blu-ray that it can on HD DVD. "
Oh NO! High School Musical 2, it's all over now. The biggest movie for the target PS3 demographic, thus Blu-ray.
Ok why is dvdempire saying the led zeppelin blu ray is in stock and shipping?
If Warner wanted they could've added downloadable content via the website or over the internet for Blu-Ray if they wanted to.
The fact of the matter is that is in most aspects the PS3 is closer than the stand alones when you bring up Profile 2.0 talk.
And being that majority of the Blu-Ray players are PS3's im surprised studios haven't took advantage of this and taken one of the bonuses that HD-DVD currently offers and makes the same type of content available.
@Kevin Murphy
Sorry, if I wanted to read tainted crap which twists facts round to suit it's purpose then I would go to www.campaignhd.com and bath in its self congratulating amount of overwhelming FUD.
Truth Teller, you DO realize the HD DVD version has also been delayed,
right??
http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/1024/songremainsthesame.html
@noob
No, Truth Teller is too busy self congratulating himself with his childish one-upmanship after tying the delay of one movie in with the imminent departure of a studio.
...In his own head of course