AfterDawn: News

HD-DVD gets a leg up with 300

The blockbuster action flick "300" looks to be on the cusp of putting to rest which format is superior in the HD-DVD/Blu-ray battle. Warner Home Video which holds the rights to the movie and offers its backing to both the HD-DVD and Blu-ray camps, has offered the movie in each format, only HD-DVD comes more feature laden than Blu-ray.

One of these features found only on the HD-DVD version is the inclusion of a bluescreen picture-in-picture version of the movie. Many may know that "300" was shot almost entirely in front of a bluescreen studio in Canada. This inclusion gives the user access to the RAW footage which appears to differ greatly from the finished product. Along with being able to visually compare the two shots at the same time, the viewer can also listen to an audio commentary by director Zack Snyder specifically designed for this feature.



The bluescreen feature can not be found on the Blu-ray version of the film not because Warner favors HD-DVD over Blu-ray. Its because the current manditory specifications on Blu-ray players do not include the ability for picture-in-picture video. As reported earlier, The Blu-ray Disc Association has mandated that all players manufacturered after October 31st of this year must support BD Java, which will then support picture-in-picture capabilities. The HD-DVD equivalent to this standard is HDi and has been enabled on all HD-DVD players for some time.

Another feature pointing out the differences in the two formats is the fact that recent revisions of HD-DVD hardware allow it to be Internet ready to receive online content for specific movie titles. "300" on HD-DVD will take advantage of this online content and let viewers browse and purchase movie related items such as ringtones and wallpapers.

Its not all sad news for the Blu-ray version of the movie as it does have one thing the HD-DVD does not. That is an additional uncompressed audio Track encoded to Linear PCM 5.1. This is a Blu-ray exclusive encoding and takes advantage of the 20Gb difference in storage that Blu-ray has over HD-DVD.

Source:
Daily Tech






Written by: Dave Horvath @ 3 Aug 2007 10:26

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• 21 comments

• hughjars

  Over-priced, unfinished and with sound that offers nothing Dolby HD doesn't offer.
  
  Oct brings the Blu-ray format 'profile 1.1' (and there are precious few players that comply to this requirement out now).
  Naturally they keep quiet about profile 2.0 etc etc.
  Like I said, unfinished. Unlike HD DVD.
  
  Sorry but I don't see anything in the BD corner to entice me & plenty to put me right off.
  
  Of course to begin with it's 'the industries' favourite......it's a DRM vehicle they adore.
  
  Hopefully the public will ignore it and it can s*d off and be a PS3 proprietary format......cos without the PS3 Blu-ray has nothing going for it at all.

  3.8.2007 10:38 #1

• swarmpack

  is it just me or does anyone else not care about the "special features".they could probally have better audio on-hd-dvd if they didnt have so much extra stuff on it.

  3.8.2007 10:46 #2

• plutonash

  Not really True HD is an exact copy of the studio Master so you cant get better with that. Also I normally dont care about Special Features but 300's is VERY GOOD on this aspect

  3.8.2007 10:53 #3

• rihgt682

  HD-DVD has more feat. and it's a lot cheaper than blu ray. I think i'll pick HD-DVD.

  3.8.2007 10:55 #4

• NexGen76

  non-issue.So i guess Blu-Ray got the leg up when it come to the movie,reason which people are buying it not extras.Would you rather have better audio in the movie or Bonus extra.No question give me the superior audio anyday.

  3.8.2007 10:58 #5

• poolpro

  I prefer HD-DVD because they seem to be ahead as far as pleasing the consumer.I also feel that HD-DVD looks better than Blu-Ray.Again this is only my opinion.

  3.8.2007 11:03 #6

• error5

  Quote:is it just me or does anyone else not care about the "special features"I sampled the blue screen HD PIP last night and it was interesting at first but after 10 - 15 minutes it becomes tiresome and distracts from the movie itself. As for the web-enabled do-it-yourself editing feature and downloadable (for a fee) wallpapers and ringtones - no thanks. Like Peter Bracke said on highdefdigest: "I can't wait until my HD DVD player starts to try selling me Harry Potter plush toys..."
  
  What the article failed to note is that the Standard Def Extras and Supplements are exactly the same on the HD DVD and BluRay versions.
  
  Quote:they could probally have better audio on-hd-dvd if they didnt have so much extra stuff on it. This another disc that will stir up the TrueHD vs PCM debate. Bottom line is on most mid to high level systems there should be little or no difference between the two.
  
  Note: The BluRay version has both PCM and TrueHD soundtracks (both at 48KHz/16-bit) so a direct A/B comparison should be possible. How about it eatsushi or dblbogey7?

  3.8.2007 11:07 #7

• jdmtsx

  Blu-ray Movie is cheaper
  
  Best Buy
  http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp;...c=Movies&ks=960
  
  
  Circuit City
  http://entertainment.circuitcity.com/Mov...id=WHV116285DVD

  3.8.2007 11:15 #8

• mrmcman

  Who wants bluescreen PIP? It takes away from the movie. Once Blu-Ray gets off the ground and starts having their dual-layer discs, they will be MUCH higher capacity than HD-DVD. Higher capacity, better audio. It may cost a little bit more, but so what? Most of us would rather spend an extra buck and get top-rate stuff than get a lower grade of HD.

  3.8.2007 11:18 #9

• Davedough

  Originally posted by jdmtsx: Blu-ray Movie is cheaper
  
  Best Buy
  http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp;...c=Movies&ks=960
  
  
  Circuit City
  http://entertainment.circuitcity.com/Mov...id=WHV116285DVDOnly because the HD-DVD version comes with a DVD version as well. BR only has the BR format packaged.

  3.8.2007 11:20 #10

• jdmtsx

  Quote:Originally posted by jdmtsx: Blu-ray Movie is cheaper
  
  Best Buy
  http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp;...c=Movies&ks=960
  
  
  Circuit City
  http://entertainment.circuitcity.com/Mov...id=WHV116285DVDOnly because the HD-DVD version comes with a DVD version as well. BR only has the BR format packaged.True... but why would you want to watch the movie in regular DVD format if you have it in HD?

  3.8.2007 11:22 #11

• nobrainer

  Originally posted by NexGen76: non-issue.So i guess Blu-Ray got the leg up when it come to the movie,reason which people are buying it not extras.Would you rather have better audio in the movie or Bonus extra.No question give me the superior audio anyday.the only need for blu-ray over hd-dvd is all the extras as a film and audio can easily fit onto 15gig with spare room

  3.8.2007 11:26 #12

• jcur31

  Quote:Quote:Originally posted by jdmtsx: Blu-ray Movie is cheaper
  
  Best Buy
  http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp;...c=Movies&ks=960
  
  
  Circuit City
  http://entertainment.circuitcity.com/Mov...id=WHV116285DVDOnly because the HD-DVD version comes with a DVD version as well. BR only has the BR format packaged.True... but why would you want to watch the movie in regular DVD format if you have it in HD?Most people might want to play the movie on there laptop or maybe watch it in the other room. I always enjoy getting both versions on the same disc, that means I am not limited to watching it in one room.

  3.8.2007 11:37 #13

• diabolos

  To reiterate, Dolby TrueHD (which is supported by all HD DVD players) is a good as Multi channel PCM. It just takes up less space like a Zip file. Dolby TrueHD is a "Lossless" audio compression codec.
  
  WB included a M-PCM track on the Blu-Ray version because it would have been a wast of space no to. Plus it allows audiophiles the ability to test M-PCM vs Doby TrueHD to compare AQ.
  
  Ced

  3.8.2007 12:15 #14

• arcanix

  I couldn't care less about the bonus features. If the disc has the movie, then I'm happy with it.

  3.8.2007 12:46 #15

• vinny13

  Originally posted by arcanix: I couldn't care less about the bonus features. If the disc has the movie, then I'm happy with it.I agree. I don't even like 300 altogether

  3.8.2007 15:22 #16

• c1c

  I am a graphic designer / 3d animator. The blue screen addition for HD DVD sounds really cool. I can have the ability to create my own special effects with post production software as well as 3d software. This is a great tool for students or anyone who is interested in special effects for movies. I can take the characters and superimpose them on my own digital world. Reminds me of Star Wars Kid hehe.

  3.8.2007 17:06 #17

• DXR88

  you wouldnt even be abil to tell the defference in audio quality anyway. you would have to own your on studio sound enhancment equip- ment witch the cheapest would run you an extra $3000. wehther its compressed on disk dosn't mater much because it compressed before it ever leaves the player

  3.8.2007 22:46 #18

• phill2000

  Originally posted by DXR88: you wouldnt even be abil to tell the defference in audio quality anyway. you would have to own your on studio sound enhancment equip- ment witch the cheapest would run you an extra $3000. wehther its compressed on disk dosn't mater much because it compressed before it ever leaves the playerAm I right in thinking that even if its uncompressed (in lossy compression methods), you lose quality in the compressing (encoding) stage. They remove the information that they "think" we wont hear, creating more space.
  
  With the lossless compression methods (Dolby TrueHD) the compression algorithms are so advanced, the resulting output is very close to the original input.
  
  So in response to your statement, yes the audio would be uncompressed as your hear it (leaving the player as you say) but won't be any better in quality if it was encoded in a lossless format.
  
  
  Originally posted by c1c: I am a graphic designer / 3d animator. The blue screen addition for HD DVD sounds really cool. I can have the ability to create my own special effects with post production software as well as 3d software. This is a great tool for students or anyone who is interested in special effects for movies. I can take the characters and superimpose them on my own digital world. Reminds me of Star Wars Kid hehe.I'm sure you dont wanna be posting with your intention to use footage on a DRM managed HD-DVD / Blu-Ray disc??.....
  
  I'm sure the film companies wouldn't appreciate that ;o)

  4.8.2007 14:49 #19

• dblbogey7

  Originally posted by error5: Note: The BluRay version has both PCM and TrueHD soundtracks (both at 48KHz/16-bit) so a direct A/B comparison should be possible. How about it eatsushi or dblbogey7?Do you realize you made me drive 30 miles so I can borrow a friend's BluRay copy? LOL!
  
  Anyway I did the A/B comparison and I would say it's a tie with respect to quality. PCM just sounds a little louder so I had to make a minimal adjustment to the master volume. (My gear: Toshiba XA2/Panny DMP-BD10/Rotel RSP-1098/Rotel RMB-1095/B&W 800 Series. The players were connected by 5.1 analogs.)

  5.8.2007 16:36 #20

• morguex

  I have a HD-DvD player and I would not waste 34.99 on this movie on HD-DvD or Blu-Ray for that matter, Please don;t yell at me, but this in one of those movies you can watch once or twice and thats it. I saw it in the theaters. I've read reviews on 300 and it's not all that good on HD-DvD or Blu-Ray (video wise).
  So to spend 34.99 on a HD-DvD or Blu-Ray version when you can get a regular DvD for about 19.99, seems like a waste to me.
  But hey thats just my opinion.

  7.8.2007 12:54 #21