AfterDawn: News

New sale on Blu-ray and HD DVD

In probably the largest next-gen disc sale to date, Amazon is offering up to 57 percent off on over 300 HD DVD and Blu-ray titles.

The promotions were both launched today by the e-tailer and will include 229 Blu-ray films and 84 HD DVD titles. Among the Blu-ray movies are such blockbusters as 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind,' 'Spider-Man - The High Definition Trilogy,' 'Superbad' and 'Casino Royale'. You can view the full list here at Amazon.



The HD DVD titles available will include hits such as 'Transformers,' 'Stardust' and 'Serenity'. You can view the whole list here at Amazon.

Both promotions are "limited time offers" so it may be good to check the deals out soon.

Source:
HD Digest

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Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Jan 2008 18:00

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• 17 comments

• nobrainer

  at last a more sensible price! only available to the US though so no cheap Blu-Ray to the UK because of region coding but can still import Hd-DvD. tsk...
  

  The BPI Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI.
  
  The RIAA Soundexchange Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI.
  
  The MPAA Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, DISNEY, PARAMOUNT, FOX.

  13.1.2008 18:22 #1

• error5

  A lot of Region A (US) BluRay titles are playable in Region B (UK and EU) players. For a well-maintained list see:
  
  http://bluray.liesinc.net/#bruk

  13.1.2008 18:37 #2

• atomicxl

  This won't help the DVD vs HD war as much as a having a sale on Blu-Ray PLAYERS would.

  14.1.2008 00:01 #3

• domie

  Originally posted by nobrainer: at last a more sensible price! only available to the US though so no cheap Blu-Ray to the UK because of region coding but can still import Hd-DvD. tsk...Have you looked at the details of blu ray titles in the US ? About 70 % or more of blu ray discs in the states are region ABC so they can be played anywhere in the world. I would like it to be higher but there it is.
  
  I think it's worse in the UK where making region free discs is less common.

  14.1.2008 06:42 #4

• nobrainer

  Originally posted by domie : Originally posted by nobrainer: at last a more sensible price! only available to the US though so no cheap Blu-Ray to the UK because of region coding but can still import Hd-DvD. tsk...Have you looked at the details of blu ray titles in the US ? About 70 % or more of blu ray discs in the states are region ABC so they can be played anywhere in the world. I would like it to be higher but there it is.
  
  I think it's worse in the UK where making region free discs is less common.It was done to help the uptake of Drm-Ray because a Hd-DvD feature was no region codes, ever!

  14.1.2008 07:14 #5

• hughjars

  HD DVD players (the HD A3 & HD A30) are back @ number 1 & 2 in the Amazon USA best sellers charts (for all DVD players).
  
  Universal (despite the claims of the Blu-ray fanclub that they are now out of contract with HD DVD) are staying with HD DVD
  and
  Paramount (despite the Blu-ray fanclub claiming they had an escape clause if Warner took the money & ran) are sticking with HD DVD too.
  
  That means lots of good reasons to stick with HD DVD in 2008.
  
  Blu-ray isn't even worth looking at until they finalise the spec anyway.
  Anyone with a 'profile 1.0' & 'profile 1.1' player
  (ie everyone......with the possible exception of the PS3)
  can look forward to either serious problems when 'profile 2.0' discs appear or buying again.

  14.1.2008 09:59 #6

• error5

  Originally posted by hughjars: HD DVD players (the HD A3 & HD A30) are back @ number 1 & 2 in the Amazon USA best sellers charts (for all DVD players).You forgot to mention that Toshiba is selling these players are markedly reduced prices. The A3 is $130, the A30 is $170, and the A35 is $270. The fire sale has started. Obviously they're trying to get rid of their current stock. I think they're already looking forward to a 4th gen dual-format player.
  
  Quote:Universal (despite the claims of the Blu-ray fanclub that they are now out of contract with HD DVD) are staying with HD DVD
  and
  Paramount (despite the Blu-ray fanclub claiming they had an escape clause if Warner took the money & ran) are sticking with HD DVD too.They were also very equivocal in their statements clearly avoiding the word "EXCLUSIVE." How hard could it be for them to include that word in their statement? If Universal did renew their exclusivity contract, wouldn't we be hearing about it by now?
  
  Quote:That means lots of good reasons to stick with HD DVD in 2008.Not when 70% or more of future high def releases will no longer be plyable in your HD DVD player. The German pipeline for imports is also reported to be drying up with the recent announcement from Constantin Film.
  
  http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/613330
  
  Can France and the UK be far behind?
  
  Quote:Blu-ray isn't even worth looking at until they finalise the spec anyway.Like juankerr pointed out in a different thread, the HD DVD implementation hasn't been perfect either with the PiP audio problems when using bitstream transmission.
  
  Besides, how long can we expect these online features to last in the studios' servers? Will I still be able to access the web-enabled features in the Transformers disc say 5 or even 10 years down the line? Will they even be relevant then?

  14.1.2008 10:29 #7

• nobrainer

  @ hughjars
  
  thi will help the Drm-ray sales i bet!
  
  Blu-ray future limited for some
  Originally posted by BBC Link: Owners of Blu-ray DVD players may find themselves frozen out of future developments in the technology because their machines are not upgradeable.
  
  The Blu-ray camp has recently rolled out new features for players, which include picture in picture options.
  
  But the majority of Blu-ray players sold to date do not have the necessary hardware to offer the features. This is even better!
  
  
  CES Trend #1: If the format war is over, what has Blu-ray really won?
  
  Originally posted by hyperlink: But ideally, technology wars should be decided on the sole basis of a product's ability to meet the need of its users. And here, Blu-ray and HD DVD each have their advantages and disadvantages.
  
  Blu-ray, for example, is now in the throes of moving from Profile 1.0 to the incompatible Profile 1.1 to Profile 2.0, a format which is expected to introduce still further incompatibilities.
  
  And although Sony and its partners stand to pick up additional revenues from users who decide to upgrade to newer Blu-ray drives, there's every possibility that some of them might migrate over to the HD DVD side, too.
  
  Moreover, Blu-ray products are reportedly more costly to make than those that follow the HD DVD format -- and in many cases today, the price of a Playstation doesn't even cover Sony's manufacturing costs.
  
  So if Blu-ray is in fact going to win the war, it'd really better happen fast, to prevent the kind of price erosion that might interfere drastically with production and profitability.
  
  Blu-ray: Early adopters knew what they were getting into
  Originally posted by linky: Blu-ray may have taken a commanding lead in the next-generation format war, but the group has a big problem looming: early supporters of the format will be left out in the cold when the Blu-ray Disc Association introduces BD Profile 2.0
  
  Unlike HD DVD, which mandated features such as local storage, a second video and audio decoder for picture-in-picture, and a network connection from the very beginning, the companies behind Blu-ray took a different approach. Initial hardware players lacked these capabilities in order to keep costs down.
  
  In addition, the BD-J interactivity layer, based on Java, has continued to evolve since the introduction of Blu-ray Profile 1.0. This means that early players may have a buggy implementation and perhaps more importantly, they are not powerful enough to play the latest films properly.
  
  When BetaNews asked developers of BD Live whether they were concerned about a backlash from early adopters who supported the format from the beginning, we were told: "They knew what they were getting into."
  
  When BetaNews asked why these manufacturers rushed out players that were not fully capable and potentially buggy due to their BD-J implementation, the Blu-ray partner pointed blame across the room to HD DVD. "We should have waited another year to introduce Blu-ray to the public, but the format war changed the situation," he said. HD DVD was already coming and the BDA had no choice but to launch Blu-ray.
  so basically if your purchase Drm-ray player sub 2.0 it might not work in the future when another ver arrives and the great quote "They knew what they were getting into" will be said again OMG........
  
  

  The BPI Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI.
  
  The RIAA Soundexchange Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI.
  
  The MPAA Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, DISNEY, PARAMOUNT, FOX.

  14.1.2008 11:13 #8

• hughjars

  Exactly nobrainer.
  
  But this time you'll not hear a peep out of all those Blu-ray fans who spent so long supposedly crying their eyes out over whether on not the relative handful of 1st gen HD A1 owners were going to have problems using the 3rd layer of the 51gb TL HD DVD discs.
  
  Hypocrites.
  
  I see that todays joint Toshiba, Universal & Paramount move is being described as a fire-sale.
  Predictable if not original........and no nearer to all those claims regarding Universal & paramount going Blu.
  
  Error5
  
  I have never seen Constantine in Germany as a source for getting Blu-ray movies on HD DVD.
  
  It was Kinowelt & Highlight that had the connections to Blu-ray studios.
  
  Highlight are connected to Fox (the Fantastic Four movies come to HD DVD via this route) and Kinoweld are connected to Lionsgate (the Saw movies come to HD DVD via this route).

  14.1.2008 13:33 #9

• OhCrap

  @ hughjars
  
  Dude you have no ground left to stand on, you got it wrong so many times this past week it's unbelievable. Quit talking about that worthless A3 player, that piece of crap won't even output a 1080p resolution anyways.

  14.1.2008 14:26 #10

• juankerr

  It's disturbing that the current marketing campaign by Toshiba is emphasizing upconversion.
  
  http://www.dvdtown.com/news/toshiba-depl...g-campaign/5120
  
  Have they finally given up on HD media? Have they realized that future releases on HD DVD will likely trickle to a slow drip? If you look at the list of future releases you can't help but be discouraged.
  
  http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/releasedates.html
  
  For the next 4 months the only new releases from Universal are Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Fletch (a 1985 Chevy Chase movie.) Two other Universal titles are re-issued formerly combo discs. At least Paramount/Dreamworks has Beowulf and Bee Movie. However, you can't really sustain a format's growth and financial viability on just these few releases. Their non-announcement of any new titles speaks volumes and only serves to fuel speculation.
  
  The fact remains that any new adopter buying into HD DVD at this time is buying into an uncertain future.

  14.1.2008 15:12 #11

• banned2X

  Price difference between this one...........
  
  
  Model Number: BDP-S2000ES
  ES Series Blu-ray Disc™ Player
  
  Experience Sony's flagship Blu-ray Disc™ player, with astounding audio enhancements and vibration-reduction that deliver phenomenal results in a rock-solid design.
  
  5 Blu-ray Disc™ movies by mail with purchase. Learn more.
  
  See Details
  
  Compare
  
  Research and Learn
  
  $1,299.99
  As low as $41.00/month**
  Add to Wishlist
  BDP-S500
  Model Number: BDP-S500
  
  
  ....................and every other one is simply this: The others come with 1 year warranty and this one comes with Five (5). Now who and the HELL would pay an extra 700.00 bucks for that crap? (700 is the difference between this one and the next level below with NO OTHER DIFFERENCES ACCORDING TO SONY WEBSITE). Scam!! Scam!! Scam!!

  14.1.2008 17:33 #12

• hughjars

  Originally posted by OhCrap: @ hughjars
  
  Dude you have no ground left to stand on, you got it wrong so many times this past week it's unbelievable. - Wrong about what?
  
  I was right about Warner actually.....right up until the pro-Blu-ray WB CEO & a handful on the board went against what the WB board thought had been decided and took the Sony money.
  
  Until that moment Warner were set to announce going HD DVD exclusive on the Friday morning.
  
  Maybe you missed that but those in the know know that was what was scheduled to happen.
  
  Those who claim to have been right all along have only guessed cos right up until it happened the only 'knowable' facts were that they were going HD DVD.
  
  Originally posted by OhCrap: Quit talking about that worthless A3 player, that piece of crap won't even output a 1080p resolution anyways. - .....and if you have (like the overwhelming majority of HD TV owners have) a 720p/1080i HD TV why should they care about this?
  
  If you own an HD TV 32" - 50" (like the overwhelming majority of HD TV owners have) and want a player to upscale SD DVD why should you care about that?
  
  Why should anyone buy a regular upscaling SD DVD player instead of the HD A3?
  
  If you don't want to spend $400+ on high def why shouldn't people look at the HD A3?
  
  If 1080p (and 1080p/24) are a big deal to you you can always go for the Toshiba HD A30 which is now $170.
  
  With (including imports) 430+ titles to choose from as well as the vast SD DVD catalogue to select from to upscale why not?
  
  I'd love to hear your reasoning behind slamming this player.
  
  Originally posted by juankerr: It's disturbing that the current marketing campaign by Toshiba is emphasizing upconversion. - There's nothing in the least bit "disturbing" about it.
  
  It's a great card to play.
  
  The Toshiba HD A3 renders almost every other upscaling SD DVD player pointless.
  
  It's a 'card' they should have been playing long ago.
  
  But with Universal & Paramount reducing movie prices it's all good.
  
  I'm glad to see them fighting back so well.
  
  That upconversion line is one that will play very very well in the mainstream mass-market -
  the Toshiba HD A3 & HD A30 are currently numbers 1 & 2 in the Amazon USA best sellers list with the HD A35 at number 7.
  
  This is far from over.

  14.1.2008 19:14 #13

• error5

  Originally posted by hughjars: There's nothing in the least bit "disturbing" about it.
  It's a great card to play.
  The Toshiba HD A3 renders almost every other upscaling SD DVD player pointless.They should change their tagline to:
  
  The Look and Sound of Upconversion
  
  They know their supply of HD material will soon dwindle to almost nothing. This is the only way they can sell their remaining stock of players.
  
  "Don't bother with high def media folks. We have very little to offer you. BUT our players upconvert very nicely!"
  
  As an HD DVD owner I feel embarrassed by Toshiba's stance.

  14.1.2008 19:19 #14

• hughjars

  Originally posted by error5: They know their supply of HD material will soon dwindle to almost nothing. - How the hell do you work that one out?
  
  Even if not 1 other movie was added to the HD DVD total in the meantime when you remove the Warner titles HD DVD will still offer 300+ titles
  (and that doesn't count some of the WB titles that will be available elsewhere through international publishing & distribution deals).
  
  That's an extremely weird definition of "almost nothing".
  
  Originally posted by error5: This is the only way they can sell their remaining stock of players. - That's just a guess you've come up with.
  
  Originally posted by error5: "Don't bother with high def media folks. We have very little to offer you. BUT our players upconvert very nicely!"
  
  As an HD DVD owner I feel embarrassed by Toshiba's stance. - Really.
  
  Frankly I consider it a smart move.
  
  There's no reason why anyone looking to buy a $130 SD DVD oplayer ought to go for anything other than the HD A3.
  
  The HD A30 @ $170 is an incredible bargain and the HD A35 @ $269 is just incredible.
  
  They all still come with 7 HD DVD movies and an HDMI cable and all in all are excellent deals.
  
  The fact that this is a great way to increase the numbers of HD DVD owners out there is the point.
  
  It just underlines how this is far from over.
  
  (and that is the point the Blu-ray fanclub gets, totally, and it is why they slam this kind of thing at each & every opportunity)
  
  Despite all the claims about them being out of contract Universal have not budged from HD DVD and neither have Paramount despite the claims that they have an escape clause if WB left.
  
  Like I said, this is far from over.

  14.1.2008 20:23 #15

• juankerr

  BluRay fans have too much time on their hands.
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=friS4OOcdgQ

  14.1.2008 21:27 #16

• borhan9

  Nothing special here.

  26.1.2008 21:05 #17