New Blu-ray and HD DVD Players This Holiday Season

[kennyt]

I know, I have a problem......

[deacongreg]

Well, its a great problem to have!!!

[kennyt]

No S--T fortunately the wife tolerates it...

[deacongreg]

Dr. Ken,

what can I possibly say. You are definitely the man. My hats off to you.

[chipmonkmrl]

Originally Posted by kennyt

chipmonkmrl

Clockwork Orange in high def!!!

'..... oh yes, I was(am) cured...'

Can't wait for that one!!!

Ken

Thanxs for reply..... when I was a kid, I had wires plugged into my head...just like little Alex! Really!!! Iwas cured of my nightmares!!! Right now, I'm getting ready to greet the postman in about a weeks time when Clockwork Orange hits my deck!!!! And, would you believe, I was truly so influenced the first time I saw the film on UK release,I went back about 18 times..... and even learnt all the words to Ludwig Van's 9th ..... BEFORE taking up German at school!!! I've also ordered the new re-release (with extras this time!) of Full Metal Jacket. I'm sure this will now be the real deal with a sharper image.... from a trulu remastered print..... By the way, I've never seen so much rubbish, or debate, about Kubrick's movies on home video formats, regarding aspect ratios.... All the cinematic releases were shown in theatres at the ratios selected by Kubrick (who often checked out the projection booths himself to ensure).... the "correct" ratios on disc formats should therefore be the same as shown theatrically.... and therefore as the director intended....
When Kubrick saw VHS/tv broadcasts in the poor quality due to the technology of the day, he chose the 4:3 format full frame/pan+scan to fill the standard tv screens of the day......

With dvd (std,hd,or bd) and today's standard tv screens at 16:9, he would have no doubt wished his movies to be shown as shown in theaters..... seems to me that on both sides of the Pond we have a few hotheads who seem to think they know better, and prefer a 4:3 SIMPLY because they believe it fills THEIR screen.... they don't understand that many films may have been shot "flat" onto 35mm film, but that their intended final theatrical release is then presented in a 1:1.66/78/85 ratio AS INTENDED and no doubt composed when shooting....

NEWS UPDATE!!!! here in UK, despite Sony dealers being brainwashed into thinking their format is winning (the put young store salesmen on Sony Day Courses!!!!) the reality is not clear at all........ Sony are only just releasing now their cheaper BD player(standalone) but that is STILL double the cheapest Toshiba player on sale down the high street... Blockbusters made,in my view, a poor decision to stock only BD discs.... and the retailers like HMV on Oxford Street,London.... well, blu-ray's higher actual cost has pushed up the cost of some HD DVD titles from dual allegiance studios, like Warner, simply because the store doesn't want to put the same film on display at different prices!!!! Staff in the stores seem to think Blu-Ray sells better, but they really are not undersatnding their target market properly...... People like me bought our discs LONG BEFORe HMV even started selling them, so we already have many films that still simply are not yet available on UK release....... We have also gotten used to paying around 10 UK pounds($20) LESS than retail from FIRST RATE internet companies, like DVD WORLD USA, so we now rarely purchase at the premium retail rates.... so these stores have their heads in the sand, charging "top dollar" and 2+2=5 .... they think Blu-Ray's winning.... Truth is, in EUROPE, people have turned more to HD DVD.... and here's ONE very good reason.... NO REGIONAL LOCKING = movies in this format are available from the US/France/Germany/Japan and can be obtained here,now,today, no matter what geographical area you happen to live in.... We have a massive choice of films to choose from without the constraints of regional coding.... and from my own experience, nobody I know buys Pirate Copies, no one with even a modest quality system will even do it, so the argument and ultimately the paranoia about protecting discs as well as managed areas for viewing when Hollywood moguls dictate, is a little over-the-top...... in this modern age when people have been getting US releases on dvd for years now.... point is,with BD region locking, the choice here in Europe is relatively poor in comparison..... Where and when I have a choice of both formats in HMV, I always select the HD DVD version over the BD, as a matter of Good old Principle... usually the audio options on the HD DVD are better (in real world terms on existing systems) and MPEG4 encoding ALWAYS applies... whereas on BD.... you won't know till you get the disc into the player.... More people ARE hooked into HD dvd in Europe, we usually follow US..... only in Japan can you say they have a firmer foothold (in a market dictated there by domestic hidef recorders)...

I'll try to look in more often, folks, I'm still a beginner at e-mails!!!! (I had to be dragged screaming and kicking by my sister last year!!!!)... Goodnite from chipmonk in London...

[kennyt]

chipmonkmrl,

I will have to buy this one as well.... If nothing else just to see the closing scene I quoted in HD and solid surround sound.......

I will be cured!