The Man Who Wasn't There

I had posted previously that the PS3 is the only future-proof Blu-Ray player on the market and as the profile moves toward 2.0, all of the launch Blu-ray Players basically become obsolete. This is one area in which the Blu-Ray camp sucks and should have followed suit with HD-DVD. This is an area where HD-DVD wins in a no-contest sort of way.

This article is probably the best I've seen breaking down the profiles, what's to expect and further emphasizes my point that if you want to watch Blu-Ray movies, the best way is via your Playstation 3.

I thought the numbers were interesting, as well. According to the article, 3.5 million Blu-Ray players have been sold to date. Of that number, 3 million of those purchases were Playstation 3s. So, we have 500,000 people who might be pretty upset come profile 2.0, but that's a lot less than 3 million people being upset.

So, now that New Line is moving to Blu Ray and they are starting to ramp up their HD releases (and doing a damn fine job of it, by the way), chances are we can expect to see The Lord of the Rings HD soon. I found these comparison shots from gizmodo of the DVD scans of scenes versus the HD scans of the same scenes.

Take a look:

Scenic Beauty

DVD scan / HD scan.

Hiding

DVD scan / HD scan

Very interesting. In a very nerdy addendum, fricknfrackfan, littlekfru and I have already determined that when they come out, we'll be having a very long Blu Ray marathon.

Everyone in the HD arena is going bozzo over Warner's announcement that they are moving to Blu-Ray Only, dropping HD-DVD like a bad habit. While it's not the nail-in-the-coffin that Blu-Ray fanboys are saying it is, it's not a good sign. Sony's camp now has practically all of the major studios backing them and it's not a great thing for HD-DVD.

Anyway, this isn't about that. New Line is part of Warner and they announced they are moving Blu-Ray only, as well. This means all their plans for HD-DVD movies are now cancelled. In fact, their first and only HD-DVD release is Pan's Labyrinth and as soon as the stock has been cleared of that HD-DVD, they aren't reprinting it. Ever.

So if you are a Pan's Labyrinth fan (and why shouldn't you be?) and have HD-DVD but no Blu-Ray, I'd recommend scooping a copy before you can't get one any longer.

High Def Digest: my go-to place for all things HD.

What the heck is up with Warner? Are they racing to get Blu Ray titles out before Christmas that they got sloppy? High Def Digest is a website I use to keep up to date on HD titles. They do a great job of staying informed and their reviews take into consideration the picture/audio quality so buyers can learn if it's worth purchasing or not.

Well, a week ago, there were reports that the Harry Potter Blu Ray Gift Set had some mix-ups and some of the gift sets actually had the HD-DVD discs instead of Blu Ray. This is a Warner title.

Then, yesterday, Blade Runner, another Warner title, had manufacturing problems on the Blu Ray side.

Today, Terminator 3 has been confirmed to have problems on the Blu Ray side. This is a third Warner title. What the heck?

I'm excited for Blade Runner, I have to admit. I am loathe to admit I've never seen Blade Runner before and now that it's out on Blu Ray and received an impeccable score for everything, I have no excuse. It's on my netflix list but I might just up and buy it for my collection.

So, I'm glad I have a PS3 for my Blu Ray watching. Today, the PS3 gets a firmware update that brings the Blu Ray profile to 1.1. This doesn't mean much yet, but next year the first 1.1 Blu Ray titles are coming out and include Sunshine, Resident Evil: Extinction, 3:10 to Yuma and the abysmal War. Profile 1.1 includes a lot of the features that HD DVD herald as a plus and is also a reason some titles (like the Matrix, I believe) have yet to migrate. Some publishers were waiting until 1.1 to release their titles.

Now, the reason I'm glad I have a PS3 for the Blu Ray watching is that while it is a firmware upgrade, unfortunately older standalone devices lack decoding chips in their hardware needed for PiP or the internet ports needed for BD-Live. The PS3 has the ability for the profile; a Blu Ray player purchased a year ago, does not. It's annoying and if I were an early adopter of the standalone players, I'd be pissed.

Packages are flying in and Shaido is going crazy. She loves boxes. And there's more on the horizon. I should be getting three more packages today! Arugh! I'm drowning in boxes!

I guess this UFC qualifying match this Saturday is "A Big Deal." I didn't realize it fell into the "Big Deal" with quotations category until I was told so by my brother. It's quite the event, with tickets starting at $15 for general admission and going up into the "VIP" range, as well. There's apparently going to be approximately 12 matches, leading up to the "headline" fight. My brother is in the final three fights, according to him, which is pretty cool...I guess.

I got him The Orange Box for his birthday present because I want him to actually play something that doesn't start with an "H" and end with an "alo" and he's never played Half Life 2. Hopefully he'll like it. Christmas is going crazy. I'm spending more than I expected and more than I should. But I love giving gifts. I agonize over present choices sometimes and it drives me bonkers.