Is it worth it to buy Blu-ray versions of HD DVD's?

[owa]

If I had a huge collection, I'd probably only replace the ones that were different or improved on blu-ray. If I only had a few, I'd replace them all.

[TheForce8686]

I didnt see the point of keeping any of my HD DVDs. I barely see the point of keeping my SDs. I prefer the one format especially in Hi Def.

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by owa

If I had a huge collection, I'd probably only replace the ones that were different or improved on blu-ray. If I only had a few, I'd replace them all.

My point exactly. Save your hard earned money for other releases.

[Adam_ME]

The lossless audio is worth it, but some Blu-ray versions have inferior transfers(U-571) and/or fewer extras(The Thing, End of Days).

So it varies by title, I guess.

[ClaytonMG]

Originally Posted by Adam_ME

The lossless audio is worth it, but some Blu-ray versions have inferior transfers(U-571) and/or fewer extras(The Thing, End of Days).

So it varies by title, I guess.

How is U-571 an inferior transfer???

Anyway, I am (slowly) buying my HD DVD titles on Blu-Ray because A) I can't seem to get the lovely HD DVD player to play HD DVD's, and B) I'd like my movies on one format. Plus there's the whole lossless audio thing for Universal's titles, and the fact my HD DVD player only does 1080i and I prefer to watch movies at 24fps which isn't possible on the HD-A1. I also think regular Dolby Digital on a Blu-Ray sounds better than Dolby Digital-Plus on an HD DVD.

[Adam_ME]

Originally Posted by ClaytonMG

How is U-571 an inferior transfer???

There was heavy DNR on the Blu-ray version of U-571. It looks noticeably inferior compared to the HD-DVD. The DTS HD-MA track is reportedly superior to the DD+ 5.1 track on the HD-DVD, but I'd rather have the better looking transfer.

[HD 335]

Here's a link to AVS where screenshots were posted for U-571
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1059419

[owa]

Originally Posted by Adam_ME

There was heavy DNR on the Blu-ray version of U-571. It looks noticeably inferior compared to the HD-DVD. The DTS HD-MA track is reportedly superior to the DD+ 5.1 track on the HD-DVD, but I'd rather have the better looking transfer.

Depends on what bugs you more. A lot of the time, I don't even realize a title has DNR applied (edit: although I may suspect that is has if the film isn't as grainy as I expected) until I see screenshots comparing a title with and without it. But, I can easily detect flaws in the film (white specs/black marks/etc.). When I saw the US blu-ray, my first thought was "excellent, they cleaned it up a bit". Couple that with the lossless audio and I was pretty happy with it.

[Russell22]

If your happy with your HD-DVD's then keep em..ther pretty much the same as the blu rays anyway..i noticed no difference in pic quality and extra features from the HD to the blu ray..im not personally bothered about lossless audio myself..so if thats not an issue just keep hold of them.

[MovieCollector]

Thanks for all the help people. I think I will just keep them and wait. I was trying to find a way to do a full disc copy of my HD dvd's to Blu-ray, yet was not able to find any way to do that.

[Rhoq]

I'm double-dipping for Blu-rays that offer a significant improvement over the HD DVD that I already own(ed). The Perfect Storm was remastered to resolved the aliasing issues, Transformers offers lossless audio, etc.

Also some of the Universal combo titles that had an "unrated" version in HD and theatrical version on the DVD side might be upgraded in my collection, too. (or in the case of American Gangster the theatrical version is in HD, while the director's cut is in SD).

[Anthony P]

I would say yes it is worth it, but that would depend if you like the movies you now have on HD DVD. Think about it, eventually your HD DVD player will die and even if it still plays sooner rather then later you will more or less stop using it (or even not have it connected).

[Anthony P]

Secondly, with these kinds of 'what ifs' just buy the new Blu-Rays you want now (or, as I said, there's always the old joke about, you know, giving to charity) and buy the HDDVD ports when and if your HDDVD drive stops working.

the issue with that is that if you realy like and want the movie it could be hard or impossible to find the BD at that time, studios don't constantly repress movies when they run out and stores don't constantly reorder them. The guy probably is safe from having to replace all of them now, but not if he waits a couple of years because the HD DVD is broken or has collected too much dust (i.e. not used).

[Darth Lavender]

"Depends on the title" is probably the best having.
Having said that, I have about 150 HDDVDs, and I can't think of a single one that I think is worth upgrading to Blu-Ray (maybe American Gangster, but I still haven't watched my HDDVD)
Anyway, for ease of reading, I'm breaking up my reply into two seperate rants

YOUR RIGHTS AS A CONSUMER RANT

As compatibility on players, etc. It's interesting to note that, having bought the movie (ie. the actual contents of the disk) you should be free to transfer it to a blu-ray disk or hard-drive for your convenience (one MIGHT argue that you should then destroy the HDDVD, so as not to have 2 copies)
The only thing that might make that illegal, is that you would be forced to circumvent DRM in order to exercise your rights as a consumer.

The point is, studios are always prattling on about how what you've really paid for is the content, and the media it's on is irrelevent, etc.
So, that's another issue it's a little hard to stomach paying twice for the same content.
Based on my VERY limited knowledge of copyright law, without DRM, Copyprotection, etc. you could transfer your HDDVD movies directly to Blu-Ray recordable or Harddrive, and even the greatest lawyers in the world could not prosecute that as a crime.
What complicates it is the DRM which you'd have to circumvent, in order to exercise your rights as a consumer.

My point there, basically, in those cases were it's the same features, etc. on Blu-Ray or HDDVD, I'd be very reluctant to rebuy on Blu-Ray just because I shouldn't have to.
It reminds me of one person on this forum who actually payed Sony for 2 Playstations (from two different reasons) just to play ball with Sony's Region-Coding.


RANTO SECUNDO - Blu-Ray vs HDDVD

This is very much a case by case basis. In some cases (like Pan's Labyrinth, 300 or The Phantom of the Opera) absolutely hold onto your HDDVD because the transfer is identical, but the HDDVD features are superior (Pan's Labyrinth & 300 have PiP commentaries not on the blu-ray, Phantom of the Opera has Lossless Audio)

In the case of Warner, you should generally stick with the HDDVD, since the transfers are usually identical, and extras/specs are either equal or in HD's favour.

Universal is a little bit trickier. They've re-encoded from the same master, which means there's a theoretical improvement. AVS forum had an excellent thread comparing The Mummy on HDDVD and Bluray, with a general consensus that the improvement was somewhere between 'miniscule' and 'non-existant'
The thread had some full-res screencaps, so I'll try to find it, and you can make up your own mind.

One exception to that is when a completely new master is struck, and that has only happened on one occasion; Warner's "Perfect Storm" release. The HDDVD (and the master it was taken from) was so bad that Warner went back to the film and struck a completely new master for the Blu-Ray.

Lossless Audio is a completely different problem, and one which I honestly can't comment on. It's still a pretty new concept and even if you can tell the difference, there's no way of knowing wether the reviewer can tell the difference (it is pretty easy to just imagine a difference.) Maybe if it's a recent movie, that you absolutely love, and rewatch frequently, on a high-end sound system, then maybe it's worth rebuying (cheap) for better audio. But I would say at least wait until your own ears have gotten more accustomed to the subtleties of high-def and lossless, so that you can be sure you'll hear a difference (and not just imagine a difference)

Extras are an easier matter to decide, disk by disk. Note, a lot of Universal's new PiP commentaries are actually featurettes etc. from the DVD and/or HDDVD just presented in PiP format (which, in my opinion, is a step down. I'd rather just watch a making-of documentary full-screen. Especially if I want to watch it from the treadmill or from across the room, etc.) Others are clear improvements (American Gangster gets a whole lot of new extras, the extended cut is in 1080p, and the RRP is cheaper, too. Eastern Promises gets 2 new featurettes, and the rest is the same as the HDDVD (not enough of an improvement to buy it twice, but a definite improvement nonetheless) For that matter, Casino is overall an improvement (if you didn't own the DVD) it changes the HDDVD featurettes to PiP, BUT it restores two documentaries from the DVD (and, there's the lossless audio) Again, may or may not be worth buying twice (I love the movie, but I'm holding on to my HDDVD) but it's a clear improvement overall.

So, in summary;
Probably not worth upgrading for superior picture, but use your own eyes to decide.
I found that link, it's at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...php?p=14380061

Lossless Audio - In the end, no matter what people tell you, it's simply too difficult to say wether that warrants an upgrade or not.
I'd suggest 'no,' but none of us are really certain here.

Extras - Sometimes, but only on rare occasions. Remember, you'll probably only watch the extras once, and if you really enjoy the movie then you might as well spend that $20 - $40 buying a book about the director.


EDIT

And, of course, you may laugh at this but; remember, children are dying of starvation in Africa. You just *might* consider giving that $20 to charity.
Tought call... The life of a total stranger vs Lossless audio

[Blu-ray Fanatic]

Originally Posted by Darth Lavender

"Depends on the title" is probably the best having.
Having said that, I have about 150 HDDVDs, and I can't think of a single one that I think is worth upgrading to Blu-Ray (maybe American Gangster, but I still haven't watched my HDDVD)
Anyway, for ease of reading, I'm breaking up my reply into two seperate rants

YOUR RIGHTS AS A CONSUMER RANT

As compatibility on players, etc. It's interesting to note that, having bought the movie (ie. the actual contents of the disk) you should be free to transfer it to a blu-ray disk or hard-drive for your convenience (one MIGHT argue that you should then destroy the HDDVD, so as not to have 2 copies)
The only thing that might make that illegal, is that you would be forced to circumvent DRM in order to exercise your rights as a consumer.

The point is, studios are always prattling on about how what you've really paid for is the content, and the media it's on is irrelevent, etc.
So, that's another issue it's a little hard to stomach paying twice for the same content.
Based on my VERY limited knowledge of copyright law, without DRM, Copyprotection, etc. you could transfer your HDDVD movies directly to Blu-Ray recordable or Harddrive, and even the greatest lawyers in the world could not prosecute that as a crime.
What complicates it is the DRM which you'd have to circumvent, in order to exercise your rights as a consumer.

My point there, basically, in those cases were it's the same features, etc. on Blu-Ray or HDDVD, I'd be very reluctant to rebuy on Blu-Ray just because I shouldn't have to.
It reminds me of one person on this forum who actually payed Sony for 2 Playstations (from two different reasons) just to play ball with Sony's Region-Coding.


RANTO SECUNDO - Blu-Ray vs HDDVD

This is very much a case by case basis. In some cases (like Pan's Labyrinth, 300 or The Phantom of the Opera) absolutely hold onto your HDDVD because the transfer is identical, but the HDDVD features are superior (Pan's Labyrinth & 300 have PiP commentaries not on the blu-ray, Phantom of the Opera has Lossless Audio)

In the case of Warner, you should generally stick with the HDDVD, since the transfers are usually identical, and extras/specs are either equal or in HD's favour.

Universal is a little bit trickier. They've re-encoded from the same master, which means there's a theoretical improvement. AVS forum had an excellent thread comparing The Mummy on HDDVD and Bluray, with a general consensus that the improvement was somewhere between 'miniscule' and 'non-existant'
The thread had some full-res screencaps, so I'll try to find it, and you can make up your own mind.

One exception to that is when a completely new master is struck, and that has only happened on one occasion; Warner's "Perfect Storm" release. The HDDVD (and the master it was taken from) was so bad that Warner went back to the film and struck a completely new master for the Blu-Ray.

Lossless Audio is a completely different problem, and one which I honestly can't comment on. It's still a pretty new concept and even if you can tell the difference, there's no way of knowing wether the reviewer can tell the difference (it is pretty easy to just imagine a difference.) Maybe if it's a recent movie, that you absolutely love, and rewatch frequently, on a high-end sound system, then maybe it's worth rebuying (cheap) for better audio. But I would say at least wait until your own ears have gotten more accustomed to the subtleties of high-def and lossless, so that you can be sure you'll hear a difference (and not just imagine a difference)

Extras are an easier matter to decide, disk by disk. Note, a lot of Universal's new PiP commentaries are actually featurettes etc. from the DVD and/or HDDVD just presented in PiP format (which, in my opinion, is a step down. I'd rather just watch a making-of documentary full-screen. Especially if I want to watch it from the treadmill or from across the room, etc.) Others are clear improvements (American Gangster gets a whole lot of new extras, the extended cut is in 1080p, and the RRP is cheaper, too. Eastern Promises gets 2 new featurettes, and the rest is the same as the HDDVD (not enough of an improvement to buy it twice, but a definite improvement nonetheless) For that matter, Casino is overall an improvement (if you didn't own the DVD) it changes the HDDVD featurettes to PiP, BUT it restores two documentaries from the DVD (and, there's the lossless audio) Again, may or may not be worth buying twice (I love the movie, but I'm holding on to my HDDVD) but it's a clear improvement overall.

So, in summary;
Probably not worth upgrading for superior picture, but use your own eyes to decide.
I found that link, it's at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...php?p=14380061

Lossless Audio - In the end, no matter what people tell you, it's simply too difficult to say wether that warrants an upgrade or not.
I'd suggest 'no,' but none of us are really certain here.

Extras - Sometimes, but only on rare occasions. Remember, you'll probably only watch the extras once, and if you really enjoy the movie then you might as well spend that $20 - $40 buying a book about the director.


EDIT

And, of course, you may laugh at this but; remember, children are dying of starvation in Africa. You just *might* consider giving that $20 to charity.
Tought call... The life of a total stranger vs Lossless audio

You're such a nerd.

[Valore]

Originally Posted by owa

If I had a huge collection, I'd probably only replace the ones that were different or improved on blu-ray. If I only had a few, I'd replace them all.

Well said. +1