Ask questions to The Digital Bits team (Bill Hunt, Jeff Kleist et.al.)

[Jeff Kleist]

I would not count on a recall, sadly

My biggest hope is that Universal will instead allow Criterion to issue a proper disc, and re-license them Brazil at the same time for HD

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

I was still going to get Spartacus, but after some thought and reading what RAH had to say, I canceled my pre-order.

[DenonCI]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Just for some perspective on the matter…
Uni, with only $170 million in operating income on revenue of $3.8 billion in 2009, was not a significant factor in Comcast’s proposed deal to acquire controlling interest of the studio’s parent, namely NBC Universal. By my math, that comes out to a measly 4.4% enterprise value of the parent company (NBC Universal).

Not to mention the fact that it is not a ‘done deal’ and some believe it will have a tough time getting past the DOJ and FCC.

That's a pretty crappy return. I work for a company with slightly less than $800 million in sales and we made $165 million pretax profit last year. Granted, we aren't an entertainment company.

[captveg]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Well, that'll be good reading for the 10 or 20 people who still bother with HTF.

I bother because it's a generally friendly place. It still doesn't hold a candle to the IGN DVD Community Board, though. Thems practically family after 9 years.

[turfman1964]

Has any of you heard any word about a blu-ray release of The Shadow. thanks

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by captveg

I bother because it's a generally friendly place. It still doesn't hold a candle to the IGN DVD Community Board, though. Thems practically family after 9 years.

I hate the forum software HTF uses now so much that I avoid their site.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by captveg

I bother because it's a generally friendly place. It still doesn't hold a candle to the IGN DVD Community Board, though. Thems practically family after 9 years.

I was family until they threw me out for daring to openly back Blu-ray over HD DVD (>cough<RobertCrawford.aka.Crawdaddy>cough<). At least with AVS the mods would just delete a comment that they didn't want to offend Amir & Company.

[Nick Graham]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Well, that'll be good reading for the 10 or 20 people who still bother with HTF.

Aside from the wretched software they now use, HTF has always been my online home. Every forum was a wasteland during the format wars, none was immune to idiocy - remember the call here to call your state's attorney general over Paramount going HD-DVD exclusive?

[DaViD Boulet]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

I was family until they threw me out for daring to openly back Blu-ray over HD DVD (>cough<RobertCrawford.aka.Crawdaddy>cough<). At least with AVS the mods would just delete a comment that they didn't want to offend Amir & Company.

Yes, those were some unwelcome times for many of us at HTF, even those of us who weren't outright banned.

Even now some of the innane positions of some very prominent folks there... like swallowing and promoting as fact Universal's off-record comment that lossless audio degrades picture quality on Blu-ray... is disturbing to say the least.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Nick Graham

Aside from the wretched software they now use, HTF has always been my online home. Every forum was a wasteland during the format wars, none was immune to idiocy - remember the call here to call your state's attorney general over Paramount going HD-DVD exclusive?

Except HTF would actively suppress free speech to those who supported the BDA over Toshiba. Letting attacks against BD and personal attacks against supporters of BD go unhindered, where if someone dare defend themselves or call out the hypocrisy get censored or banned.

If you can get through the tumbleweeds even you have to admit HTF is no longer what it used to be. The same people posting over & over. They alienated their general audience and just a core group remains.

[fitprod]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

I was family until they threw me out for daring to openly back Blu-ray over HD DVD

I wonder if the HTF still kick out people who correct errors that have been posted by Ron Epstein.

fitprod

[SpaceDog]

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

Yes, those were some unwelcome times for many of us at HTF, even those of us who weren't outright banned.

Even now some of the innane positions of some very prominent folks there... like swallowing and promoting as fact Universal's off-record comment that lossless audio degrades picture quality on Blu-ray... is disturbing to say the least.

I ended up ducking out during the blu-ray vs. hd-dvd bs that went on there. I grew so frustrated with them stifling any argument that didn't support HD-DVD as the logical format. It's a real stain on their record that I just can't get beyond. They were by far my favorite forum throughout the life cycle of DVD. I think I must have been there for about 10 years from 1997-2007... haven't been back.

[JamesN]

Originally Posted by Nick Graham

Mr. Harris has now posted his thoughts on Spartacus:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/foru...cus-in-blu-ray

Rut-roh, Raggy.

Wow...how sad, and what an unfortunate position this puts a film-lover in. Do we purchase anyway, in spite of the flaws, for at least some bump in a/v quality over SD? Or do we deprive ourselves of this title in HD in order to try to send a "message" to those responsible? Would the latter really make any difference? If the words of someone of Mr. Harris' stature are falling on deaf ears, what impact will a boycott by a handful of enthusiasts have?

It's a no-win situation. If sales are slim, it will be attributed to lack of interest in catalog titles. If sales are satisfactory, there will be no incentive for better efforts on future titles. <sigh>

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally Posted by SpaceDog

I ended up ducking out during the blu-ray vs. hd-dvd bs that went on there. I grew so frustrated with them stifling any argument that didn't support HD-DVD as the logical format. It's a real stain on their record that I just can't get beyond. They were by far my favorite forum throughout the life cycle of DVD. I think I must have been there for about 10 years from 1997-2007... haven't been back.

I'm in the same boat as you. At the height of DVD's popularity, they were the forum to visit. Now when I make a rare visit, I'm reminded that it's just a shell of its former self.

[Nick Graham]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Except HTF would actively suppress free speech to those who supported the BDA over Toshiba. Letting attacks against BD and personal attacks against supporters of BD go unhindered, where if someone dare defend themselves or call out the hypocrisy get censored or banned.

If you can get through the tumbleweeds even you have to admit HTF is no longer what it used to be. The same people posting over & over. They alienated their general audience and just a core group remains.

No doubt, all my old hangouts from the DVD boom are pretty much shadows of their former selves. The format war was really the nail in the coffin for many of them. That seems to be the case across the spectrum, though.

[Jeff Kleist]

Has any of you heard any word about a blu-ray release of The Shadow. thanks

Only the shadow knows, sorry

[The Big Blue]

[captveg]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

I was family until they threw me out for daring to openly back Blu-ray over HD DVD (>cough<RobertCrawford.aka.Crawdaddy>cough<). At least with AVS the mods would just delete a comment that they didn't want to offend Amir & Company.

Ah, yes, I remember that. I've had my run ins with Mr. Crawford from time to time as well. Their policies can be too strict and thereby ignore common sense.

A years ago I was fortunate to have some associations with some of the people who made Napoleon Dynamite, both before and after it was made and released. Well, in the thread about the movie after it came out there was someone who was really slandering my friends as thieves, plagiarists, etc. This individual stating this stuff had a major adoration of Wes Anderson. It was literally statements like "your friends are thieves and should be sued" blah blah blah, over and over, in every form of bad taste and rudeness, IMO. (It's one thing to say they share tendencies; its another thing to read a barrage of directed insults and false accusations). Even after I countered some of his claims with first hand accounts of where he was mistaken he continued.

I finally got pissed off enough at these ridiculous proclamations that I told him off. Was barely "allowed" to stay at the forum after that.

Right now I check out the Blu-ray software board, and only occasionally the DVD software board. The latter has become such a repeated cycle of "Why Doesn't Z Grade Film That Will Sell Only 10 Copies Nation Wide Get a Pressed Disc Release" conversations that it's not worth the trouble there any more talking any common sense re: the home video market.

[Penton-Man]

Jeff could go into a dissertation on the mutualistic symbiotic relationships between certain studio reps, certain software company executives and certain well-known forum moderators, administrators and owners of AV boards that tilted red during the format war in regards to the perks (whether subtly indirect or direct), they received as incentives to stay on said reps good sides by supporting HD DVD.

All I’ll say is that the fine thing that everyone (especially new membership) should know about Blu-ray.com is that they never received anything from true Blu studios, the BDA or Blu-ray insiders.

Heck, paidgeek and I didn’t even become members here until we essentially both got fed up with the uncontrolled inherent bias of *science* and thusly came over here during the Dark Ages.

[Paul H]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

I hate the forum software HTF uses now so much that I avoid their site.

Agreed.

My visits over at HTF have become dependent on subscribed threads I've made in the past. So much so that I was surprised to see that there is now a third "owner". Maybe that's why the software change?

Paul