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

[groovyone]

Bill,

Thanks for the great heads up on the upcoming titles. I am looking forward to almost the entire list you gave. Young Frankenstein is a must have!

The French Connection, Super Troopers, Fargo, the X-Men trilogy, the original Planet of the Apes, and Young Frankenstein will all be buys for me!

[Majoran]

Originally Posted by dakota81

Are tv shows mixed in alongside Universal's Blu movie plans?

I agree hopefully we will hear some BSG news , I would like to keep the sets the "same", but if prices fal low enough I might just jump on the current HD DVD set. I would love to see them announce seasons 1-3 and Razor on Blu, I would wait for those.

[hollywoodguy]

Originally Posted by Majoran

I would love to see them announce seasons 1-3 and Razor on Blu, I would wait for those.

While that would certainly be nice, as a heads up for those who can't wait, Season 3 on DVD looks about as good as SD gets. First time in a long time I haven't been disappointed by good ol' DVD.

[Blu Jacket]

Originally Posted by Majoran

I agree hopefully we will hear some BSG news , I would like to keep the sets the "same", but if prices fal low enough I might just jump on the current HD DVD set. I would love to see them announce seasons 1-3 and Razor on Blu, I would wait for those.

I'd also love to hear that Firefly was coming to Blu.

[GreenScar]

It was nice to read in the Bits that Paramount has big plans to not disappoint people who may feel a bit disenfranchised with their past actions. Can you elaborate at all?

Also; It must be hard to have as much (unofficial) knowledge about what's going on and not able to let it all out. It must be hard at times.

[Bill Hunt]

Originally Posted by dakota81

Are tv shows mixed in alongside Universal's Blu movie plans?

Not sure, but I'd be surprised if Heroes and Battlestar at least didn't go Blu pretty quickly.

[Bill Hunt]

Originally Posted by hollywoodguy

While that would certainly be nice, as a heads up for those who can't wait, Season 3 on DVD looks about as good as SD gets. First time in a long time I haven't been disappointed by good ol' DVD.

Boy, I'll second that. I reviewed it here...

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/review...22908.html#bat

...and it's worth every penny.

[Bill Hunt]

Originally Posted by Blu Jacket

I'd also love to hear that Firefly was coming to Blu.

You can bet Serenity will be at or near the top of Universal's BD release list. I'll work on Fox for Firefly, but it's an obvious choice and would be quick to produce.

[Bill Hunt]

Originally Posted by jasonbird

It was nice to read in the Bits that Paramount has big plans to not disappoint people who may feel a bit disenfranchised with their past actions. Can you elaborate at all?

Also; It must be hard to have as much (unofficial) knowledge about what's going on and not able to let it all out. It must be hard at times.

Not really, other than to say there are LOTS of titles in the works and in the planning stages. When the shroud of mystery final comes off, people will be pleased I think.

[blitz6speed]

Originally Posted by Bill Hunt

Not really, other than to say there are LOTS of titles in the works and in the planning stages. When the shroud of mystery final comes off, people will be pleased I think.

It would honestly be quite welcome with this dry spell we've been seeing. We all realize that things are in the works, but as they say, a little info goes a long way.

Also bill, since you're a So Cal guy like myself, maybe you know someone in charge at Frys electronics. After the toshiba announcement, Frys bumped up the price on SEVERAL blu-rays by 2-3 dollars, and by several, i mean 50+% of them. The sony catalogs which were always 19.99 are now mixed with 22.99 as well. The Fox titles went from 27.99 to 29.99. Its not like MSRP changed, the prices stayed exactly the same on Amazon and other retailers, but Frys decided gouging its customers was a proper thing to do. Id love for you to find out why this happened or if you can correct the situation. It REALLY left a bad taste in my mouth and i drive past frys everyday to/from work (91 freeway) and i havent stopped in more then 2 times in the past month since i saw this happen. Both times i left empty handed, which is very rare for me when i walk into frys.

[PeterTHX]

Hey Bill.

I see the HTF mods shut down the Universal FUD thread.

I liked this brown nugget from Obi:

lastly, this is not YOUR pool, it is OUR pool and now that YOUR corporate cronies have bought their way to a monopoly, we all have to swim in it. How about you learn a little humility and stop trying to make people believe Blu-ray is everything it was promised to be, and frankly, never will be in a practical sense.

Was DVD considered a "monopoly" when DIVX was slain (or even LaserDisc)? Did the DOJ go after JVC/Matsushita when Betamax gave up the ghost?

Seems to me a "monopoly" is when one company (say, Toshiba) controls the destiny of an entire format. When Toshiba gave up, HD DVD was dead & buried.

The same would not have happened quite the same way if Sony dropped out of Blu-ray. People would wonder what companies like Panasonic, Sharp, Philips, etc. would do.

I also have trouble with his statement that BD isn't or ever what it is. We got the 50GB discs, we got PiP and Profile 1.1 and now BD Live is just around the corner. We get lossless audio and high bit rate video encodes on nearly all releases. We have plenty of BD burners and media to choose from, along with the authoring tools. We have more and more companies announcing players and support from all major studios. We even have porn! Player prices are decreasing, software is getting cheaper and more plentiful...

So what am I missing here? What are we missing?

Maybe the Bits could do a State of the Format...much like the State of The Union...

[Razzy]

Originally Posted by Bill Hunt

It's a little early to say, until the title is officialy announced, but it would seem likely that the Blu-ray version will be similar to the new DVD.

First I want to say thanks Bill for your participation here. It is truly appreciated.

Great news about Walk the Line. Thanks. In my opinion, a must buy.

Also, just wondering if you've heard any whispers from Fox on Live Free or Die Hard, the unrated version, on Blu.

[Blu Jacket]

Originally Posted by Bill Hunt

You can bet Serenity will be at or near the top of Universal's BD release list. I'll work on Fox for Firefly, but it's an obvious choice and would be quick to produce.

Hehe, I think I'd squeal like a little girl if/when both/either of them were announced. Thank you very much.

[gandley]

Hows Alan Bell doing at paramount??

[frank_t]

Originally Posted by Bill Hunt

Not sure, but I'd be surprised if Heroes and Battlestar at least didn't go Blu pretty quickly.

i've been trying my best NOT to buy Battlestar Season 3 until I see it in blu. I'll re-purchase everything Battlestar on blu when it comes out.

that series is just too incredible. can't wait!

--

now if fox could get around to firefly and uni would do serenity justice on blu, it'll be a fine day indeed

basically i've just stopped purchasing dvd; i'll only rent them now.

[FourToedStatue]

Hey Bill I know time contraints and promotional considerations stopped the Unrated Live Free or Die Hard from coming out on Blu ray last year. Any chance we'll get it this year or do we have to wait for Die Hard 5?

[kjacobs03]

Hey Bill
Last year Paramount promised about 35 titles for HDDVD for the '08 year. Once they get around to releasing on Blu-ray, do you think we will see a similar amount of titles for the rest of the year from them or will output be increased with the war over?
Also, are you aware of HBO's plan? I need some HBO goodness, especially Band of Brothers. Do you think we will see something from them in '08?
Thanks

[GJN]

Bill,
Any word from MGM about Battle of Britain and Bridge Too Far. Both had release dates set TWICE and both were postponed TWICE. The latest promised date was around Father's Day. And what about Dances with Wolves and Princess Bride also promised and postponed. Are all these films being delayed because expected sale projections are too low? What would be the sales breakeven point on such films. My impression has been that classic films sell consistently over their shelf lifetime while drek (e.g. Daddy Day Care or Norbit) sell a few at the beginning and then disappear forever.

[Bill Hunt]

Originally Posted by blitz6speed

It would honestly be quite welcome with this dry spell we've been seeing. We all realize that things are in the works, but as they say, a little info goes a long way.

Also bill, since you're a So Cal guy like myself, maybe you know someone in charge at Frys electronics. After the toshiba announcement, Frys bumped up the price on SEVERAL blu-rays by 2-3 dollars, and by several, i mean 50+% of them. The sony catalogs which were always 19.99 are now mixed with 22.99 as well. The Fox titles went from 27.99 to 29.99. Its not like MSRP changed, the prices stayed exactly the same on Amazon and other retailers, but Frys decided gouging its customers was a proper thing to do. Id love for you to find out why this happened or if you can correct the situation. It REALLY left a bad taste in my mouth and i drive past frys everyday to/from work (91 freeway) and i havent stopped in more then 2 times in the past month since i saw this happen. Both times i left empty handed, which is very rare for me when i walk into frys.

That was probably an individual retailer decision to try to recoup the HD-DVD losses. Prices will drop again as we continue into 2008. There are going to be major retailer, studio and manufacturer offers, sales and deals going into the holidays. And as new player models arrive, older models will be discounted. Plus, Fox recently dropped the SRP on many of their older catalog titles by $5-10.

[NoQuestion]

Bill, without trying to get specific, is it a safe bet to say that going forward, all new theatrical movies will see release on bluray day and date? Specifically the summer blockbusters?