So the little asian kid near me on the plane was watching me play FF 7 and sneezed on me and I subsequently got sick somewhere over Alaska. The following conversation more or less took place over Siberia: me: Can you buy me dayquill and a bottle of water when we get to the airport? mother: no i don't think they have it and i'm not going to look me: OMFG I'M GOING TO SHOOT MYSELF AND IT'LL BE LIKE YOU PULLED THE TRIGGER.
in HD related news I saw ads for Bravia and Aquos plastered all over Beijing Airport so HD does exist in China... somehwere. As for Blu-ray and PS3, I will be doing some investigative journalising. So stay tuned.
Originally, I despised this movie because I'm not a huge fan of Westerns, but this was just a kickass movie with two incredible actors.
#9: The Bourne Ultimatum
The perfect ending to the Bourne Trilogy.
#8: The Darjeeling Limited
It's Wes Anderson. That is all.
#7: Michael Clayton
Another political thriller that distinguishes itself from the many others.
#6: Knocked Up
Apatow's second film direction and he succeeds once again. It was the perfect mix of the outrageous comedy of Apatow and decent narrative.
#5: Gone Baby Gone
I'm surprised by this Affleck Brothers collaboration. A well-constructed mystery/thriller, which is a triumph for Ben Affleck's directorial debut.
#4: Eastern Promises
Viggo Mortenson puts on a stellar performance in another Cronenberg masterpiece.
#3: Juno
I walked in with high expectations and walked out with these expectations met. Sure, the pregnancy story has been done, but film is about Ellen Page crafting a wildly awesome character. She is so lovable, and her performance is far better than any of her bigger Hollywood co-actors/actresses in the movie, nearly outshining them by miles. It made me laugh. It made me smile. And it is the year's best comedy.
#2: Sunshine
Probably the best experience I've had in an empty theater. The emptiness of the audience helped create the solitary emotions of outer space. While the film itself has some glaring issues with the actual narrative itself (plot holes and a ridiculous third act), it kept me at the edge of my seat. But most importantly, I fell in love with the visual art direction. It has a distinct 2001: Space Odyssey semblance that reminds me of the sheer beauty and loneliness of space. Not to mention, the gold suits are totally kickass.
#1: Once
I call this "Damien Rice: The Movie". While some of Damien Rice's tracks are questionable, he captures me through his raw emotion, and Once is filled with musical warmth. Despite the fact that the two actors have no training whatsoever, their performance is the most realistic portrayal of their own characters I've seen in years. Shot in the stylistics of a documentary, everything is more believable as I feel like I'm watching the blooming of an upcoming artists from behind the scenes, or even a two hour music video. In addition, Glen Hansard being a real musician of The Frames who wrote the entire soundtrack, the music is beautifully arranged, creating possibly the best OST in ages. A touch of passion, intensity, and heart makes this film my favorite film of 2007.
Barely missed the cut
- Before the Devil Knows You're Dead - Hot Fuzz - 1408 - Superbad - Walk Hard
Movies I missed
- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Perseopolis - No Country for Old Men - Rescue Dawn - First Snow - Sweeney Todd - Lars and the Real Girl - I'm Not There - There Will Be Blood - The Assassination of Jesse James
Looking back at it 2007 will probably be the year HD began to sink into people’s consciousness, and 2008 will be the year HD goes mainstream. The state of Blu-ray and Albert’s HD set up will be much different by this time next year.
The United States Congress has ordered that by mid February 2009, analog television broadcast must stop this means digital television sets with digital receivers will be mandatory by early 2009. You bet retailers are going to be pushing sales of new televisions this next year. The largest roadblock to an easy transition of HD home video is the lack of a unified front. Here the problem, movie studios were hoping consumers would decide which format to favor and consumers are wary to invest in either format until there is a clear winner.
Enter Warner and CES 2008. There have been rumors in recent weeks that Warner is ready to announce exclusivity soon. As the last of the major studios to be format neutral why would Warner pick? And What would it pick? The answers to both questions are of course related. Making two formats is expensive and a hassle. It has always been the expectation of Warner that at some point it would only have to make one format, but so far it’s been making 3 (including of course regular DVDs). Choosing to go Blu-ray exclusive effectively end the format war. Immediately it would divide the studios into Fox, Disney, Sony, and Warner vs Paramount and Universal. It would also give Blu-ray in terms of releases a 3 to 1 margin, not to mention movies released on both Blu-ray and HDDVD sell better on Blu-ray on similar margins. With that kind of lead it would be quite near impossible for HDDVD to survive to see 2010. Should Warner choose to go HDDVD it will drag this format war out indefinitely, splitting film studios down the middle.
Beyond the technological arguments for either format, beyond how spiffy “picture in picture” is, these are the most compelling arguments for why Blu-ray is the prudent choice in 2008. By ending the format war as soon as possible Warner can facilitate a speedy transition to HD home entertainment. (Obviously this helps their bottom line, they’re not doing this out of the goodness of their hearts)
So those are my thoughts. Will I be crying tears of joy during CES 2008 or will Albert? Tune in to redvsblu on Jan 8th 2008!
While it definitely did not live up to the hype, I assert that if the right 20 minutes of material were cut from this film it would be much higher on this list. I don't want to make excuses for this film, but mistakes were made. Because of fan pressure to include Venom, Sam Rami did not get to make the third chapter he wanted. Maybe he should have resisted and had just Sandman, but then everybody would now be complaining how the film was missing Venom. He was Catch-22'ed but I still think there was a lot to like.
9. Sicko
Yea yea, I'm over Michael Moore too, but his movies are always entertaining. I know I used to be one of the Michael Moore fanatics, but my official stance is that while he's good at calling attention to worthy issues, you're still not going to get the whole story with him. So watch his movies and be entertained but don't make opinions on issues until you do research of your own.
8. Becoming Jane I think this movie is only on this list because I'm a little smitten with Ann Hathaway (and her boobies).
7. Knocked Up It was a solid movie and it made me feel good inside.
6. The Host This was a really fun movie. Yay for Korean cinema! Too bad for every one of these there's a Dragon Wars.
5. Charlie Wilson's War
For me I didn't notice the story, it was all about watching the actors/characters interact from scene to scene. (If that makes any sense at all)
4. Juno The soundtrack to this movie really annoyed me in the beginning but I got used to it. (The whiney 'indie' music) I really enjoyed the adults in this movie a lot more than the kids. I thought Jason Bateman's character was interesting, and I was not expecting that in this movie. I also really liked Mannifer Garner, which I was also not expecting. I thought it was really interesting that the two big movies about unplanned pregnancies this year both had really conservative messages of keeping the baby and giving it a good home. But then, I guess if both women went with abortions neither film would make it past the first act.
3. Superbad I met Michael Cera because of this movie.
2. Beowulf This is the first film where I really liked it for what it represents/could be than what it is(the other one is obviously the next movie on the list). Going to the movies should be an experience, and with Blu-rays and HDTVs watching movies at home just became a better experience than going to the theaters in terms of both comfort and picture quality. Beowulf represents risks that I wish more movies would take. I think Zemeckis showed that the technology is ready, and you can make a decent movie with enough care. I know this movie didn't make the boatloads of money Paramount was hoping for, but I would love to see movies do truly new things like this one. I don't think I'm over hyping it when I say some aspects of Beowulf offers a glimpse into the future of movies and I hope it comes faster. Oh yea, the movie it self was pretty entertaining.
1. Sunshine Sunshine was not a perfect film, but I've already written a whole entire entry on why I loved the movie so I will try not to repeat too much. The reason I can forgive the third act is that it was a risk taken to further develop the story and the world of the movie. It adds dimension by being a physical manifestation of the crew's mental fears. Though it did not work out as well as it should have, it was a mistake that was made for a reason as opposed to killing Professor Xavier and then bringing him back after the credits. I've already said I loved Sunshine for the way it grabs a hold of you, for the way it makes you feel as a natural byproduct of the story and feeling like part of the movie's universe and not like the film makers have manipulated you into feeling certain things.
Finals suck, and while I can literally feel my body breaking down, hopefully I will be reborn Thursday morning in a drunken haze out of the ashes of my crusted vomit from the night before.
After my rebirth and hopefully before 2008 I will make the following posts: The State of Blu-ray (and Sony) Siyu's Top 10 Films of 2007 Siyu's Top 10 Things of 2007 Together these 3 posts will constitute my "Year in Retrospect" series. Hopefully it will inspire Albert to contribute some sort of editorial voice to this blog. Anything... seriously, it's been like months.
until then... T-8 hours until maximum pwnage. IT'S THE FINALS COUNTDOWN
Propelled by strong sales of 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,' Blu-ray software sales topped HD DVD by more than a 3:1 margin for the week ending December 9, 2007.
So a few weeks ago NBC made a big deal about going green, and there was some press release over the summer about how 24's production would be zero-emission and Jack Bauer was going to fight global warming somehow. But, I'm not Al Gore (I would just vote for him) so what's been on my mind is the ever increasing use of green screen in movies. Well okay green screens have been heavily used in movies for over 10 years, I'm talking more specifically about films that don't even bother with real sets.
Sin City and 300 are the obvious things that come to mind, but both those movies are obvious examples of style over substance. Green screen is an attractive choices for directors mainly because of the ease of making a film look stylized. However can a movie have significant character development and still use this type of filmmaking? Sin City was arguably a character movie, but with three separate chapters each with its own protagonist its hardly a model of feature lenght character arcs. I think the best argument against complete green screen is that it makes it especially diffuclt for actors. Peter Jackson had Rohan and the Shire built for a reason, and I'd say it was pretty effective. I'm thinking about all this mainly because images from Speed Racer came out today, and as I am loathe to be interested in anything related to Wychosvki, after last season's LOST i'm ready to watch anything with Jack Shepard in it. This is however another movie of style, and while I'm not expecing to be espeially moved, I am hoping like the original it'll give me a seizure 15 minutes in.
I must also must say, the sets for The Watchmen that were released a few weeks ago looked really good. I loved the saturated colors, I'm worried only that it all looked too clean. When I first heard about the Watchmen movie, obivously I was excited for another Snyder comic movie, heavily stylized with green screen. Then I read Watchmen. It is a massive character study, more dense anything in contemporary lit really. For Watchmen to succeed the special effects will still have to be amazing but it has to take a backseat to the characters. While Zack Snyder seems very passionate about Watchmen; I have no doubt he "gets it", I still have to question his ability to control material with this much heft, and dialogue that doesn't invovle Gerald Butler yelling at Persians because seriously, we can all agree he can direct the shit out of Gerald Butler yelling.
and yes i realized i started talking about one thing and ended up talking about something completely different but i'm the only one updating this blog
Yesterday was pretty epic. After ditching some class I went to give Albert his present and to pick up Rockband with him. Video and and pictures are below.
Then at night, I started watching Superman II: The Richard Donner cut. My TV has been having problems lately (for at least the last year or so) with retrace lines. At first I thought it was maybe interference from my speakers or coaxial cables, but apparently the blue voltage gun was out of sync. So I hacked open my TV with a chainsaw, and yada yada yada the blue lines are gone and also the picture looks a lot less washed out now. It's like getting my TV back. Yatta!
Come watch movies now. Better yet, come over when I get back from the motherland in January and we can watch Sunshine.
So I decided to delay your birthday by about 10 days, because your present came today. (It's okay 'cause you still haven't gotten rock band, so I win) I'm in pysch right now and you're ... getting not sober. I also have a presentation in my next class that I have no idea what to say for anymore 'cause my partner and I did the powerpoint for it 2 weeks ago and I don't know anything about rotoscoping. Anyways. Lets watch this on your Toshiba A2 and your Sony TV in like 2 days. (It'll be an official red vs blu event!)
I was originally going to write a whole long post about how moved I was by Beowulf and how excited I am by this new direction cinema can take and how I think Beowulf did everything Cloverfield promised to do. But oh hey, I just said it all in one sentence. I am now super excited for Avatar.
It seems to me that a part of becoming an adult is accepting the world and your life for what it is. I think there's a point before college when I really did feel anything was attainable. Maybe that's why picking a major (and sticking with it) is always so difficult. Before you pick a major, your life is malleable. There is still so much potential, you literally can do anything if you set your mind to it. Life after having a major becomes rigid, you can't be the surgeon general anymore, you won't win an Oscar, and you most definitely won't make more money than Bill Gates. Such is life, when you stop dreaming you can start living. Settling isn’t the right word for it, but eventually you have to know your place in society, know what other people already see in you, and then you become that.
Before yesterday, Cloverfield could've been anything. It could've re-invented cinema, it could've been a cultural revolution, hell I would've believed that it could've cured AIDS. And now it's just "Cloverfield". Up until this point Cloverfield's marketing campaign has made it seem like something truly new. If the film itself was as creative as the campaign it would've more than made up for a year of forgettable sequels and adaptations. Such was the promise of Cloverfield. That promise was broken. I understand from a marketing point of view, calling it anything but Cloverfield would just cause confusion, but withholding a title for this long to only go along with what everyone else is calling it can be described with no action but being complacent. Now instead of bringing something new into the world, it’s just another sci-fi, monster, thriller movie. When that monster sound shows up in trailers and tv spots, I no longer hear LOST's Smokey or Cuthulu, no longer will I hear what pure creativity of the human mind is capable of, I will only hear the sound of settling. (bahh bahh)
I’m still hungering for something great and it’s turning my stomach into knots. *
In my continued resolve not to study/be productive I've opted against watching a Netflix right now and decided to post a picture i took over the weekend.
So I was reading some notes at a coffee shop on Northside and listening to Radiohead, not really being that productive. I was just walking to reading places around campus partly for a change of venue, partly because my attention span is bad for anything except for WoW. Anyways this homeless guy sits down at the table next to mine, and it's a little awkward 'cause 'cmon he's homeless, and I'm there listening to music off my cell phone and reading notes that were printed from a laser printer. So he sits down and starts sipping from his cup (could've been coffee, could've been tea) and after a few minutes he gets up and walks towards the counter. I'm seeing this out of the corner of my eye since I was "studying" but more importantly I was trying not to stare. I didn't think to myself "I must photograph this homeless man" until after he came back. I noticed he had started writing on some napkin with a pen. As sneaky as I am with my phone, I don't think I would've been able to get close enough to take a picture of his writings.
At first it was just curiosity at seeing what a man whose possessions could fit into a plastic garbage bag would feel compelled to write about. And not just scribble on a napkin, he was writing with purpose and he was writing in English. Maybe he was writing about this asshole that was took a picture of him at Brewed Awakening, or maybe why HDDVD sucks, or maybe something more legitimate. He wasn't writing to put off studying for his midterm tomorrow, he went out of his way to put whatever was in his mind on paper. (and not conveniently i might add, writing on napkin with a ballpoint pen is fuckin hard.) So what if? What if this guy had figured out the secret of life and he had nobody to share it with. That means all the world's secrets could be on a piece of napkin somewhere on Northside. So close... yet so far away.
This has been a pretty eventful weekend I would say. Or I guess not really eventful... I did a lot of random thinking: some of it while sober, some of it not, and not all of it coherent, but it'll all probably end up on this blog somehow seeing as how I don't use Xanga anymore and isiyu.sc4sex.com went down this is pretty much my exclusive blog now.
This doesn't necessarily have to do with HD directly but it has to do with films and our passion for it so I guess it applies (also it's here for the reason i mentioned because i don't have another blog to post this on.) I'm so tired of mainstream movies. I was all excited this year because I was so sure Sam Rami would kill with Spiderman 3 and Shrek 3 has such good pedigree. Hell I even thought Pirates 3 could've made up for the second movie. But after this summer, the best movie I saw was one that I had to forgive a fundamental flaw to really say I liked it, and I can't even remember Ocean's 13 came out this year without looking at Yahoo! Movies. I can't say I have a bitter aftertaste after this forgettable Summer of movies, there's just no taste there. I have a blank pallet and I've been waiting for something good.
Don Hertzfedlt is weired, and the films he and Mike Judge picked for the Animation Show 1 and 2 doubly so. This wasn't 'new' in the sense that I wasn't aware it existed, more so the opportunity to watch these DVDs did not cross my path until now. As I was watching some of these shorts and trying to understand them, it occurred to me that these films had more authenticity, more justification for its existence than most anything I've seen in months. Some of the movies in this collection are just weired for the sake of being weired, but some are arresting in the ways it seems to understand human essence and the directness with which it expresses these truths in such a short period of time. So I got to thinking, animated shorts, feature length movies... the point of all film is to tell stories, compelling stories, stories that have something to say about "the human condition" (I'm not really sure what I mean by human condition, but Wikipedia might). I don't think movies should be judged on picture quality, or cinematography, or special effects, or even acting. Those are all important to buttress the film, but they're just extensions to the barest essence of story; whose purpose I am asserting is to show something basic to being human. (Or they can just be fucking weired ala Hertzfeldt) I like movies that make me feel something, creeped out, happy, depressed, emo, even just weired. If I feel the same way after a film, as before it started I think the movie failed. I guess what I'm saying is, fancy picture quality, HDi, BD-J, and 1.3 Firmware is nice and shit, but at the heart of it all I still need some genuine content that moves me. (Sunshine on Blu-ray Jan 8th 2008) And that's something Sony and Toshiba/Microsoft can't fix on their own.
Lets AIM chat about this:
PS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALBIE! YAY! you have exclusive rights to fulfilling my alcohol needs. (until next week, when Alex and you will split those rights 70/30, until he goes to Australia whereupon priority rights will revert back to you for the first seven months of 2008)
Kudos Albert. You, an avid supporter of HD-DVD who already has an HD-DVD addon and can support the format by buying HD-DVD movies, went out of your way to take a A2 player off the market, thus saving someone who didn't already have an HD-DVD player from being able to buy one at the low price point.
Also, you now have 2 HD-DVD players, thus reducing your attach rate of movies per piece of hardware by a factor of two. Maybe that guy that would've bought only WB movies this 4th quarter, but I guess it's now incumbent upon you to pick up the slack or you know just re-buy all the movies you already have.
Wow, reducing your own attach rate and preventing someone else from buying HD-DVD's? I thank you, and Sony thanks you. Seriously. Good fucking job.
So, last Friday was the "secret" Walmart sale - - an impressive effort that gained many more HD DVD supporters and getting rid of inventory for the new HD-A3 series. I'll admit, I woke up at 6:30AM to drive to the closest Walmart and picked up an HD-A2 for my home, so I won't have to bring my Xbox 360 each time I want to watch movies. It was well worth the $100 I spent.
But I think some other people had a better time that day.
Spent 3 hours at Wal-Mart today. I stoped 11 out of 12 people from getting HD-DVD players. I will be spending a lot of time down thier the rest of this year. It is the best I can do to help the less tech savy not get screwed on this half-step format. One couple I talked too went straight over to the games section and picked up a 40GB PS3. The wife said about HD-DVD "We have purchased Toshiba products for over 10 years and we have never been disipointed in them. I can not believe that they would sell a product that is not of the upmost quality." Two other's went ahead and picked up the 80GB which really shocked me , because that is a lot more than they came in expecting to spend. One of these people was an older man about mid 50's he said "It would really be nice if they posted the differances between these products more. Seeing 30 of those GB things compared to 50 really gives you more of a idea about these products than price and names." The only one I could not stop from buying it was this 27 year old guy that said he already had the 360 HD-DVD drive for his 360 in the living room, and he wanted to get this one for his bedroom.
Overall I think the day went well. I was surprised to see so much traffic towards HDM. It seems this year will see a lot of sales in this spectrum of the market. I am going to do my best to try and make sure that these Walmart shoppers in my area make an informed decision before purchaseing into HDM. Hopefully it will help Blu win and put us on track to a medium that will last for a solid 15 to 20 years.
I have also got my wife doing the same thing at the Walmart in the next city over. If anyone else has time to dedicate to helping the consumers find their way I encourage it. I have seen plenty of threads of illigal things like unplugging HD-DVD and cases. This is a perfectly legal way to support Blu-ray, and it is probably the most effective. If you do this at all this year I would suggest Walmarts 99 HD-DVD day and black friday at any store. It is going way out of our way to do this, but both me and my wife know that in 5 years from now when we are watching movies on 200GB BD's it will all be worth it.
The reason gamers won't be able to play the Transformers movie on PlayStation 3 is because Toshiba anted up cash to Paramount to lure the studio over to its exclusive HD-DVD camp. Previously, Paramount had released all of its titles on both platforms. According to industry insiders at the event this week, Paramount was paid as much as $150 million to make the exclusive move for an undisclosed amount of time (perhaps as long as 18 months). The studio is rumored to have been paid $50 million alone for the Transformers HD-DVD exclusive, according to executives at the conference who didn't want to be identified for this story.
...
One home entertainment executive, who supports Blu-ray Disc, said if Microsoft was serious about HD-DVD they would put it inside of the Xbox 360. In reality, many home entertainment executives believe Microsoft is doing all it can to continue the format war for as long as possible. For Microsoft, which wants digital delivery of entertainment like its Xbox Live Video Marketplace to become the key form of consumer consumption of entertainment across multiple PC and Windows Vista-enabled devices, having a clear-cut winner in the next gen DVD war is not to its benefit. The longer consumer confusion continues and the longer many consumers remain on the sidelines awaiting a single format to emerge victorious, the more digital delivery-enabled devices are sold into the market.
"There's an 800 pound gorilla trying to confuse the consumer in an effort to get control of online content in the future," said Mike Dunn, worldwide president of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. "A lot of people will end up paying money for a format that won't be around in 18 months."
(8:36:08 PM)iSIYU:(8:36:03 PM) iSIYU: i guess i should wait. they're just clearing their stock 'cause they know they wont' sell any more players 'cause HDDVD won't last through next june (8:36:38 PM)miktrebla:wow haha you are a retard (8:37:33 PM)iSIYU: TIME TO PROPAGANDIZE!!!!!
Now we all know retailers only severely cut prices like this on goods they know they can't sell to get rid of inventory so there's space for newer better goods (say the 40 gig PS3's that are coming out next week??). It is the basis of Black Friday. Nothing good (new and expensive) is on sale on Black Friday. It's always last year's stuff. So what can we take these major retailers slashing prices as? Obviously there is a lack in confidence of HD-DVD hardware as well as software from Best Buy and Wal*Mart. There is NO, and i repeat for emphasis (and underlining) NO retail confidence in HD-DVD.
Couple this with Warner Bros. executives stating their near resolve to drop HD-DVD all together. This format has no life left, the kindest thing you can do now is to just let HD-DVD die a quiet and respectable death. 'Twas a valiant effort.
refering to transformers: (2:22:26 AM) hoho xD:better then pirates or spiderman 3 (2:35:41 AM) iSIYU:could you love albert more (2:37:11 AM) iSIYU: he didn't even notice your facebook got deleted dumbass.
Personal Conflicts I think its time I finally make up my mind about Transformers. On the one hand it was probably the most talked about special effects work of the year, on the other hand it was a shallow, shallow movie. So here's where I'm conflicted, the more people care only about special effects, the easier it will be for me to find a job in two years, but it also means movies of lower quality will proliferate. Special effects/CG/whatever you want to call it should rarely, if ever take precedence over story and characterization, when that happens a movie becomes little more than a tech demo. Obviously as someone who would like to one day call himself a "digital artist" this seems counter-productive, but (and this is my shower epiphany) shouldn't the people who make special effects understand that more? When CG is used correctly (LOTR) it elevates a film and makes it more compelling. When used excessively, or when it becomes the sole selling point of a movie (Matrix), even the most technically proficient CG becomes tedious, and makes the audience adverse to computer graphics on the whole.
Spiderman 3 vs Transformers Lets be serious, comparing Michael Bay to Sam Rami is like comparing Entertainment Weekly to National Geographic. Actually, maybe National Inquirer and Newsweek makes for a better analogy. I'm not saying Michael Bay is incompetent (that I reserve for Brett Ratner) merely a director with little range and even less depth. Like the National Inquirer Bay is prone to throw any idea that will grab people's attention in his production with little understanding of the source or the subjects. From the trailers to the acting to even the set/robot designs everything about Transformers just felt like a generic action film. Well, a generic action film with a lot of post-production lens flare. Also I don't think the writers had any idea of what this film was supposed to be, if this film was supposed to show the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons continuing on Earth, Shia LeBouf was overused. If it was supposed to be a personal movie about all this insane shit happening to this one guy, the macro level stories about the government and the Australian girl thinking Fourier Series are obsolete, were overkill. Either way it was a movie of excess which is exactly what you get with Michael Bay, while he may never make anything better at least you know he's consistent, just like the level of integrity of National Inquirer. Rami has obviously demonstrated some sort of journalistic integrity and what you get with him is for the most part the whole story. I will try to consider only Spiderman 3 as comparing 1 or 2 to Transformers would just be unfair. While Spiderman 3 was not the perfect film, nor an especially good one, it was not flawed at the fundamental level. Spiderman 3 was a movie that had maybe 20 minutes worth of film that could have been cut. Obviously nobody looking for too much depth would watch Spiderman 3 to scratch that itch, or pick up a Newsweek for that matter. A little more effort went into making Spiderman 3, in terms of crafting the character and the world. You could say it was lazy to stay so faithful to the story of the comics, but the worse thing is to make the story and characters generic.
Oh yeah, Jon deleted his facebook last week. (and he also uses 'then' interchangeably with 'than')
Obviously this whole "war" is about visibility and which format the public will associate with HD viewing. That is what this fuss about box office receipts boil down to. Obviously HDDVD cannot out gross Blu-ray studios because of the sheer imbalance in the number of studios.
But really, nobody is going to AMC 16 Cupertino Square to decide which hi-def movies they're going to buy. People are going to decide at the stores. With blockbuster exclusively carrying Blu-ray titles at its store. Target, Best-buy, and Wal-mart expanding their Blu-ray shelf space, Blu-ray's visibility this fall will undoubtedly best that of HD-DVD.
(Read closely - the Blu-ray player is the only one that will let you experience"True HD")
And don't take my word for it, here are some choice words from the CEO's of Disney and Fox.
Disney CEO Robert Iger today criticized studios that have dropped support of Blu-ray in favor of rival HD DVD. "It's disappointing that the industry hasn't managed to be cohesive," Iger said. ... According to Variety, Dauman refused to comment on reports that Toshiba paid Paramount $100 million to switch to HD DVD.
But Iger seemed certain that the report was true.
"We haven't taken any money (to choose Blu-ray) because we think it's far and away the best business," Iger said, according to Variety.
... News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, whose Fox studio also exclusively backs Blu-ray, told the conference that his favored format offers the best picture.
"The public can tell the difference," Murdoch said, according to the AP.
Did you? I specifically talked about HD releases. Fox has delayed their some of their titles indefinitely, and MGM has been absent this summer (excluding Weinstein Co.).
And then there's MGM, which had a meager $166.7 million. But furthermore, most of their hit titles stem from Weinstein hits such as 1408 (and may I remind you that they are currently HD DVD exclusive).
Sorry Siyu. It was a nice attempt, but HD DVD had a better summer.
When I first saw that last post, it felt a little "familiar" so I just skimmed it, and I almost missed this line: "HD DVD can make a solid counter-strike with the upcoming Transformers HD DVD and other exclusives in order to grasp that group."
Did we forget that for every Transformers on HD DVD there is a Spiderman 3 and Pirates of The Caribbean on Blu-ray? I don't refer to these two titles as any sort of cinematic achievements, I merely point out that all three films were indicators of the whims of pop culture this past summer. Given that fact, their box office performance should be indicators of their strength in pushing an given medium, and Transformers was the lowest grossing film of the three.
I understand rooting for the underdog (Arrested Development/Firefly anyone?) But lets not shy from the truth.
Aren't you glad there are checks and balances in the world?
I've never despised the combo disc format for HD DVD and I think HD DVD definitely has the right idea for their plans. Even though the discs are roughly five bucks more expensive, I've never been displeased with it. I find myself lending out these titles to friends to watch on standard def, while I can enjoy it on my own HD player. It's useful and welcome to our library because there will always be people without a HD setup. Obviously, the HD DVD group is targeting users transitioning from standard to high definition. All of their Hollywood hits on Universal have been combo discs, and it's pretty clear that they want those to purchase these than the other version.
But, it definitely still needs improvement. With HD DVD finally solidifying their details of a triple layer disc, that only requires a downloadable hardware update, no longer will we be plagued by the horrifying flipper discs. With one layer dedicated to the DVD, and two layers for the HD DVD, it is a weapon to be feared. I've heard of problems, even though I've personally never encountered any problem whatsoever, but they are out there. Browsing through forums, you will find a handful of threads dedicated to troubleshooting these discs (which often recommend boiling the disc or a hardware update).
With three major film studios siding with HD DVD, they have a viable strategy to attack the crowd. It would be wise of Universal, Paramount, and Dreamworks to stop production of standard definition DVDs and focus on these combo discs. This would be a solid attack on transitioning users as well as the current HD market. But still in the question is the cost of these pricey products.
So what now? Is this what they should do? Yes. Obviously Blu ray has made a bigger penetration into the mainstream market, but HD DVD can make a solid counter-strike with the upcoming Transformers HD DVD and other exclusives in order to grasp that group.
Lower the cost. Screw flipper discs. Focus on HD DVD combo format.
(This post is mainly for people who have seen the movie so... basically Albert, StephO, Peter, and Billy. There are spoilers so be warned.) So, I Decided I really Liked Sunshine. Yet another thing Albert and I agree on: Sunshine was a really good movie. I most certainly was not a perfect movie, but I think I'm too hard on movies. Especially after I took that Intro to Film Studies class at DeAnza four summers ago. I think after you're able to see the act breaks in the movie and the purpose of each scene, it's difficult to appreciate movies as a whole. But Sunshine was different, there was an organic feeling to its story and the immediacy to the pull it had.
The goal of any film is to make you feel things, and this film made me damn depressed. In a year where I have to look at Yahoo!Movies release date list to remind myself that I waited in line to watch Pirates3, Shrek3, and even Spiderman a movie that leaves any kind of impression is a welcome change. This film did such a good job of putting you in the same bleak situation as the characters. While there was a lot of emphasis on Icarus II being the last hope for mankind, what spoke to me most was that these characters were faced with death but in exchange achieving their destiny. I think Cassie and Cillian Murphy's characters both brought out the most empathy in terms of crying and the tone in Cillian Murphy's voice that shows from the very beginning that he's accepted his fate but is still working towards completing the mission because its just what he has to do.
Yea... that third act. Obviously the film's one big, grotesque, random, out of place mistake was Pinbacker. Yea the movie turned into a slasher for about 5 minutes, but that really isn't what I had a problem with. Obviously Pinbacker was a physical manifestation of the thoughts and the challenges of severe isolation in deep space, but my problem was that he was so damn strong. I think Pinbacker in philosophy was a good and necessary part of the story, and an actual physical presence that works against the crew. While the plot of the film was far fetched, I didn't struggle to much with it since it was only important in so far as that it was an end goal of the crew and not the immediate cause of their conflicts, Pinbacker was a bit much. I would have much preferred him to be a normal or weak human, who ruins the computer systems at the last minute. I don't think its necessary that he be as menacing and overpowering as he was. It would even fit better with the idea that Pinbacker is this weak voice inside everyone nagging slowly that the completion of their goal goes against the natural order of things. I think it was my realization that my problem wasn't with Pinbacker's role in the story (causing the climactic conflict for the crew) but rather just in his physical representation, that made me really like this movie. In the end, it was a miss-step that neither disrupted the emotional investment in the movie nor did it deny the film a logical and dramatic climax. And that's why I'll be picking up Sunshine on Blu-ray.
Sunshine will be released by Fox Searchlight and be Blu-ray exclusive
Okay so Apple's made some big announcements in the last few days, but wow I totally didn't know about this one that they made almost 6 months ago.
“Apple is pleased to join the Blu-ray Disc Association board as part of our efforts to drive consumer adoption of HD,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Consumers are already creating stunning HD content with Apple’s leading video editing applications like iMovie HD and are anxiously awaiting a way to burn their own high def DVDs.”
“Apple has a long history of technical innovation around DVD hardware and software, and their support of the Blu-ray Disc format is a testament to their commitment of ongoing innovation. The Blu-ray Disc format provides the immense capacity and the revolutionary functionality that Apple’s loyal customer base will be sure to enjoy,” said Maureen Weber, chief BDA spokesperson and general manager of HP's Optical Storage Solutions Business. “We’re thrilled about Apple joining our 16-member board, and we look forward to working with them on the development and promotion of the Blu-ray Disc format.”
Wow 15 GB a layer, with that kind of progress we'll be seeing releases of Lord of the Rings and Spiderman on VHS, and we'll all have to buy cassette players to listen to Kanye's new album.
All this is, is an intermediate technology that any mildly informed person would know to avoid. And aren't you glad you read our blog so you know what to avoid? This is like a gaming console that uses DVD storage and/or has literally no HD support. Remember that other thing we were supposed to hate on together? Seriously, so last generation.
Surprise surprise, who's CEDIA prediction was right?
HD VMD. Something cheaper than HD DVD apparently with 15/20gb storage. I guess this is something that will try to oust one of HD DVD's stellar qualities, the price point. The discs will cost $1 to manufacture (compared to $2-3 of HD DVD and Blu ray) and it will debut with a 1080i player at $199.
No one outside the industry will give a shit. The press opt will ignore this in favor of caring about a real show like CES. (I mean seriously, there isn't even a Wikipedia article about CEDIA all this "buzz" is from fanboys posting in forums)
Likelihood: Hella Happening.
Meanwhile: Hi-Def digest has posted a nifty tracking app of Amazon sales ranks of HD-DVD vs Blu-rays. http://amazon.highdefdigest.com/history.aspx?TYPE=10&SPAN=14 Notice how a week or so after the Paramount announcements there is a bump in HD-DVD sales, but even more quickly the curves return to the pre-announcement status quo with Blu-ray significantly ahead of HD-DVD.
Who knows? Maybe Albert's wet dreams will be answered and Microsoft/Toshiba will shell out enough money for Disney or Fox to go format neutral and there'll be another bump before the curves return to status quo. Or maybe, I'll sneak into unit 1 tonight and take a dump on his face before he can check neoGaf tomorrow.
And for the record, as of two weeks ago the definitive collector's edition of Serenity is only available on DVD making neither HD format advantageous when considering Serenity ownership.
Since CEDIA 2007 is tomorrow, I've decided to post a few of my predictions for surprises tomorrow. It's an exciting day and there's already a ton of buzz around the rumors circulating around the internet. Here's what I believe will happen tomorrow:
Cheap Chinese Players: These Chinese players are presumed to be one of ultimate blows to the opposing side. Although in the past year these players have been believed to be HD DVD players, it has only been recently that notions of these being Blu ray players were brought up. Likelihood: Somewhat likely
Warner Remains Neutral: Even though we've heard countless tales of Warner shying towards the HD DVD side, it will probably remain a neutral company. Warner is a money whore, and they know that being format neutral is a boatload of money for them. In addition, Warner has just announced some new HD DVD/Blu Ray titles for release later in the year. Likelihood: Definite
Disney Goes Neutral: Disney has been a forerunner in the support of Blu Ray, so it's a surprise to hear all these beliefs that Disney may go neutral. But it's in the air, and you can't rule it out. Likelihood: Not so likely
Lionsgate and Weinstein Go Neutral: The rumors say so, but will it happen? While I do believe Weinstein will go neutral, Lionsgate is a toss-up. Likelihood: Probably
Serenity Appearing on Blu Ray: Never will this happen. Sorry Siyu. Likelihood: In Siyu's dreams.
It's like my two favorite things had sex and this is what came out.
LOST >> Heroes. I'm sure even Albert agrees with that one.
This post was made possible by Buena Vista's exclusive support for blu-ray. Buena Vista's subsidiaries include: ABC, ESPN, Disney, Miramax, Dimension, ect.
updates begin here:
jonathan: im not a big fan of lost
id be lost i havent seen season 1 or 2
1:06 AM me: stream it online somehwere
1:08 AM anyways i'm buying lost on blu ray for your birthday whether you want to claim it or not is up to you
1:09 AM jonathan: its really for you
1:10 AM me: wow .... could you be more selfish
jonathan: hahaha
whhhhhhhhhhhat?
me: I'M TRYING TO DO A NICE THING FOR YOU AND YOU HELLA BLOW ME OFF
lost season 3 is arguably the best season the show has had since it began
jonathan: omggggggg
1:11 AM me: anyways this is going on red vs blu
There will be a "The Lookout" on Blu-ray screening this weekend (probably Sunday evening) in Sunnyvale. Call me for more details.
There may also be a screening of the last four episodes of Season 2 of Weeds in Sunnyvale if I can find it at Blockbuster. Details are pending.
Xbox 360: It cost me approximately $320 when I bought it new. Xbox 360 Premium's were never at $499. Xbox 360 HD DVD Player: My boss gave it to me for free. So essentially I paid $320 for my often-used gaming system and HD DVD player. Sweet.
But I guess that doesn't matter since everyone is not me. So I see where you get off at spouting those numerical money values to compare your barely used PS3 to my Xbox 360 that gets my loving everyday. There's a secret reason why you didn't bring your PS3 up here to Berkeley. It isn't necessary and you don't love it. I love my Xbox 360, and I brought mine up here.
It's okay Siyu. I'll be enjoying my Heroes: Season 1, Dawn of the Dead, and Blades of Glory tonight on my HD DVD player.
PS. Unreal Tournament 3 is also on Xbox 360 and so is Oldboy in HD. I'll import that just to spite you too. <3
PSS. Let's keep the racial slurs down to a minimum. Not professional Siyu. Not professional...
First of all, my eyes are brown, or has the flickering from 1080i destroyed your already slitty eyes. Secondly I make no excuses about being a Fanboy, whether it's a Sony Fanboy or a Square Fanboy. (Final Fantasy Spirits Within and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children extended edition on Blu-ray) Being a Fanboy is not something to be ashamed of, especially when Sony has been so kind to you. Lets do some math, Albert paid $499 for his Xbox 360 Premium with a 20 gig hard drive and no HDMI output, later he bought the HDDVD add-on for $199 for a total of $698. I paid $499 for a PS3 with 60 gig hard drive, free PSN online play, HDMI out, Blu-ray support, and 5 free movies. And lets not forget Albert's $698 piece of hardware has a 30% chance of failing.
After all that shitting Microsoft has done on you and you still support their archaic system (DVD's on a next-gen gaming platform?! You might as well port Raving Rabbids on it and call it a Wii) At this point HDDVD is as much Microsoft's platform as it is Toshiba's, just think in 2 years when they have to announced the Xbox 720 (or Xbox 360-2?) how embarrassing it would be if they were forced to either stick with DVD's, or use Blu-ray in which case Sony would make royalties off every Xbox game sold. Be assured this war is more about more than just movies, more than just TV, and slightly more than just games. Its about Fanboy pride, so Albert don't be ashamed about being a Fanboy yourself just be honest.
Yea MGS4 has that fluid release date, and I'll probably be 30 by the time Final Fantasy XIII comes out, but with games like Unreal Tournament 3 and movies like Oldboy coming out this fall, the only waiting I'm doing is for Weeds season 2 part 2 and the Lookout to come on Blu-ray from your Netflix. (and for Oldboy to come out so i can buy it to spite you)
Everything is looking mighty red lately. Things are looking up for HD DVD. Let me remind you, that Paramount and Dreamworks are the first companies to go from a neutral stance to exclusive. It's the turning of the tides. Obviously there is something about HD DVD, maybe it's their technology, or even their perspective of HD entertainment, that these newly exclusive companies see that we don't. Sure, there was some money involved, but hey, it's business.
Paramount and Dreamworks are fantastic studios. Just to say that Transformers sucked doesn't mean that there are tons more movies to come as well. I mean, they have the Godfather trilogy, Top Gun, Forrest Gump, Braveheart, Titanic and so on. Some of the best movies in existence and you are just shoving them off like nothing.
You are just going to be in denial forever. You see blue. Whenever I look straight into your eyes Siyu, I peer into deep blue ocean of a Sony fanboy. You know it. Blu ray is always going to be a format that holds you down. It will always be region-coded; it will always be DRM'd; it will always be more expensive. Come on, I'm extending my hand of peace right here. Just come on over to the red side.
Just look how nice our side is. I don't hate you. I just want you to join us so we can be at rest. HD DVD is a nice place to be. It's cheaper, we have four big executive movie studios, and we have Serenity! Your favorite!
I mean, if not, you can enjoy your PS3 with your one game Resistance and 8 Blu rays that are still lying there unwatched. It's okay if you like waiting. There's no problem with patience... waiting for fully developed Blu ray specs and Metal Gear Solid 4...
Alright you Korean bitch. Flame on. One. Two. Three. Four. I declare Flame War.
Definitions of flame on the Web: Personal verbal attacks on other Internet users, via e-mail, USENET, or mailing lists. Flame wars occur when a series of flames are sent back and forth between two or more people.
I'll admit I was surprised by Paramount's defection, but then I processed the information and realized I wasn't going to buy Transformers anyways. Not to mention both Michael Bay and Spielberg's support for Blu-ray. (Yea yea, they threw money at Bay and he retracted his statement. Big fucking surprise: Michael Bay has no integrity.)
So why is this good? Well it means the HD wars last a little bit longer, and this blog can grow and maybe blossom into something beautiful. Though I think our Flaming approach may have a negative impact on Albert's and my relationship. I'm probably going to take things personally and I don't know how well I can leave my emotions out of this. Chances are, I'll end up hating Albert like I hate Brett Ratner.
I've always maintained HD DVD can never claim a complete victory over the HD format wars. Honestly the best they can hope for is a stale mate where combo players that can play both formats become affordable at which point, the format with more storage will become favored and HD DVDs will be phased out. Sony currently owns the largest film library of any major film studio with major franchises like Spiderman, the entire Bond franchise, and RESIDENT EVIL. (And lets not forget they're making the Metal Gear Solid movie) That fact alone will ensure class A content for Blu-ray. Lets also not forget the exclusive support from 20th Century Fox and Disney. So while HD DVD just ensured that the most recent Shrek that people have already forgot existed will be exclusive, Blu-ray still has exclusive rights to all past and current Pixar movies as well as generation defining Disney movies like the Lion King.(oh and Pirates, I think some people liked Pirates) Honestly, it's like comparing Bape hoodies to some of the shit I have from when I used to shop at Ross.
That's all for now, I'll set flame on HD gaming later, and hopefully institute a new feature where we flame the Wii in every post! (maybe not every post, that'd just be so last-generation, like the Wii)
Sorry that it's been awhile since the last post. I haven't been able to catch my breath. I returned from Korea, partied every night at my house, moved to Berkeley, and finally school has just started. On top of this, Bioshock has taken over my life.
I can't express how long it's been since a game has satisfied me like this. Guitar Hero 2 was fun for sure but lacks depth, Forza 2 got old pretty fast after making my awesome Arcade Fire livery.But in the end, I was truly waiting for this (and Halo 3, of course). It's an atmospherically stunning game that has gameplay that doesn't get old one bit. System Shock 2 was incredible, but Bioshock is a definite step up and deserves every single 9-10 rating it received. Is there anything I need on the PS3 right now? No. I see nothing. My Xbox 360 is keeping my plenty satisfied.
There's been a lot of shuffling around in the HD wars and I feel like HD DVD finally has a chance to come back with Paramount/Dreamworks switching sides. Highdefdigest and AVS forums are usually flooded with depressing threads on the demise of HD DVD, but it's turned around. It's anyone's game now. Game on Siyu. Fuck Blu ray.
This is the first game play footage from Metal Gear Solid 4, presented in Japan at the MGS 20th Anniversary event. Because non-game play cutscenes will only do for so long.
Nothing gets me more excited than the words "Tactical Espionage Action" (except maybe the words "Bucket of Chicken") and this trailer has about 15 minutes of just that. This is a lazy post I know, I'll get back to home theater posts soon, and possibly another Blu-Ray screening (of WILD THINGS!). But seriously, even though I'm not that into MGS (I played Snake Eater for about an hour before I decided it was too hard) what has piqued my interest about this game is that this series has always demonstrated early on in their life cycles, what Sony consoles are capable of. That's why I think this game is so important. Also, it gives me something else to gloat about besides the massive hardware failure of 360s.
PS. Also... Snake uses a fucking sixaxis. How fucking cool is that!?
Newsbit for HD gaming, Peter Moore settles it once and for all:
Microsoft's coporate VP Peter Moore confirmed that Konami's Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will not be coming to Xbox 360, the game remains as a PS3 exclusive title.
Or at least I will be tomorrow. I've been in this summer program in Korea for a week, and now I have returned. I went to North Korea and stuff; it was crazy to say the least.
But for now, I will rest, moss it up on the plane ride home, and return to my high definition love, HD DVD.
There will be an official Red vs Blu HD screening of Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain at my house at 7 PM Thursday July 19th, 2007. (Or whenever Alex comes back from Berkeley). We have to start on time because my parents will probably want to watch Chinese drama. Get here early if you also want to watch E3 Trailers from Sony in HD. Special thanks to Albert for use of his Netflix.
Having watched Kung Fu Hustle on Blu-ray and Harry Potter 5 in a conventional theater on the same day, I can say now that watching movies in HD with surround sound has surpassed regular movie theaters. Image quality from film can't match the color and the detail of HD, but maybe it was just this print of Harry Potter, and if that were the case this print was also missing a narrative structure and decent acting. Does the grainy film of Harry Potter mean the end of movie theaters is imminent? I hope not. Something about watching movies in a theater makes it an event. Films are made to be watched on the Silver Screen. Television and film have always been competing with each other, and film for the most part has been slightly ahead technologically. Color films came out before color television, and when color was introduced to TV, they started making movies in widescreen and now that TV is going digital, movie theaters and studios must now follow suit, or better yet one-up TV. As home theater systems get more advanced, hopefully so will local movie theaters. While the number of IMAX theaters is expanding ever so slowly(still only about 70 in North America), digital projectors like the ones used by Century 22 is more cost-effective way by updating existing theaters, as opposed to pushing for wide construction of new IMAX theaters.
While some would argue that the jump from current displays to HD is not as significant as that from black and white to color, the fact remains that once you see something in HD, there's no going back. HD may not revolutionize either the television or film industries, it is a significant step forward. A step that will compel people raise their expectations of not only home theater, but movie theaters, optical storage, video games, and broadcast television as well.Once the bar is raised, cultural and economic forces will push us to take the next step. And so, to speed up the progress of HD is to advance the march of mankind.
That might have been a bit much, but seriously... IT'S THE FUTURE!!1!one!!11exclaimation!
So Albert has decided to duck out for a week without telling me. The only notice I was given was his status change on Facebook. So I guess I'll be holding down the fort for the next few days.
Today I bring you my pick of the new releases on Blu-ray this week. And my pick of the day if you haven't guessed it from the picture to the left, is Wild Things: Unrated Edition. If I didn't feel guilty about blowing $19.95 of my parents money, I'd be going to bed early to get this when Best Buy opens tomorrow. I know I'm not the only one dying to see the explosive courtroom scene* where Denise Richards throws a glass at Neve Campbell** in HD. This is also the unrated version of the film which means 7 more minutes of... courtroom scenes* . Also of note, the Bruce Willis/Milla Jovovich movie The Fifth Element is getting a re-release on Blu-ray to fix some video quality issues.And like Albert, the other next-gen format is on hiatus as well, as there are no new HD-DVD releases this week.Wild Things: Unrated Edition and The Fifth Element(Remastered) are both available on Amazon at $19.95.
*by "courtroom scene" I meant "3-way scene". **and by "throws a glass at Neve Campbell", I meant "sucks on Neve Campbells nipples"
I guess Sears really wants to see another Sega console, picture and article at X-Box Scene should explain it all. Link here to Sears site if they haven't fixed it yet.
CHEAP HD-DVD PLAYERS Somewhere next week people will be buying HD-DVD players for $99. Read the rest of it at Gizmondo.
I originally was going to use a definition from PC Magazine but this one from Urban Dictionary is much more succinct, not to mention Steph Chien approved. So what does it mean to be futureproof during the transition to HD? Has digital media reached a satisfactory level of clarity and mass produce-ability that the movies we buy and the home videos we shoot will not be replaced by something flashier in a few years? That is the hope. But then, weren't we promised all that with DVDs? While yes, the Cruel Intentions on Blu-ray probably looks better than the DVD version that I bought from Best Buy 8 years ago, the fact that not only are DVDs compatible with HD-DVD/Blu-ray players, upscaling should make the transition into the new smoother by smoothing the lower-res DVDs on your HD display.* So no, your ultimate HD choices will most certainly not be the last home theater choice you'll make, but to ensure that your choices stay futureproof through the next couple of years, it is imperative to make educated choices.
While I'm here...
Having dual formats is bad for the market, but more interestingly it's bad for you! I acknowledge having a competing, cheaper, format has pushed Sony and Blu-ray player makers to lower its price. However, in the long run it is still counterproductive to the overall adoption of HD in homes. People don't like choices, it makes them uneasy. It takes Alex and me half an hour to decide between A&J or Chilis, an hour if one of us is in the mood for KFC. The need to eat(not the arrival at a satisfactory decision) is often what ends up compelling us to make a choice. When faced with two seemingly similar choices in HD, people can put off that decision for a much longer time. While it's relatively safe to say HD-DVD's existence as a viable mainstream format is in its waning months (god-forbid years), the longer it sits on its deathbed, the longer people will hold off and be apprehensive about taking that plunge into HD (and the Blu). HD-DVD has posed some competition for the Blu-ray camp and caused some price pressures,but its definitive achievement of 2007 will be to have delayed wider HD adoption for at least one more holiday season.
PS: Please don't be angry Albert, I still want to watch Serenity on HD-DVD. <3 style="font-style: italic;">
*that was an awkwardly worded sentence, I'll explain more about upscaling, or you can wikipedia it
