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The High Definition DVD Studio Support Petition Campaign


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December 26th 2007

Warner bitten by Bluray problems yet again

On December 21, news broke that Warner Home Entertainment's release of Terminator 3 was marred by a problem. It appears that whoever was doing the encode for Warner was doing a "Fake PiP" second encode. "Fake PiP" is a trick whereby a second encode of a film is done which includes the PiP commentary window "pre-encoded" into it (such as used by Lionsgate in the past) to get around the limitations of Bluray's BD 1.0 "profile", which is unable to decode two video streams, such as how it is done by ALL HD DVD players.

However, it appears that an error was made that forced the playback of the "PiP" version of the movie to only playback in 1080i, instead of 1080p.

The report came only a day after news broke of problems with the company's release of "Blade Runner" to the Bluray format. As a result of apparent Bluray production issues, the fifth disc in the set was actually an incorrectly labelled copy of the first disc.

This news, in turn, came only a week after ANOTHER Bluray manufacturing issue saw HD DVD discs, incorrectly lablled as Bluray, inserted into the Bluray version of some Harry Potter giftsets.

It is unknown what steps in the Bluray production and manufacturing are causing all these problems, but I'd imagine that Warner could NOT be all that happy about it - particularly as it has caused them to receive complaints from customers.

In a post to the one of the forums, an unverified insider who claimed to have insider info on Warner made the following statement:

The blu-ray production problems are pissing people off big time at the company. **'Harry Potter' set, 'T3', and 'Blade Runner' were mentioned by my contact. He said it was turning into some kind of "running joke" within the division but he's been hearing grumbles about it from just about everyone. The most interesting thing he told me was concerning the 'Pirates..' production problem and "at least Disney got it too". I asked my contact about Sony supplimenting Blu production for the Warner inventory and all he said was "that's the only reason certain people here haven't had heart attacks over it."**

As mentioned in the post, Warner is certainly not the only studio to be hit with Bluray production issues, but Warner is certainly the most critical studio for Bluray, if they are to stay in the game.

However, if I were Warner, it would be just another indication that Bluray might not be the best way to go...



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Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks have chosen HD DVD! They have dropped Bluray support completely! Read On...

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New Commentary:

Paramount & Dreamworks Drop Bluray for HD DVD !!!!!!!!

Movies affected by Decision

The Current "State of the BD" Format
BD 1.1 Player Spec DOA Again!?

BD-R Playback Reigned Back?!

New 3rd Gen HD DVD Players!

HD Supporters CALL TO ACTION - Here are the steps to take now !!

April Commentary:
The Matrix Trilogy HD DVD May 22
HD DVD Chosen As Best Again
HD DVD Sales Soar Once More
HD DVD One Year Anniversary
Two New Studios For HD DVD
Scores Of New HD DVD Releases
Samsung Universal Player Arrives
Bluray Standard Delayed Again!
The PS3 - More Trials and Woes
Sony/BDA Start "Phase: HYDRA"!

Older Commentary:
The Impact of Dual-Format Players
Are Bluray players Obsolete?
Is Sony the Fatal Flaw in Bluray?
"Muslix" - HD Hacker or Saboteur?
PS3 failure to reverse HD DVD lead

Lord Of The Rings HD DVD screenshots are appearing on Web ! You may want to consider contacting New Line Cinema to ask for it's release sooner than later!


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A few Testimonials:

William - "Nothing but good things to say about HD-DVD. Keep the movies coming!"

Alesha - "I love HD DVD, they need more studio support! Plus Blue-ray is way over priced, nobody wants to pay $1000 for a dvd player!"

Terry - "HD DVD is growing much faster than Blu-Ray. Release your films, and I will purchase."

Tony - "HD-DVD gives us a realistic - reliable affordable way to enjoy movies in HD... Give us full support! Thank you."

Steven - "I own the Toshiba HD DVD player XA1 and it is amazing.I work part-time at Circuit -City (2 years) and it is a significantly better picture than the Samsung Blu-Ray player."

Eric - "Blue-Ray didn't deliver what it promised and HD-DVD has delivered in every area it was supposed to. In practice it's the better, more stable format."

Mischa - "Don't withhold those great titles, bring them at least to both formats. Let the consumer decide!"

Dan - "I've compared both versions, and quality is better than blu-ray. But what appeals to me is how much more affordable it is.."

Nolan - "I am a large consumer of movie software and would love to increase my library with tittles on HD DVD. Please release tittles and let the consumer decide which format should win."

Charity - "Please end this now. Look at the sales numbers.The consumer has clearly sided with HD DVD."

Tom - "Its the only way forward. It Works..."


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