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Here's a first look at the covers for Warner's upcoming Blu-ray & HD DVD releases slated for release December 2006, as well as the just released [in both Blu-ray and HD DVD] Pat Metheny Group - The Way Up: Live.
click on the images to order any of these Blu-ray and HD DVD titles from DVD Station
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Warner to debut HD DVD and Blu-ray | |
WARNER HOME VIDEO
DEBUTS SIX NEW
HD DVD and Blu-ray TITLES
- Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
- Lethal Weapon 1
- Lethal Weapon 2
- Under Siege
- Unforgiven
- The Fugitive
Each available to own on HD DVD and Blu-ray
for $29.95RRP from 6 December 2006.
Sydney, Australia (30 October 2006) - Warner Home Video (WHV) announces the release of six HD DVD and six Blu-ray titles this 6 December 2006.
WHV HD DVDs and Blu-ray high definition discs offer resolution six times higher than standard definition DVDs, extraordinarily vibrant contrast and colour in addition to beautifully crisp sound. HD DVD and Blu-ray also provide new levels of interactivity, giving instant access to extra features with the debut of a seamless menu-bar that allows viewers to enjoy features and settings without leaving or interrupting the film.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang tells the story of a petty thief brought to Hollywood for an unlikely audition when he finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation with his high school crush.
Special Features:
Commentary by Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer and Shane Black
Gag Reel
Theatrical Trailer
Rating:
MA15+
Run time:
103mins
Lethal Weapon 1 - Mel Gibson and Danny Glover star as Riggs and Murtaugh, two L.A. detectives who uncover a huge drug-smuggling operation, and as their success grows so does their friendship.
Special Features:
Additional Scenes
Theatrical Trailer
Rating:
M
Run time:
110mins
Lethal Weapon 2 - Mel Gibson and Danny Glover are at it again (with more than four added minutes) in this blockbuster sequel. Joe Pesci makes his first appearance in the series as Leo (.OK, OK.) Getz.
Special Features:
Stunts And Action Featurette
Additional Scenes
Theatrical Trailer
Rating:
M
Run time:
114mins
Under Siege - Steven Seagal comes aboard and comes on strong, in this box-office blockbuster, combining humour and heroics in a fireball of a movie. He's an ex-Navy SEAL and highly decorated combat operative Casey Ryback. Relying on his slam-bang martial-arts skills and equipped with enough hardware to single-handedly wage World War III, Ryback turns the Missouri's deck and below deck areas into guerilla combat zones.
Special Features:
Theatrical Trailer
Rating:
M
Run time:
103mins
Unforgiven is Clint Eastwood.s classic Western masterpiece which earned 4 Academy Awards; including Best Picture. Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman play retired, down-on-their-luck outlaws who pick up their guns one last time to collect a bounty offered by the vengeful prostitutes of the remote Wyoming town of Big Whiskey.
Special Features:
Commentary by Eastwood Biographer Richard Schickel
4 Documentaries:
. All on Accounta Pullin. a Trigger
. Eastwood & Co.: Making Unforgiven
. Eastwood.A Star
. Eastwood on Eastwood
Classic Maverick Episode Duel at Sundown
Theatrical Trailer
Rating:
M
Run time:
131mins
The Fugitive, which stars Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones is the box-office hit and Best picture Oscar; -nominated motion picture based on the long-running TV series about a surgeon falsely accused of killing his wife
Special Features:
Commentary by Tommy Lee Jones and Director Andrew Davis
Introduction by Andrew Davis
Two Exciting Documentaries:
. Derailed: Anatomy of a Train Wreck
. On the Run with the Fugitive
Theatrical Trailer
Rating:
M
Run time:
130mins
N.B. All bonus materials will be included on both HD and Blu-ray DVD versions.
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Sony Pictures First 5 Blu-ray titles for OZ | |
please note that although this press release states an october 2006 release date, no titles as of the end of october have been spotted, but are expected to show up any day now to coincide with the launch of the Samsung BD-P1000 (SRP $1599)
SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES AVAILABILITY OF BLU-RAY DISC TITLES IN AUSTRALIA
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) Worldwide President, David Bishop, has announced the company is expanding its distribution of Blu-ray Disc (BD) titles beyond the United States and Canada.
The rollout in Australia will begin this October to coincide with the first availability of Blu-ray hardware.
"We stand behind the superiority of Blu-ray as the preeminent high-definition optical disc format and are committed to delivering a strong slate of Blu-ray titles to entertainment enthusiasts worldwide," said Mr. Bishop.
SPHE.s first slate of BD titles is set to launch in Australia this October includes five catalogue titles; Hitch, S.W.A.T, Underworld Evolution, A Knight.s Tale and Hostel. Leading into the Christmas period releases will include a wider range of catalogue and new releases, RV and Click.
SPHE will debut BD titles in Australia along with Japan, Korea, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland, the Nordic countries, Spain and the United Kingdom.
"With the growth of high-definition displays in the marketplace, the timely introduction of the Blu-ray Disc format will provide consumers with significant amounts of content, of unrivaled quality, to maximize the potential of their high-definition entertainment systems," Michele Garra, managing director, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Australia.
We are extremely excited to be bringing the next generation of home entertainment to Australians," commented Mrs. Garra.
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TOSHIBA launches their first HD DVD in Australia | |
On 30th October 2006, Castel and Universal Pictures Australia joined forces to launch HD DVD in Australia covering both the players (Toshiba) and media (Universal), respectively.
Castel and UPA will simultaneously launch HD DVD in Australia on 10th December, just in time for Christmas.
You will find 2 flavours of Toshiba Players with the first player being their base model HD-E1, priced at a very tempting $1099, though it should be pointed out it's missing a few features that are sad to see absent (see specs below).
Then a few months later (March 2007, as of press) Castel will release the all-singing all-dancing HD-XE1 priced at a very respectible $1599, with essentially all the features missing from the lower spec'd model (See specs below).
With these prices, Toshiba is said to be taking a hit in the pocket with their aggressively low pricing for such a new product, at least compared to the price of players from the blu-ray camp, which START at $1600, in guise of the Samsung BDP-1000, released to Australian stores at the end of October 2006.
No doubt Toshiba are looking at the big picture with their plan for HD DVD world domination over the blu-ray format.
As an aside, Sharp Electronics are doing something similar with the release of their new fandangled XV-Z21000 1080p DLP projector. In order to capture market attention earlier, and in a market where the price of projectors drops rapidly on a near daily basis, it will be priced from the get-go at $12,999. This is compared to the $15,000 to $17,000 pricetags of the XV-Z series [DLP 1280x720] 9000, 10000, and 12000 models of years past when they wre first released.
Given the very high quality of the Sharp XV series (I can attest for that as an owner of the Z10000), this is a VERY good price point, and one that will catch the attention of many high-end 1080p enthusiasts.
for more information on the Sharp 21000, check out Carlton Audio Visual website
But getting back to the real issue at hand, here's a breakdown of the specs for both Toshy HD DVD players.
| Model | HD-E1 | HD-XE1 | | Launch Information | Price (incl. GST) | A$1099 | A$1599 | | Availability | | December, 2006 | February, 2007 | | Compatible Formats | HD DVD Video*１ | | yes | yes | | DVD Video | | yes | yes | | DVD VR *２ | | yes | yes | | CD (CD-DA) | | yes | yes | | Compatible Discs | HD DVD Video | | yes | yes | | Twin format Disc (HD DVD & DVD Video) | yes | yes | |
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| | DVD-ROM (Video) | yes | yes | | DVD-R (Video) | yes | yes | | DVD-R DL (Video) | yes | yes | | DVD-RW (Video/VR) | yes | yes | | CD (CD-DA) | | yes | yes | | CD-R (CD-DA) | | yes | yes | | CD-RW (CD-DA) | yes | yes | | Video Specifications | Codecs | MPEG2 | yes | yes | | MPEG4 AVC (H.264) | yes | yes | | VC1 | yes | yes | | HD output resolutions | 1080p | - | yes | | 720p, 1080i | yes | yes | | DVD |
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| | PAL, NTSC | yes | yes | | SD upscale to HD resolution (via HDMI) | up to 1080i | up to 1080p | |
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| | 297MHz/12bit Video DAC (analogue) outputs) | - | yes | | Deep Colour (HDMI output) *3 | - | yes |
| Audio Specifi-cations | Codecs | Dolby Digital | yes (up to 5.1ch) | yes (up to 5.1ch) | | Dolby Digital Plus | yes (up to 5.1ch) | yes (up to 5.1ch) | | Dolby TRUE HD | yes (up to 5.1ch) | yes (up to 5.1ch) | | dts | yes (up to 5.1ch) | yes (up to 5.1ch) | | dts-HD (core only) | yes (up to 5.1ch) | yes (up to 5.1ch) | | MPEG Audio | yes | yes | | PCM | yes (up to 5.1ch) | yes(up to 5.1ch) | |
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| | Terminals | Video outputs | Composite | 1 | 1 (gold plated) | | S-Video | 1 | 1 (gold plated) | | Component | 1 | 1 (gold plated) | | Audio outputs | Analogue 2ch | 1 | 1 (gold plated) | | Analogue 5.1ch | - | 1 (gold plated) | | Digital coaxial | - | 1 (gold plated) | | Digital optical | 1 | 1 | | HDMI output Ver. 1.2 | 1 | - | | HDMI output Ver. 1.3*3 | - | 1 | | Ethernet (10/100BASE) | 1 | 1 | | Control (RS-232C) | - | 1 (bi-directional) | | Extension Terminal | 2 | 2 | | Dimensions & Weight | Size (W x H x D) (mm) | | 430 x 345x 65.5 | 438 x 74.4 x 34 | | Weight (kg) | | 4.1 | 6.2 | 1.HD DVD discs containing high definition content at a field rate of 50Hz
or a frame rate of 25Hz cannot be played on HD-E1 and HD-XE1 without
a firmware update. Firmware update is expected in the future. Should
you have any question about the frame rate of your disc, please
contact the disc vendor.
2. CPRM compatible disc cannot be played.
3. Requires viewing with TVs or monitors and equipment compliant with
Deep Colour feature based on HDMI 1.3. Some TVs or monitors may not
be compatible. If you experience compatibility problems, please
contact Castel Electronics Customer Service on 1800 50 50 51.
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Sony Blu-ray 2006 Release Schedule and Pricing | |
Sony Blu-ray 2006 release schedule and pricing!
The team from Bay Street Mediaworks (Sony Pictures press handlers) were gratious enough to send me through the tentative release schedule for Sony Pictures Australian Blu-ray releases for the remainder of the year.
They also let me in on the pricing structure for Sony releases:-
Back Catalogue titles will be $39.95 each
New Release titles will priced $10 higher at $49.95.
Althought from looking at the dates below it is rather obvious that the Blu-ray releases have not gone exactly according to plan, with the first batch supposedly being available mid October(?!)
This at least gives you an idea as to what you can expect to find in your stocking this Christmas :)
13th October 2006 - HITCH, S.W.A.T, UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION,HOSTEL
8th November 2006 - 50 FIRST DATES, INTO THE BLUE, THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE, TEARS OF THE SUN, RV
6th December -Click, XXX
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Samsung Blu-ray player availability update | |
After a few phone calls around the place, i am pleased to report that the Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-ray player is currently available, and only from Harvey Norman stores (from what i was told). However, based on my findings, it seems that it won't be for too long before they are all gone!
Accordingly, HN took ALL from the first batch of the limited number of players, with my local ASPLEY QLD Harvey Norman store having just the 1 new boxed and their display model left.
While the media to play on the machines doesn't appear to be readily available in stores just yet, the Samsung player comes bundled with 2 blu-ray discs. One is a unnamed unplugged live music concert, and the other the 2004 movie version of S.W.A.T.
If you were in the market for a blu-ray player and have missed out, Samsung expects their next shipment of players in early december 2006
 Samsung Blu-ray site - External Site Link
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