Highly Defined

Well, let’s skip the pleasantries (besides, I’ve got a whole big introduction lined up and can save for a week anyway) and let’s get down to business.

The last couple of weeks have seen a decided uptick in HD and Blu-Ray news and notes, perhaps most significant among them is that Warner Brothers has decided to release some of the same already available HD-DVD titles on Blu-Ray, so come August 1, there will be a lot of people frantically getting their screenshot comparisons up and ready to go. Of course, tho...e titles are Rumor Has It, Training Day and Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (and the Blu exclusive Good Night and Good Luck), but Warner media advertising appears to also note that 16 Blocks, The Perfect Storm and Million Dollar Baby may be on the way as well.

The world of High-Definition is upon us, whether or not the public is ready or aware of it. High-Definition is available in almost every media format now from Televisions to Video Game Consoles and now actual movies. But the true question that lies ahead for the public is, which format do we support? Which format will eventually become BetaMax 2.0? In this new weekly column exclusive to UpcomingDiscs, we’re going to take a further look into every High-Definition as if we were fans cheering from the sideline of a foot...all game.

In the middle of April of this year, Toshiba released the HD-A1 or HD-XA1 players for a retail of either $499.99 or $799.99. Companies like Universal Home Studios, and Warner Brothers swarmed retail outlets with new movies in this new format. Titles like The Last Samurai, Doom, The Fugitive, The Perfect Storm, The Rundown, and Million Dollar Baby can be found at many retailers across the country. Now let’s find out what HD-DVD exactly is all about.