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"300" shown in before and after footage  (Source: Warner Bros.)
HD DVD outshines Blu-ray Disc with a better version of "300"

This week’s home video movie releases will bring with it a disc that will clearly outline the differences in feature sets of HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc. “300,” released on Tuesday, hits the market on high-definition with unequal releases.

The rights to “300” belong to Warner Home Video – a studio that backs both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc – but the studio has graced the HD DVD version with several exclusive features that currently can be found nowhere else.

Found only on the HD DVD version is the "Bluescreen Picture-in-Picture Version" of the film. As “300” was shot almost completely in a bluescreen-laden warehouse in Canada, the raw footage differs greatly from the movie’s final look. Viewers are able to directly compare the before and after shots through a picture-in-picture window that can be dynamically enabled or disabled. Running alongside the pre-processed footage is an exclusive commentary track by director Zack Snyder recorded specifically for the special feature.

The bluescreen supplement is not found on the Blu-ray Disc version of the film, but Warner Home Video’s decision to include it only the HD DVD version is unlikely due to any sort of format favoritism. Current mandatory Blu-ray Disc player specifications do not include the feature set to allow for picture-in-picture video.

The Blu-ray Disc Association has mandated that all players of the format released after October 31, 2007 must support BD Java, a programming language for Blu-ray Disc media used mainly to deliver picture-in-picture for in-movie commentary and special features.

The HD DVD equivalent of this enabling feature, called HDi, is already standard on all HD DVD players. Rather than being based on Java, however, HDi is built on Microsoft’s XML standards.

Another feature that points out the feature differences between the two high-definition player specifications is HD DVD’s requirement of being Internet-connectivity ready. Recent firmware updates for HD DVD players, which are obtainable via the web, have enabled “Web Content” features for specific movie titles.

“300” on HD DVD takes advantage of online content by allowing the viewer to browse and purchase movie-related items, such as ringtones and wallpapers, for use on mobile phones – another feature that is exclusive to the movie’s release on the format.

The CGI-filled film isn’t Warner Home Video’s first unequal release on high-definition. The studio released “Blood Diamond” first on Blu-ray Disc, and then weeks later released the HD DVD version with picture-in-picture commentary. The studio is also holding back certain titles from a Blu-ray Disc release – that are already available on HD DVD – at least until BD-Java becomes mandatory. Such titles include “Batman Begins,” “V for Vendetta” and the “Matrix Trilogy.”

Although it may appear that the current Blu-ray Disc version of “300” is completely inferior to the HD DVD version, it does feature one additional audio option. The Blu-ray Disc version of the film includes an additional uncompressed audio track that is encoded in Linear PCM 5.1. The extra audio track is likely exclusive to Blu-ray disc due to the format’s extra 20GB of storage space. The video encodes on both high-definition versions, presented in VC-1, are identical.

“The HD DVD of 300 is clearly the superior version, boasting some exclusive special features such as a picture-in-picture bluescreen version of the film, web-enabled extras and more,” said optical storage analyst Wesley Novack. “The only exclusive feature found on the Blu-ray Disc version of the release is the uncompressed PCM audio track, which is nearly identical to the TrueHD audio found on the HD DVD release.”

For Blu-ray Disc player owners who are missing the bluescreen picture-in-picture feature, there may be hope of a second release of “300” following the implementation of BD Java. According to Home Media Magazine, Deborah Snyder, executive producer and wife of director Zack Snyder of the film, at a Comic-Con International panel said that the picture-in-picture feature wasn’t yet ready for Blu-ray Disc, and added, “I think there’s going to be another Blu-ray special edition later on.”

Another report from the panel recorded Deborah Snyder as saying that a later edition of the movie will also include storyboards and production artwork in addition to the bluescreen footage. The Digital Bits recalled that the producer’s comments sent several Warner representatives in a state of nervousness and shock. Warner Home Video did not comment on whether or not there would be another release of “300” on Blu-ray Disc with additional features.

For owners of players of both high-definition formats, the choice between which to buy today may come down to more than just the special feature bullet-points. Interestingly enough, the Blu-ray Disc version of “300” retails for several dollars less than the HD DVD version, but it’s not because of its shorter feature list.

As Novack explained, “These exclusive extra features are not the catalyst that caused the slightly higher MSRP on the HD DVD compared to the Blu-ray version. In reality, the higher price is due to the combo disc format, which includes a standard DVD version on the flip-side of the disc. And with a rumor that Warner might be releasing another version of ‘300’ in the future, with interactive features included next time, the HD DVD version looks like the version to jump on at this point in time.”

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Good news for HD-DVD
By FITCamaro on 8/3/2007 8:25:28 AM , Rating: 2
With the format war still raging on, every little bit on either side helps. Personally I like HD-DVD due to its more lax DRM.

While it'd be nice to get the movie with HD-DVD and DVD versions on one disc, I don't think I want to pay the premium given the format war isn't over. Once it is, then I'll pick the winner. Until then, 1080i upconvert will be fine and still looks great.




RE: Good news for HD-DVD
By mdogs444 on 8/3/2007 8:39:40 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
While it'd be nice to get the movie with HD-DVD and DVD versions on one disc, I don't think I want to pay the premium given the format war isn't over. Once it is, then I'll pick the winner. Until then, 1080i upconvert will be fine and still looks great.


Exactly. I dont buy into high priced technology trends until they are priced to a point worthy of my dollar. Regular DVD Players were at this price point and higher at one point in time, so I plan on waiting until these do the same. Im sure the quality is great - but not enough for me to drop several hundred dollars on a new DVD player to watch maybe 1 movie per week.


RE: Good news for HD-DVD
By omnicronx on 8/3/07, Rating: 0
RE: Good news for HD-DVD
By CorrND on 8/3/07, Rating: 0
RE: Good news for HD-DVD
By omnicronx on 8/3/2007 12:47:26 PM , Rating: 2
the HD-A2 has a 1080i max resolution, not that i care, but some do ;) i don't think there is even a non 1080p BD player out there. I feel if you are going to buy a next gen player, you might as well make it 1080p though.. then again how many people have 1080p sets heh.

Anyone willing to spend 600$ on a movie player probably has money to spend anyways, the word 'SONY' just sounds so good to those who are not tech savy ;) I know it worked with my Dad heh.


RE: Good news for HD-DVD
By Oregonian2 on 8/3/07, Rating: 0
RE: Good news for HD-DVD
By omnicronx on 8/3/2007 2:10:30 PM , Rating: 3
I am a bit confused about what you are trying to say, but ill try to give you an explanation.

First off lets talk about only 1080p Televisions just to keep things simple. In terms of resolution, a 1080p tv has a resolution of 1920x1080. So when playing an HDDVD or BD movie at 1080p, the picture is outputting from the player and is essentially left untouched by your TV, which means the signal is 1:1 so your TV does not have to scale to its native resolution (it also does not deinterlace or line double which i will explain later).

But when the hddvd or bd player outputs at 1080i (interlaced), the true resolution being outputted is really 1920x540, with 540 lines appearing every half second giving you the perception 1080 lines are being presented every second, but since your LCD can only output non-interlaced video, your TV has to deinterlace (or line double) the source video which basically means it merges the two 540 lines into 1 progressive 1080p signal. But by doing so motion blurs and artifacts may appear on your screen, leaving you with less than ideal picture quality compared to full 1080p. Of course you really need a trained eye to even notice the difference when sitting more than 10 feet from your TV, so in the end its all user preference, they both will look good in the end.

This also happens to be one of the many reasons some people believe 720p actually looks better than 1080i on a 720p display.

I hoped this helped explain it too you.. i know its long but i wanted to simplify it as much as i could ;)


RE: Good news for HD-DVD
By h0kiez on 8/3/2007 2:21:13 PM , Rating: 3
What you're saying isn't really true. It's true for a 720p source that much be scaled to 540 for a 1080i source, but this just isn't the case with HD DVD. There is soooo much misinformation about this.

I've never seen it summed up more succintly (and easily understood) as in an article from projectorcentral. Here's what you need to know:

"Contrary to popular misconceptions, HD-DVD and Blu-ray are both 1080p sources. As far as movies are concerned, both disc formats are scanned and encoded in 1080p from the original film. So why the confusion? It comes from the fact that the first HD-DVD player, the Toshiba HD-A1, outputs 1080i, while the first Blu-ray player, the Samsung BD-P1000, outputs both 1080i and 1080p. That sounds like a big deal, but in reality this is more of a marketing/perception problem for the Toshiba player than a technical limitation.

Both HD-DVD and Blu-ray have all of the progressively scanned 1080-lines per frame of information on the disc, and this information is not lost or compromised in 1080i transmission. The transmission interface is simply a matter of the order in which the scanlines are read and transmitted to the video display. If they are transmitted in 1080p, they are sent sequentially. If they are transmitted in 1080i, they are sent in two fields, with one containing the odd numbered lines and another the even numbered lines. These two fields are then reassembled into sequential frames by the video processor in the TV or projector. Either way you end up with the full 1080p frame being used to create the picture, so there is no difference in the end result. "


RE: Good news for HD-DVD
By h0kiez on 8/3/2007 2:22:53 PM , Rating: 2
oops...first paragraph should read:
What you're saying isn't really true. It's true for a 720p source that mu st be scaled to 540 for a 1080i display , but this just isn't the case with HD DVD. There is soooo much misinformation about this.


RE: Good news for HD-DVD
By omnicronx on 8/3/2007 2:53:53 PM , Rating: 2
That article simplifies it a bit too much i think, regardless if each 540 field per 1/2 second is different, and together they create the 'full 1080p', 3/2 pulldown (remember progressive scan), or deinterlacing still takes place, which as i said gives the illusion you are looking at a 1080p signal.

The article plainly says " HD-DVD and Blu-ray are both 1080p sources" all that means is the player still takes the 1080p progressive signal, and splits the signal into odd and even fields, each with 540 lines, there is no actual 1080i format being outputted from the HD-DVD or BD disc, thats all its saying.

"So if the interlace signal refreshes half the lines on a screen 50 times per second this results in a full screen (or frame) refresh rate of 25 times per second. The problem with interlacing is the distortion when an image moves quickly between the odd and even lines as only one set of lines is ever being refreshed." (artifacts)

Remember there is a difference between a 1080p source being outputted at 1080i, and a 1080i HD satellite or digital cable signal being outputted at 1080i. thats all the article is trying to get at. But there is still a difference, ive seen it myself on a 100inch 1080p set, one of the only ways to 'really' notice the diff between 1080i and p.

Virtually all 1080i you'll see is displayed progressively either by motion adaptive deinterlacing, or turned into 540p first and then scaled up with loss of quality on older panels.


RE: Good news for HD-DVD
By DrKlahn on 8/3/2007 3:20:53 PM , Rating: 5
Not correct. The fields are combined into a full 1080 frame on any digital 1080p set. 720p sets can sometimes upsample from a 540 field (called bobbing), but the good ones will downsample from the full 1920x1080 frame (called weaving). As long as your display has a good scaler/deinterlacer any difference seen between 1080i/1080p will be more to do with the processor used than the outputted signal from the player. A set that can take a signal in multiples of films native 24fps (1080p24) such as 24/48/72Hz coupled with a player that can output the native 24fps signal will show improvements as there is no telecine process taking place. But the whole 1080i/1080p argument is all marketing.


RE: Good news for HD-DVD
By CZroe on 8/4/2007 6:54:38 AM , Rating: 2
Actually, most TVs fail these reverse 3:2 pulldown tests during HDTV round-ups. A large amount of native 1080p sets just throw out half the lines and line-double the remaining 540p!


RE: Good news for HD-DVD
By Pr1mus on 8/4/2007 1:59:59 PM , Rating: 2
Do you have links to some of these tests? I'm not ragging on you, I'm genuinely interested as I'm going to be in the market for a new TV in the near future.


RE: Good news for HD-DVD
By CZroe on 8/4/2007 5:07:49 PM , Rating: 2
They aren't too new, but there are some high-end sets in here including Sony XBR LCDs (I chose the Sony KDL-52XBR2). The good news is, a high end receiver with 1080p upconversion could be paired with one of these high-end TVs and that will fix the problem assuming its deinterlacer has no problem.

http://www.hometheatermag.com/hookmeup/1106hook/in...


RE: Good news for HD-DVD
By blaster5k on 8/3/2007 3:28:15 PM , Rating: 2
The article is basically right. On a 1080p set, I think you'd be hard-pressed to notice a difference between 1080i and 1080p coming from an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray source. The processing path is a little different, but the end result should be pretty similar -- well, unless your TV's processing capabilities suck.


RE: Good news for HD-DVD
By omnicronx on 8/3/07, Rating: 0