News and other tidbits that Chad Cloman finds interesting enough to share
Netflix sees the future, and the future includes on-demand streaming video. Why use snail mail to get Netflix DVDs when you can download the movie right now? Makes sense to me, although I doubt the quality of the streaming video will be as good as that of DVD or Blu-ray.
Link: http://arstechnica.com/…
Much like the DVD of The Matrix which I believe was the first major release to fully exploit the new medium, the Blu-ray version of The Dark Knight has a bunch of bells and whistles. Note that you’ll need a Profile 2.0 player to use BD-Live.
Link: http://arstechnica.com/…
Next weekend’s release of The X-Files: I Want to Believe will not address the X-Files mythology. But should you want to know the full and unambiguous history of the mythology, I refer you to the linked site. After reading sections 0 through 4 of the primer, and based on my own experience watching the show, I finally got the big picture—which was originally presented in disjoint pieces over scores of episodes.
In response to last week’s theatrical release of The Incredible Hulk, the linked article lists 10 movie characters that could take on the Hulk and possibly win. Personally, I think Dr. Manhattan and Jean Gray should be tied for first place. (And if you’re wondering who the heck is Dr. Manhattan, don’t fret—the Watchmen movie hasn’t been released yet.)
Link: http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/…
(via digg)
The high-definition format war is officially over. Toshiba has thrown in the towel on its HD-DVD format, and the remaining holdout studios have announced their decision to switch to Blu-ray.
For the early adopters, here’s how to convert HD-DVD discs to Blu-ray,
Link: http://www.toshiba.co.jp/…
(via Engadget)
Over the past few weeks, HD-DVD has been losing more and more ground in the high-definition format war with Blu-ray. Several major retailers have announced their decision to discontinue stocking HD-DVD titles, and there are rumors that Toshiba is thinking about conceding defeat. Looks like Blu-ray is going to emerge as the winner.
According to this BBC article, we can expect to see more 3D movies in the future. Apparently the technology has come quite a ways since Jaws 3-D. I’ve also heard rumors that George Lucas will be re-releasing the Star Wars movies in 3D.
Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/…
Regular Chad’s News readers know that we’ve been covering the format war between HD-DVD and Blu-ray. LG Electronics has decided to make the point moot, by releasing a player that can handle both formats.
Link #1: http://us.lge.com/…
Link #2: http://us.lge.com/…
Chad’s News has previously discussed the Blu-Ray/HD-DVD format war, but we thought it worth noting that Blu-Ray has recently received an unexpected vote of confidence. Thieves broke into a video store and stole the entire stock of Blu-Ray discs while ignoring the HD-DVD section.
Link: http://www.engadget.com/…
(via digg)
According to this article there are plans for an additional three Terminator movies, although they won’t include Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Link: http://www.darkhorizons.com/…
(via digg)
Thursday, May 22, 2008 is the official release date for Indiana Jones IV. This, despite the fact they haven’t started filming and don’t even have a complete script. Also, there is some question as to whether or not Sean Connery will be reprising his role as Jones’ father. And, to top it all off, Harrison Ford has threatened to pull out of the project because he may not be allowed to use a real whip.
This is an insightful article about the clash between fair use and the DMCA. The MPAA is suing a company that will copy your DVD to an iPod for you. The MPAA contends that circumventing the DVD copy protection is illegal, and that users must re-purchase the movie via the iTunes store in order to watch it on an iPod. The worst part is that they may be right.
Link: http://arstechnica.com/…
