HD DVD Titles Look To Be 1080p

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Props to site dvdactive this Easter weekend for managing to clear up a question that has been bugging us for some time: Would movies released on next gen media discs actually be encoded at 1080p (their best possible quality) ?

As you can see from the shots above (I’ve enlarged the spec boxes below each title) – at least in the case of HD DVD – the answer appears to be yes. Given the confusion about High Definition formats (check out my article on the subject here) it at least looks like we won’t be short changed when Hollywood finally gets the ball rolling over the next few months.

With three HD standards: the basic 720p, midrange 1080i and high end 1080p already confusing customers who just want an ‘HD Ready’ set, early HD DVD and Blu-ray players only working at 1080i, not to mention the next gen format war itself, the last thing Joe Public wanted was another complication. After all, can you imagine the disgust on the faces of customers, having splashed out a small fortune to replace their current collection with HD titles, discovering they are all at 720p? The hardcore cinephile may even find himself compelled to buy them all over again when they are released at one of the higher standards.

So today’s revelation looks to future proof major releases. Some further words of warning though 1. The backs we see here are all from HD DVD titles, we still await official confirmation that Blu-ray has done the same (that said, it would be stupid not to) 2. What of budget releases? Will they come out at a lower standard to save money?

There’s still more questions still to be answered folks. Aren’t technology upgrades fun…?!?!

Link:
dvdactive