The Lord of the Rings in Blu-Ray

[viper37]

If they go ahead and only release in 2010 the theatrical versions of the movies in Blu-Ray, would you buy them, or would you prefer to wait for as long as it takes to get the extended ones? I for one will only buy the Extended versions - did so for the DVDs and will certainly do it again for Blu-Ray.

That said, I really DO want to watch LoTR in true HD... 

I will buy the extended version if there is something new compared to the DVD.  Otherwise, I'll skip for now.

[BuddhaRhubarb]

I own the theatrical versions on DVD. never seen the extended cuts because I already paid a fortune watching the super long movies in the theatre.

Any "director's Cut" that is put on dvd or blu ray these days without including the theatrical release as well is just a money grabbing ripoff. It's like buying a Van Gogh but only being allowed to look at 3/4 or the painting at any one time.

[Syt]

Well, in this case I'd venture to say that the extended cuts are clearly superior to the teatrical release. They don't remove anything but rather add some scenes that were missing (on Hobbits, final confrontation with Saruman etc.).

[Sahib]

Is it okay for communists to engage in such blatant bourgeois consumerism?

[Iormlund]

Peter Jackson is gay anyway. I don't care if Legolas shield-surfs in HiDef or otherwise.

[citizen k]

Is it okay for communists to engage in such blatant bourgeois consumerism?

No, they should wait for the extended versions.

[Martim Silva]

Not really.  It only makes a difference for sports.

Besides sports, it depends.

Blu-Ray versions of older movies (made before the Hi-Def era) seem like upgraded DVDs - though still a bit better than those.

Blu-Rays of modern movies are vastly superior to their DVD counterparts. The image becomes quite real, and you pay more attention to details that you'd never even realize were there in the SD versions. The best comparison I can give you is that in SD you basically see things like a myopic 40 year-old would *without wearing glasses*, while in full HD you see things like if you were still 18 and had 20/20 eyesight.

Another thing that improves hugely with Hi-Def is gaming. The newer console games (both for the PS3 and the 360) are quite amazing, one can check the fabric of the characters' clothes, the brand of their shoes or even the details of their skin and hair.

That said, it also does depend a bit on what you have. Hi-Def truly shines on larger TVs (I wouldn't recommend any tv under 50 inches), as well as their ability to render full HD (1080p) images, as that is the native resolution of Blu-Rays. Running that resolution on both Movies and Games provides for a far greater image quality than the cheapo sets that just run HD (720p).

(Especially on TVs that can show everything life-sized; One really gets the feeling of 'being there', so to speak).

Oh, and the quality of the set is important to avoid pixellation. Get a Pio and you can stand right in front of the tv with no problems. Quite immersive

Anyway, considering that:

1. All TVs sold today are at least HD and most full HD;

2. Blu-Ray players are easily accessible (anyone with a PS3 already has one, for example); and that

3. Blu-Ray movies eventuall fall in price to be almost as cheap as the cheapo DVDs;

Then going for the format that gives better picture quality is a no-brainer.

Is it okay for communists to engage in such blatant bourgeois consumerism?

One thing is what socialism really is, another is what the propagandist liberal media says you should think socialism is, all to convince you that working a shitload of unpaid overtime while your government hands all the money over to the banks for basically nothing (so that their executives can keep giving each other gigantic bonuses) is teh graet.

[derspiess]

One thing is what socialism really is, another is what the propagandist liberal media says you should think socialism is, all to convince you that working a shitload of unpaid overtime while your government hands all the money over to the banks for basically nothing (so that their executives can keep giving each other gigantic bonuses) is teh graet.

Political scientists will be pondering this manifesto for centuries.

[Admiral Yi]

Political scientists will be pondering this manifesto for centuries.

I think it means this:

Martim is in a high income tax bracket.

For ideological reasons he feels he can't bitch about it.

Spending money on bank bailouts (if Portugal in fact did) allows him to do so.

[Razgovory]

Political scientists will be pondering this manifesto for centuries.

I think it means this:

Martim is in a high income tax bracket.

For ideological reasons he feels he can't bitch about it.

Spending money on bank bailouts (if Portugal in fact did) allows him to do so.

I think he just misses the old days of the New State.

[Duque de Bragança]

Not really.  It only makes a difference for sports.

Besides sports, it depends.

Blu-Ray versions of older movies (made before the Hi-Def era) seem like upgraded DVDs - though still a bit better than those.

I beg to differ but I'd like to know what do you mean by before the Hi-Def era. 2001 on blu-ray does not look or sound like an upgraded DVD.

Blu-Rays of modern movies are vastly superior to their DVD counterparts. The image becomes quite real, and you pay more attention to details that you'd never even realize were there in the SD versions. The best comparison I can give you is that in SD you basically see things like a myopic 40 year-old would *without wearing glasses*, while in full HD you see things like if you were still 18 and had 20/20 eyesight.

Some modern movies can look not that good on blu-ray, depending on how they were shot (budget, film stock, photography, transfer.)
Donnie Darko for instance.

[Monoriu]

I have yet to own a single blueray/HD movie disc.  I'll probably switch to blueray when standard dvd stuff is no longer available. 

[Grey Fox]

Bluray, schmuray.

[derspiess]

Some modern movies can look not that good on blu-ray, depending on how they were shot (budget, film stock, photography, transfer.)
Donnie Darko for instance.

The early transfers were so rushed they looked worse on Blu-ray/HD-DVD than on a standard DVD.  Full Metal Jacket was a huge disappointment to me (hopefully they've re-done that one) but other films like Goodfellas & The Godfather are flat-out amazing.

The transfers are getting better.   

Speaking of Blu-ray, I need to replace my Samsung that has not been playing standard DVDs.  Looked around the sales all weekend but couldn't find a cheaply priced player that I'd be happy with.  Those buggers are getting cheaper, though.  Newegg had the lowest model LG player (BD270) for $75 shipped on Saturday.  That's definitely approaching the point where the price of the player is not a factor, so you might as well go Blu-ray.

[Ed Anger]

Bluray, schmuray.

I can't believe I agree with gay fox.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? I'm going to the hospital.