How rare are the Paramount Blu-ray titles?

[JakeLipson]

Okay, I was going to stay completely out of the format war until a winner emerges. I probably will anyway, just because my parents will be reluctant to upgrade; I'm the only one here who doesn't think standard DVD is "good enough." I think it is quite good and am still impressed with its quality, but I wouldn't say no to the improvements of hi-def either.

Anyway, I'm not really complaining about being SD for the moment. But from observations, I do think Blu-ray will end up winning out, even if it's later rather than sooner. And I've gotten to think about what it was like in 1999 for me.

Back then, I was aware of the DVD format and sensed that it would take over VHS, but my parents were content with VHS. When Disney released their Limited Issue DVDs -- which, of course, included eight top-shelf animated classics, plus The Lion King II (which I wanted as well.) They were available for 60 days before being yanked out of print, and I knew they would be out of print for a long time. So I said to Mom and Dad "Look, I need to get these things now, because by the time we get a DVD player I won't be able to get them anymore for several years." And they said "No, we don't have a DVD player, so it's pointless to buy them. Plus, you have them all on VHS and that's good enough."

We got a DVD player for the holidays in 2000. And I was right. Over the past several years as Disney slowly reissued those titles, I slowly got theml, and I'm still not completely there. The Jungle Book just came out last month (yay!), so there's one left -- it's 101 Dalmatians, coming out next March. So even though those titles are some of my favorite movies of all time, I have to wait until March 2008 to have all of them on DVD even though I could have had them in fall 1999. And yeah, I know the Limited Issues weren't great quality and I would have rebought them in their better versions anyway, but the Limited Issues are better than VHS and I could have enjoyed those discs for a long time. In fact, because the Pinocchio and Hercules reissues just slapped new Gold Collection labels on existing Limited Issue discs, I *have* been enjoying those discs for a long time. And especially for the ones which took a long time to come out, I regret having to wait that long to own them.

So my point is this: I'm wondering if I should buy a few Blu-ray titles just to stockpile them for when I get a player. Not too many, but a few here and there. In particular, I am worried about the Paramount movies that I want. There are only two, but they did come out on Blu-ray and, obviously, they won't be repressed after they sell out because they as a studio are HD-DVD exclusive now. (The two that I want are Dreamgirls and Babel; I have them both on DVD, but I'm sure they both rock in high-definition, and Dreamgirls is one of my favorite movies of all time.)

So what do you think? Is this worthwhile? And, how rare are we talking at this point in regards to getting them? I have a pretty big slate of stuff I want to get this holiday season as far as DVDs go, and it would be helpful if I could wait out on these a little bit longer (until, say, Januaryish.) Since I'm not going to use them immidately anyhow. But I do want them, so...yeah, what do you think?

[Ruined]

No, its not worthwhile. If Blu-Ray "wins," then obviously Paramount will publish on Blu-Ray. If Blu-Ray "loses," then your investment will be worth less than what you paid. If it is a "tie", then you will be able to buy a dual format player cheaply.

The only reason you'd buy a Paramount BD title is if you already have a BD player and/or don't have the patience to see how the format war plays out. However it does play out, the movies will be available to you no matter what. It's also worth mentioning that the HD DVD versions of the Babel and Dreamgirls have been reviewed with better sound (DD+ 1.5mbps vs. DD 640kbps). IMO, you will get better video with the HD DVD editions of these two titles as well because the HD DVD editions use the AVC and VC-1 codecs instead of BD's MPEG2 (which tends to hide motion artifacts poorly - a big reason why most studios have dropped MPEG2 for VC1/AVC). So investing money on the BD versions wholly might not be worth it when a dual format player is a very likely future solution that will allow you to play the current editions on HD, which are of excellent quality.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by David St. Dubly

I was going to post something unbiased and informational, but that would hardly be relevant, or consumer friendly... uh er.

Post away I just don't see the purpose/sense of buying titles for a player you don't own in fear that they "won't be available" for that format - which you think is going to "win."

Don't the ideas of a format "winning" the war and titles "not being available" contradict each other? If the war is won by Blu-Ray, the titles will be made available in Blu-Ray eventually; clearly Paramount (nor any other studio for that matter) isnt going to completely withdraw from the HD disc market if HD DVD loses! If it is lost by Blu-Ray, then you won't want them in that format anyway. And if its a tie, it won't matter because you will be buying a dual format player and can get either format - by next year, dual format players will be under $500 and they will probably be affordable within 2-3 years. Pretty simple IMO - remember the OP does not have a player so he will not even get the satisfaction of watching the titles as the war plays out.

[videoworx]

If the war is won, the titles will be available.

The original poster is suggesting that if Paramount does decide to start releasing movies on Blu-Ray again, that they might not get around to the original 2007 lineup for many years to come (just as Disney took their time in re-releasing all the original limited edition DVDs from 1999). It's not an issue of who wins or loses, as the original poster has already made up his mind. It's an issue of whether or not Paramount will re-release older titles.

In that regard, yes, buy the damn movies you like, but only if you're confident that you will get a player (regardless of format) in the very near future. Sitting on them for 2 years would be a waste.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by videoworx

The original poster is suggesting that if Paramount does decide to start releasing movies on Blu-Ray again, that they might not get around to the original 2007 lineup for many years to come (just as Disney took their time in re-releasing all the original limited edition DVDs from 1999). It's not an issue of who wins or loses, as the original poster has already made up his mind. It's an issue of whether or not Paramount will re-release older titles.

In that regard, yes, buy the damn movies you like, but only if you're confident that you will get a player (regardless of format) in the very near future. Sitting on them for 2 years would be a waste.

Remember though, these aren't limited edition titles or coveted crown jewels of Paramount like the Disney titles you mentioned. The Disney animated titles hold special value to them which Disney tries to play up by staggering their release and making them available for short times.

All Paramount would have to do to put these back into print is replicate them, as they have already been authored. In fact, if they do go back to BD I expect that would be the first thing they do, re-replicate all of their old BDs. - instant sales with no investment outside of production. Even if they didn't right away, the depreciation of BD media prices over time may very well make up for differences in price for it being OOP.

This is all especially a waste because the OP won't even be enjoying his $60+ discs as he has no player as you noted! And do we really think a straight-up win by either side is possible when we have the heads of both sides predicting a stalemate/draw? Bring on the dual-format players.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by videoworx

That's because you haven't upgraded the firmware on it, silly. Newly released pet rocks report that I am, in fact, awesome.

To be truly awesome you need to buy a HDM player. Go buy one (even if Blu-Ray! ). You care too much about this stuff to be missing out on HD discs!

[videoworx]

Originally Posted by Ruined

To be truly awesome you need to buy a HDM player. Go buy one (even if Blu-Ray! ). You care too much about this stuff to be missing out on HD discs!

Not that it matters, but as of last week, I own 2 "HDM" players.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by videoworx

Not that it matters, but as of last week, I own 2 "HDM" players.

Not to derail the thread, but what did you end up getting? I didn't see you vote in the poll.

[JakeLipson]

Valid points here - thanks. If Blu wins then I won't have much to worry about, and if I do end up with a Blu player before the war's over there's always eBay for those titles.

My original plan was to only get the Disney animated classics until the war is over, as a safeguard against what happened last time. There is more of a point in sitting on those because of their limited availability nature. Plus, considering Disney will not rush out with all of their top-shelf titles at once, I probably won't have to drop that much money down at once either. I think I'll just stick to that and not worry about Paramount. They'll come back around if Blu wins. Which would make my first Blu-ray purchase (theoretically) Sleeping Beauty, which is confirmed for October 2008 Platinum release.

Thanks.

[JakeLipson]

Wowie.

When our main TV set broke a few weeks back, I figured they would just have it repaired, but the parents got us HDTVs. And -- even more surprisingly -- a Blu-ray player. They won't get HD-DVD or a combo player, but since I think Blu is going to win out eventually anyway this doesn't bother me that much.

Which makes my original question in this thread more relevant now. How rare are the Paramount Blu-rays at this point? I'm after Dreamgirls and Babel mainly, and would like to know how urgent it is that I get them if I want them.

I saw Spider-Man 3 this weekend (it came with the player) and, while I still think it's a bad movie, whoa did it look amazing.

[ganthc]

Originally Posted by JakeLipson

Wowie.

When our main TV set broke a few weeks back, I figured they would just have it repaired, but the parents got us HDTVs. And -- even more surprisingly -- a Blu-ray player. They won't get HD-DVD or a combo player, but since I think Blu is going to win out eventually anyway this doesn't bother me that much.

Which makes my original question in this thread more relevant now. How rare are the Paramount Blu-rays at this point? I'm after Dreamgirls and Babel mainly, and would like to know how urgent it is that I get them if I want them.

I saw Spider-Man 3 this weekend (it came with the player) and, while I still think it's a bad movie, whoa did it look amazing.

I've gone to my local Best Buy and seen Paramount movies on blu-ray still available. I don't think they are impossible to find, but they can be tough to locate, depending on the title. Dreamgirls, I have seen. Babel, I haven't.