How do I pre order HD movies at Amazon?

[KBMAN]

Went to amazon and could only find an option to be notified by email when it's available.
Can I pre order now, for instance Batman Begins? Thanks in advance.

[MikeZ1998]

"This item is currently unavailable for order. Enter your email address to be notified when this item has become available for order." (dvdboxoffice.com)

Finding Neverland can be preordered from Japan (4,032 jpy) (March 28th)
{English DTS-HD 5.1, MPEG-4 AVC ?}
http://www.dvd.netyokocho.jp/catalog/TDHY-9001/
(Source (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7011415&&#post7011415))

[JBlacklow]

[QUOTE=KBMAN]Went to amazon and could only find an option to be notified by email when it's available.
Can I pre order now, for instance Batman Begins? Thanks in advance.[/QUOTE]
Nope. No software for either side has been priced at US stores as of yet. There aren't even product pages anywhere except Amazon, and those are placeholders.

[KBMAN]

well, atleast I haven't "missed the boat" yet....I just know y'all are gonna buy Batman! "It's my precious"

[am1001]

Since HD-DVD is supposed to be available to buy in only a month or so time, when do we expect the pricing information to be announced? And when would the titles be available to preorder? Shouldn't there be a pretty imminent announcement about this?

Finally, will the internet dvd websites be reviewing the titles a couple of weeks before retail, so that we can start reading reviews about how great the pq is compared to dvds and broadcast hd?

Looking at the list announced on the other thread, the following titles have already been shown on broadcast hd. So the community should be able to do some comparisons between hd and broadcast hd:

(taking titles to be released by end of April)

Million dollar baby -1080i
Harry Potter and goblet of fire - 1080i
Last samurai - 1080i
Lethal Weapon - 1080i
Goodfellas - maybe 1080i
Matrix - 1080i (but old transfer)
Swordfish - 1080i

So hopefully we can see how much difference there is between broadcast hd and hd-dvd by the end of april if people who buy the hd-dvds, have stored broadcast hd to compare to.

[KBMAN]

they aren't going to be 1080P?

[bferr1]

Warner announced a huge list of catalog titles for DVD that included day and date HD DVD releases. I think that series kicks off in June. They announced an SRP of $29.98 for these titles, but newer films might cost a bit more.

See these links for more.

Video Business:
http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6303518.html?industryid=43292&industry=Studios+%2F+Suppliers

The Digital Bits (1/31 post):
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/mytwocentsa114.html

[bferr1]

[QUOTE=KBMAN]they aren't going to be 1080P?[/QUOTE]

KBMAN, from everything I've read on AVS Forum, HD DVD discs will be in 1080p; it's the initial Toshiba players that are restricted to 1080i. That will change with later generations of players.

Here is are excerpts from a post by sspears (with bold emphasis added by me):

[QUOTE=sspears]Both formats support both 1080p and 1080i. With MPEG2, AVC and VC1 you can encode as progressive, interlace frame and interlace field. This can be done on a per frame basis.

I know all of the launch titles in the US for HD-DVD and BD (those studios that are supporting both) with be progressive encoded as they are starting with 1080p24 masters. They will also use the same encoded for both formats because it is quick and cheap. This means that the lowest common demoniator for both formats will be forced onto the encode.

The output of an HD player can be 1080p or 1080i. That is not the same issue as how the film is stored. I realize there will be people who continue to spread lies about this, but you can believe someone who actually works on the technology or someone who does not, it is your choice.[/QUOTE]

If you want to read some more about this, see this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=626974