First HD DVD/DVD Twin disc hits U.S. in June, along with new HDi features
Add one more dual format disc type to the pile, as Bandai Visual will bring the HD DVD/DVD Twin disc to the U.S. June 26, with the release of its bestselling OVA Freedom, and will also be one of the first releases to include HDi network capabilities. As opposed to the combo releases so far that have HD DVD on one side, and DVD on the other, the Twin disc allows up to three layers of either HD DVD or DVD content on the same side of the disc, no flipping necessary. Your old-school DVD player might have trouble with the disc, so its been limited to Japan-only releases so far. Bandai's been working with Microsoft and Memory-Tech to tweak the VC-1 codec for Japanese anime, and the company says after this they will start releasing other HD DVD and Blu-ray titles in Japan and overseas. The SRP for Freedom Vol.1 (of 6) is $39.99 and while we don't know much about the series beyond its mix of CGI and 2D animation, it does heavily represent that most holiest of foods, ramen.
Filed under: HD DVD
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
walk2k @ Mar 20th 2007 9:13PM
"Your old-school DVD player might have trouble with the disc,"
Wow.... then what the eff is the point?
riverside_guy @ Mar 21st 2007 11:08AM
"The point" as I see it is that the folks responsible for a format war seem to be actively encouraging many ways to supposedly ameliorate the issue. We have combo players (horrendously expensive), the combo discs (each format on the other side, do we have 2-3 titles yet?), and now single side, but three layers (the only question is which BD of HD players actually work with this format).
"Old school DVD players" is a totally dumb comment, none of them pay HD formats, so it's pointless to say that. Like I said, the ONLY issue is playing on current BD or HD hardware.
Truth be told, every single news story further cements my personal decision to NOT buy into this madness. I DO get a decent amount of HD content from having a cable subscription.
riverside_guy @ Mar 21st 2007 11:21AM
Ooops, ignore my comment above, I misunderstood that twin was SD/HD on one side. Certainly 3 layers would NOT accommodate BD and HD on one side!