ADV Films going Blu-ray exclusive?
We've been glossing this one over for some time now, as to this day we still can't find a confirmation from ADV Films one way or the other, but we felt it prudent to at least point out that the anime publisher could be going Blu-ray exclusive -- according to a "highly placed source at the company," anyway. ICv2 News has it that the company will be siding with Blu alone and releasing titles on the format "as early as this Spring," and while specifics weren't mentioned, said source was quoted as saying that newer flicks were "more important than catalog" films right now, so we'd expect some of the newest material to show up on BD first. Once again, we're taking this with a healthy dose of salt for the moment -- but it's not like we haven't seen major anime studios hem and haw over this very decision before.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dave @ Feb 9th 2008 3:48AM
Welcome on board :)
Stewie @ Feb 9th 2008 4:34AM
I wanna see Akira and Ghost In The Shell in HD although ADV doesn't have the rights for those. I know Ghost In The Shell is on BR in Japan. They do RahXephon and Neon Genesis Evangelion so I can't wait to see those in HD.
DeadPlasmaCell @ Feb 9th 2008 5:41AM
Akira looked pretty damned good in HD when it was on the Xbox Video marketplace a while back.. Cartoons are awesome in HD.
p @ Feb 9th 2008 8:36AM
I would hardly call those first two links news... just the same old profile argument. Boring. By the way, the title for the first link is FIVE REASONS YOU SHOULDN'T BUY A BLU-RAY PLAYER YET - you missed out the "YET", by accident I'm sure.
locke6854 @ Feb 9th 2008 8:48AM
yes! post the frickin pro-hd dvd news! nfinity's dad works at toshiba and they need to eat!
XDragon @ Feb 9th 2008 8:49AM
Its not a rumor, it was confirmed on blu-ray.com.
Samsung being sued is not bad news for blu, its bad news for Samsung who also make a combo drive.
Blu with 2.0 has more functionality than HD-DVD.
HD-DVD players from Wal-Mart are reffering to the cheap bottom of the line HD-DVD players and the point is, they are a good buy even as upsampling DVD players.
Are you one of those guys that has some blind hope of HD-DVD winning this format war?
I've said it before: I don't care who wins, I want 1 format so it can go mainstream and bring down costs. The rest of the world has gone Blu so the Americas will too and sales are proving that.
This isn't fanboyism or preference, its accepting the reality that the only totaly not dead HD-DVD and not by much, territory is North America. All thats left are 3 companies Paramount/Dreamworks and Universal (which doesn't have an exclusive contract anymore) prolonging life in a dead bed.
Don't get mad at me becuase every few days, small studios go Blu, they are reacting to sales and they're not fooled by numbers that exclude the PS3 as a Blu-Ray player. One side of early adopters had to lose so it was going to suck for a lot of people one way or the other but early adopters knew the risks.
All i'm saying is get over it because the majority of people are fence sitters (some may neve leave dvd) that now have more confidence in buying Blu without wasting their money, then theres a larger group of Blu supporters that are happy and sometimes being anoying about it, theres the upset smaller group of HD-DVD owners which some have moved on and the rest linger in their madness and will try to say or do anything to turn the tables even though they can't and lastly theres the smallest group of people who can play both who really could care less.
Its over, deal with it and stop trying to bring the dead back to life!
Companies will not accept the world as Blu with Naorth America as HD-DVD, it makes no business scense and Blu is killing HD-DVD here so hust let it go.
I'm so tired of this but people just don't get it. You're mad because the format you chose isn't the winging format and I get that but let it go for the good of everyone.
John Drinkwater @ Feb 9th 2008 8:57AM
You need to find better articles for your Blu-ray bashing:
From the FIVE REASONS YOU SHOULDN'T BUY A BLU-RAY PLAYER: article,
2. Blu-ray is best on a big-screen TV
John Drinkwater @ Feb 9th 2008 8:58AM
nice, it swallowed my arrows <- :)
You need to find better articles for your Blu-ray bashing:
From the FIVE REASONS YOU SHOULDN'T BUY A BLU-RAY PLAYER: article,
2. Blu-ray is best on a big-screen TV <- not a blu-ray issue, theyre saying, youll need a bigger TV.
3. There are still very few movies available on Blu-ray <- there are fewer HD DVD discs, they even said that.
5. Prices have nowhere to go but down <- this happens with everything, just look at HD DVD players
SAMSUNG SUED OVER DEFECTIVE BLU-RAY PLAYERS <- this happened with DVD players back in the day, it can happen with poorly designed hardware. Not a blu-ray problem.
Come on man. It's really ridiculous. Just focus on the article posted, and go look for evidence that ADV arent going Blu exclusive. That would be useful for your cause, no?
Anthony Pivac @ Feb 9th 2008 9:28AM
Nfinity
Your link to "FIVE REASONS YOU SHOULDN'T BUY A BLU-RAY PLAYER" is misleading. It actually states "YET" at the end. Don't try to FUD links please, or at least read them properly before posting.
DrXym @ Feb 9th 2008 9:37AM
And 4 of the reasons apply equally to HD DVD, or at least they would if HD DVD stood a chance of winning. In fact whole article is not saying people should buy an HD DVD, but rather wait before buying Blu Ray.
Delusional doesn't even describe Nfinity. The end of the article is particularly amusing:
"So there you have it: there's absolutely no compelling reason to dive into Blu-ray, at least for the next few months. But as with all of the items above, the conclusion comes with a big caveat of its own: the Sony PlayStation 3. It's the only player that's futureproof, it doubles as a top-notch game machine and network digital media streamer, and it's readily available for $400. Oh--it also happens to be a great Blu-ray player, and it does a fine job of upconverting your standard DVDs to high-definition resolutions. As such, it remains the exception to the rule, and the only Blu-ray player that we can enthusiastically recommend for the time being."
Nice way to shoot yourself in the head Nfinity. It's amazing that anyone could be so vocal and self-deluded about a lousy video format but seemingly you've managed it. Even your own links don't support your delusions.
DrXym @ Feb 9th 2008 9:48AM
@John Drinkwater, my first DVD player had a well documented lip sync error - the video and sound were out by a couple of frames. It also cost 600. I'm sure other players had their own issues. It would have been as childish then to proclaim the DVD format to be doomed because of a few players as it would for idiots now like Nfinity to say the same for Blu Ray. But that's the level his arguments have sunk to. It's quite sad really.
JimC @ Feb 9th 2008 10:46AM
Ahh yes, Yahooo recommends HDDVD for valentines day, I think I'll go out and get one right now....
JimC @ Feb 9th 2008 10:48AM
"Word working its way around the Warner Bros. 85th anniversary event on the studio lot Tuesday night was that some electronics retailers are being flooded with returns of HD DVD players. In fact, so many are being returned that some retailers are in possession of more returned HD DVD players than new stock. I won't tell you who said what or which retailers we're talking about, but I will tell you that execs from Amazon.com and Best Buy were in attendance."
sn1per @ Feb 9th 2008 11:03AM
you know, most retailers are also sold out of VHS players...
Joe @ Feb 9th 2008 12:01PM
all-It may be off topic but give the guy a break when he posts things that aren't incoherent attacks on BD.
Nfinity- It looks like walmart is doing somthing a bit weird when you go to the site. When I searched for HD-DVD the #1 result was the BDP-s300. I also noticed that the Chinese made Venturer is listed as clearance. Are they doing a hardware refresh or is walmart oly going to be stocking Tosh players.
As for the 3 good reasons, I only see one. Exclusivity. But for people who havn't made the plunge yet I guess price can be a factor.
Even with my stance on HDM I'd be pretty happy if my girlfriend paid enough attention to get me a HD-DVD player. It always seems to work out makeup and clothes are important and the panel technology on my TV isn't.
Devils Advocate @ Feb 9th 2008 1:34PM
Why dont you HD-DVD fanboys SHUT THE HELL UP, go out and actively campaign for HD-DVD to convince the public to BUY IT so engadgethd WILL have something pro-HD-DVD to report.
Its not Ben and Darrens job to create news for the HD-DVD camp, so you guys can have a false perception that your gaining.
Explitive999 @ Feb 9th 2008 2:03PM
You guys REALLY need to head on over to Amazon.co.uk and import the origonal Transformers on Bluray. Cost me $26usd back in november, is region free, looks sooo beautiful.
The Dragonball Z Brolly double feature is quite nice as well. In both, i love seeing the actual pen ink characteristiccs.
1stGreg @ Feb 9th 2008 3:13PM
To Nfinity (always gives me a laugh though, so its pretty good to have you here).
1) Old news. And you know well that once 2.0 get on board, the features available on Blu Ray will rapidly outpace what is available on HD DVD. For all that talk, only a mere 30% of HD DVD owners use that famous "interactivity".
2) Let me quote the end of the article for ya
"So there you have it: there's absolutely no compelling reason to dive into Blu-ray, at least for the next few months. But as with all of the items above, the conclusion comes with a big caveat of its own: the Sony PlayStation 3. It's the only player that's futureproof, it doubles as a top-notch game machine and network digital media streamer, and it's readily available for $400. Oh--it also happens to be a great Blu-ray player, and it does a fine job of upconverting your standard DVDs to high-definition resolutions. As such, it remains the exception to the rule, and the only Blu-ray player that we can enthusiastically recommend for the time being. "
3) It's not Blu Ray that's being sued, it's Samsung. By one person. Maybe that'll straighten them out and htey'll realize they shouldn't try to lose time and money on making combo players (the BDP 5000 has just as much if not more problems than the 1200), and try making sturday and good Blu Ray ones.
nin @ Feb 10th 2008 3:37AM
Ok now it's getting really sad.
HDpurist @ Feb 10th 2008 5:43AM
another shovel of dirt thrown on the buried casket that is HD_DVD ... OUCH!!!
XDragon @ Feb 10th 2008 3:09PM
Explitive999 , I picked Transformers up on Blu a few months ago and i was very impressed.
I know its off topic but you can see so much more detail to the point of drawing lines...its just fantastic for any fan of the 80's movie.
Gary in Houston @ Feb 16th 2008 11:13PM
Surprised you don't have the news that ADV Films laid off nearly all their voice talent and is dropping all businesses as fast as possible. Right now bothing is set for beyond March as they are just a discount outlet for their existing product. The Japanese investors supposedly have pulled the plug after management has not been able to turn a profit after 15 years and millions of dollars.
http://elemming.blogspot.com/2008/01/creative-failures-with-looming-demise.html