Filmstalker: Tartan turns to Blu-ray

Tartan video have turned to Blu-ray as their high-definition format of choice, and their first releases are set to be Oldboy, The Seventh Seal and Black Book.

Now I have to say that I have Blu-ray in the house because I have a Playstation 3, I would perhaps also have HD-DVD if it didn't require an additional payment on top of the Xbox 360 and for the fact that my Xbox 360 has fallen fowl to the three rings of death and is currently flying to somewhere in Europe for a five week repair.

So although I have Blu-ray I'm not advocating that this is the best solution, I'm not entirely sure myself, but it seems that Tartan are. According to the owner of Tartan, Hamish McAlpine, through HDTV UK:

"To go with Blu-ray was a no-brainer for Tartan. Not only is the format superior to HD-DVD, but also the fact that 7 out of 8 studios have chosen to release their films on Blu-ray means that this so-called 'format war' is over before it has really begun."

Well they're convinced about the move to Blu-ray. What's even more interesting about Tartan's plans for Blu-ray release is that that each of the Blu-ray releases will come with the standard DVD version of the film. Now how good is that?

Those that don't have high-definition just yet can watch the standard DVD until they do, and when they do they don't have to upgrade their discs. I think that's a cracking deal, and they're pricing them at £29.99.

High Def Digest also have some news on the specifications that will be coming with Oldboy, although there's no word on the extras, it does seem that we're going to get 1080p and a DTS HD audio track.

Add a comment

Your Name:

Your Email:

Your URL:

Remember my details?

Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)

Site Navigation

Promotion

Comments

BR does seem to be a no-brainer, doesn't it? i'm seeing ads with DVD & BR on, but no mention of HD, I'm seeing blockbuster going BR only, i'm seeing people clocking onto the idea that PS3 automatically takes BR into more homes than HD could otherwise manage... the addition of DVDs in the package though, i think that's just during a transition - as long as, that is, DVD dies out and BR manages to match the prices and range of product that DVD can.

Posted by: logboy | August 7, 2007 8:11 AM

Same here, everything I'm seeing for home cinema is Blu-ray, HD-DVD seems to have the odd player or computer hardware announcement, but the real wins seem to be coming from Blu-ray. As you say, PS3 is the easy way in.

Some believe that the new formats will exist together with the old, I don't. I think we will see a total transition to the new formats and there will be a winner to the battle.

I'm confident that's going to be Blu-ray too.

Posted by: Richard Brunton | August 7, 2007 11:21 AM

At this point, i think, it's safe to say, that Blu-ray is the way to go and that the PS3 is, from a technical standpoint, a more refined product than the Xbox 360 as an entry into high-definition. It's not nearly as loud, does 1080p and 24p and you have everything in one box. I would have to disagree with the Tartan statement, as far as the format in itself being superior is concerned. But one has to admit, it has more movie studio and manufacturer support. The thing that really bothers me about Blu-ray though is, it has regional coding, which HD-DVD doesn't.

Posted by: Joerg Thoma | August 7, 2007 1:21 PM

Speaking of Regional Coding, have you tried any imports Rich, Games or Films??

Posted by: _ram-jaane | August 7, 2007 1:58 PM

there's a good argument to be had that DVD could co-exist with HD for some time - after all, DVD can be (and has been for some time) HD to some extent, usually 480p though.... not sure about DVDs with 720p transfers on, if they exist anywhere at all, but the jump from 720p to 1080p isn't that big in comparison to the jump from 480p to 1080p, and given the price, and how people are going to quite often automatically head for the repurchase method of collecting, i can see a certain amount of apathy about full HD when there's also the question of how well DVDs are (or aren't) mastered and how HD may well not differ in its pitfalls. plus, i want import friendly formats of course...

Posted by: logboy | August 7, 2007 3:38 PM

That's a good point logboy, you may be sitting with a 1080p disc, but the transfer may be far from it.

Well I'm interested in the regional coding issue, the PS3 doesn't carry it for games does it? Just films? Is that right?

On the 360 I do buy my games from PlayAsia (advertising on the site, just keep hitting refresh!) and they are much, much cheaper. I believe I can do the same for PS3 games.

What I've been doing with the PS3 is taking some films I have on the PC and converting them to PS3 native format with some free software, quick transfer on a USB memory stick, and watch them there.

Still, I'm not a downloading fan so that's only been an experiment.

Posted by: Richard Brunton | August 7, 2007 7:07 PM

As far as regional coding questions go, the PS3 is region coded for Blu-ray discs, but not for games. The Xbox 360 is region free for HD-DVDs, which all players are, as far as i know, but it's region coded for games. But that doesn't necessarily mean, that every Blu-ray disc has a region code.

Posted by: Joerg Thoma | August 10, 2007 10:35 PM

Well I've just noticed that and I'm going to be ordering my Play-Asia games for PS3 (see the advert on the site).

I've noticed that there are a lot more region-free Blu-ray DVD's than there were with straight DVD's. Hopefully the manufacturers will go that route much more than they did before.

Posted by: Richard Brunton | August 11, 2007 11:06 AM

Hey Rich,
Am watching Black Book blu ray to review on my PS3 right now... The playback is awesome and the sound top notch - to me it makes sense to just have the one box under the TV rather than a games console and an HD player (even if it is the Xbox 'strap on' HD player!?

Posted by: Matt Adcock | October 29, 2007 10:03 PM