Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: WB upgrades HD-DVD to Blu-ray!!!!!

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Posted by Joe Tommassello (Member # 4632) on 04-22-2009, 02:25 PM:

Just found this over at "The Digital Bits":

Warner Home Video has just launched an online program to help all those of you who many purchased their previously released HD-DVD titles replace them with new Blu-ray versions. All you have to do is go to this website: red2blu.com. You select the titles you wish to exchange (1 per HD-DVD title), then you mail the HD-DVD cover artwork only back to Warner along with $4.95 (per disc) to cover shipping and handling. They'll send you back the title in question on Blu-ray within 4-6 weeks. This way, you get to keep the HD-DVD disc, but you also get to upgrade to Blu. Not bad. Universal should do this too.

Red2Blu

This is a great deal. I have many discs I plan to trade up.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 04-22-2009, 03:20 PM:

The fine print says the upgrade cost is $4.95 per disc, plus another $6.95 for shipping and handling. That's roughly $12 to get a BD version of a Warner Bros single disc movie you already own on HD-DVD.

Odds are this deal is only good for single disc releases. I'll bet the upgrade cost runs quite a bit higher for something like getting a BD upgrade to the HD-DVD version of The Ultimate Matrix box set.

Posted by Joe Tommassello (Member # 4632) on 04-22-2009, 03:56 PM:

True but the $6.95 is just one charge for the whole shipment. Since I have 26 of the titles and the limit is 25 I suppose I will skip my least favorite. Interestingly for only $4.95 they have Casablanca listed...I wonder if I will get the full-blown collector's set (the only way you can buy it right now) or if they will have a standard-packaged version for trade-ins.

Blade Runner or Matrix boxed sets are $14.95, That's Entertainment $9.95...there are some variations.

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 04-23-2009, 01:01 PM:

The Criterion Collection is doing a Blu-ray upgrade offer to. If you bought the equivalent edition in SD DVD, you can upgrade by sending them the disc and a check for $20.00 plus $5.00 for shipping and handling. And they will send you the Blu-ray version for the current Blu-ray edition released.

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 04-23-2009, 06:45 PM:

Nice that they included the "Ultimate Matrix Collection" but NOT the non-ultimate "Matrix Trilogy".

I have the Harry Potter box and Blazing Saddles, but I think I'll skip this. My HD-DVD player works just fine, and based on complaints about the HP Blu-ray sets, I'll bet a whole new remastered Blu-ray set will come with the next movie's Blu-ray release, so I'd likely be buying them over again anyway.

And since I'll probably watch the aforementioned titles once or less in said time frame, no big deal.

In any case, I DO think it's a decent thing for Warner to do.

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 04-23-2009, 08:07 PM:

I was an early adapter when I was younger and would have bought an HD DVD player the day it was introduced because I truly believed it was going to triumph over Blu Ray. I am glad I waited because I do not have to go through the hassle of exchanging the defunct format discs with Blu Ray copies no matter how generous the exchange offer is..

-Claude

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 04-24-2009, 12:54 AM:

Maybe $4.95 is their actual cost to produce the things. Let the price griping begin!

Posted by Joe Tommassello (Member # 4632) on 04-24-2009, 08:43 AM:

Mike:

I think you may be right but let's hope most of us here realize we are paying for the content too. I can't tell you how many times people have asked me "what's it cost to make a DVD?" I tell them about forty million dollars because they have to make the movie first. Then it leads to "They made that back in the movie theaters..." Why do people think they deserve something for free? In the case of this HD upgrade program you have already paid for the content so recouping the cost of manufacturing the new disc is a fair deal.

quote: Sam Graham
I have the Harry Potter box and Blazing Saddles, but I think I'll skip this. My HD-DVD player works just fine, and based on complaints about the HP Blu-ray sets

Sam - I wasn't aware there were problems with the HP blu-rays and I have all of them on HD-DVD. Can you explain? Also you get to keep the HD-DVD versions so you would still have them anyway.

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 04-24-2009, 08:54 AM:

It's funny I've had more problems with Blu-ray discs than HD-DVD discs. And Yes I'm up to date with my firmware.

Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 04-24-2009, 03:16 PM:

YES! I always felt WB should do something like this since them abandoning HDDVD was basically the straw that broke the formats back.

The Ultimate Matrix collection has always been a big sting for me. I have at least 10 or so WB titles I think I'll upgrade, I can swing 4 bucks a disc and shipping to finally be able to abandon HD-DVD completely.

Posted by Joe Tommassello (Member # 4632) on 04-24-2009, 03:28 PM:

Terminator 3 is not on that list. If you have a box set (i.e. That's Entertainment Trilogy) you need only send the flattened box - not the sleeves for the individual discs. I am waiting for a return call to find out if you get the $65 "Casablanca Ultimate Collector's Set" for the $4.95 upgrade cost. Will report back when I hear.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 04-24-2009, 08:40 PM:

quote: Joe Tommassello
I think you may be right but let's hope most of us here realize we are paying for the content too. I can't tell you how many times people have asked me "what's it cost to make a DVD?" I tell them about forty million dollars because they have to make the movie first.

Joe - yeah, I knew that...I'm in the music business after all, so I am familiar with the "it only costs $X to make this" argument...I was making a joke, should've put a [Big Grin]

after it.

I think you're alittle low on your estimate of what it costs to make a movie though -- I think the average is up around $80 million now (at least for mainstream fare).

Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 04-24-2009, 09:14 PM:

Looks like that's a no on Casablanca. They have made a standard BluRay edition just for this promotion.

Edit: And I'm wrong. Due to customer demand, they will ship the Ultimate Collector's Edition, but the price to upgrade is now 9.99 instead of 4.99. Still worth it.

[ 04-25-2009, 12:22 AM: Message edited by: Mike Olpin ]

Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 04-29-2009, 01:50 AM:

Hmm, it might be worht a trip to Frys electronics and see if they have any copies left of Casablanca.

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 04-30-2009, 04:52 PM:

An update on this...WB changed the info on the Matrix collection to include the ordinary Matrix trilogy...and you'll get the Blu-ray "Ultimate Matrix Collection" in return for the same $19.95.

Which was enough to sway my decision and make the change.

In response to Joe about the HP set, I read a lot of complaining that the Blu-ray sets suffered from minor image issues relating to them coming from the same transfer made for HD-DVD (so there was a more limited bitrate than necessary). Nothing seriously flawed about them, and they compare fine to the HD-DVD version...but I suspect they'll be improved upon in the future.

Posted by Joe Tommassello (Member # 4632) on 05-01-2009, 11:25 AM:

Thanks Sam. I was actually really impressed with the HD-DVD versions so I will now make the upgrade.

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 05-17-2009, 01:49 PM:

My Warner replacements arrived last week.

I am down to seven HD-DVD's (all Universal titles except "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which WB hasn't released on Blu-ray).

Two of the seven titles are currently available on Blu-ray, and a third is being released in two weeks.

And I'm up to 70 Blu-ray titles now.

THE END IS NEAR [Smile]