Fantasia
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Not to say I told you so, but it seemed an obvious prediction to me that they would include the "abandoned" F/06 shorts in this set.
While there wouldn't be enough material - even with live action intros - to sustain a feature length (unless older material was again used), it sounds as if they have packaged these shorts into something that would approach a third film.
"Never before seen shorts" is an interesting curio: even the non-conformed F/06 films (One By One, Little Match Girl, Destino, Lorenzo) have all been seen in various forms, either on the front of other films or festivals, art exhibitions or DVD releases as supplements. So this indicates that there's got to be a little more in the pot than those, unless they're basically saying that the wider audience has "never before seen" Destino, though that's just one short. I'm guessing that there's at least one other new title that hasn't been released yet, to make that a true claim.
What would be quite special is if those four shorts and a pristine Clair De Lune (to give it the correct spelling
) were matched together with one of the other abandoned ideas from either Walt's F/40, F/2K or F/06 to make up a Fantasia World with an introduction from an appropriate face. It wouldn't be a new film, but could perhaps stretch to nearly an hour, though we may lose the title cards and credits if they go with a compilation concept and just bunch them all at the end.
Still, even if it is just those four shorts (and Clair De Lune), that would be an interesting collection right there, and could easily again be complemented by the other music-themed shorts that featured on the previous Fantasia Legacy box set, now in HD.
While there wouldn't be enough material - even with live action intros - to sustain a feature length (unless older material was again used), it sounds as if they have packaged these shorts into something that would approach a third film.
"Never before seen shorts" is an interesting curio: even the non-conformed F/06 films (One By One, Little Match Girl, Destino, Lorenzo) have all been seen in various forms, either on the front of other films or festivals, art exhibitions or DVD releases as supplements. So this indicates that there's got to be a little more in the pot than those, unless they're basically saying that the wider audience has "never before seen" Destino, though that's just one short. I'm guessing that there's at least one other new title that hasn't been released yet, to make that a true claim.
What would be quite special is if those four shorts and a pristine Clair De Lune (to give it the correct spelling
) were matched together with one of the other abandoned ideas from either Walt's F/40, F/2K or F/06 to make up a Fantasia World with an introduction from an appropriate face. It wouldn't be a new film, but could perhaps stretch to nearly an hour, though we may lose the title cards and credits if they go with a compilation concept and just bunch them all at the end.Still, even if it is just those four shorts (and Clair De Lune), that would be an interesting collection right there, and could easily again be complemented by the other music-themed shorts that featured on the previous Fantasia Legacy box set, now in HD.
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Yeah, but if the blurays are 2-disc, I wouldn't be able to watch the bonus stuff, just the movie. I don't have an HDTV and I don't want to have to buy a bluray player in order to get these.Josh wrote:Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 will probably arrive in Blu-ray combo packs, each containing a DVD of the film.
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For better or for worse, though, Eddie, that's how some studios are already doing things. When Fox released "Jennifer's Body" recently, the DVD had nothing but commentary tracks, but the Blu-Ray had featurettes and other extras. And WB has pulled off similar moves several times by now, I think.
Heck, even Disney's been doing it to a certain degree. The "Ratatouille" Blu-Ray had additional extras not found on the DVD, as did "Chicken Little" and "Cars."
Still, what they might be doing with "Fantasia" is just releasing the Blu-Ray first, then sending out the DVD a couple of weeks later (like how they did with Snow White last year).
Heck, even Disney's been doing it to a certain degree. The "Ratatouille" Blu-Ray had additional extras not found on the DVD, as did "Chicken Little" and "Cars."
Still, what they might be doing with "Fantasia" is just releasing the Blu-Ray first, then sending out the DVD a couple of weeks later (like how they did with Snow White last year).
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift--that is why it's called the present."
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Or...they'll be thinking that the original Fantasia Legacy would still do for the DVD people? Though that's been OOP for a while.
The more obvious thing is that this is a ploy to get people to upgrade. Players are getting silly-cheap and it will get to a point where studios will just cater to the BD crowd.
Warners have announced combo packs for all upcoming titles and it can't be long before they basically drop individual DVD releases and simply put both in the same box: you buy and play the disc you can. But that the BD will have the extra content is the incentive to buy the new player.
Eventually, the studios want us all Blu so they can stop DVD production entirely and just concentrate on one format. Warner was the distributor who saw sense and brought the HD-DVD/Blu-ray war to an end, and I shouldn't think for a second that it wouldn't rather just author and put out a single format rather than dual releases.
For a while they went with single, extras-free DVDs and two-disc sets...and I see their logic (to a point) in saying that the extras-free DVDs are still there but if you want the cinefile experience then BD is the way to go.
It's not entirely fair, and I still say that any video based content should be made available on both formats, but at the moment they're authoring three sets: the single DVD, the two-disc DVD and the BD disc/set. Makes much more sense to offer one cheap, basic version (single DVD) and one high-end, collectors version.
We had the same with LD, VHS and DVD, with many people saying they didn't want to jump to DVD to get the extras that they could put on LD or DVD. But look at us all now...we all have DVD, and VHS and LD are again the simple joys of all but a handful of die-hards (myself among them!) that won't let go. Just as we will always keep some DVDs when BD does eventually take over all disc-based content delivery.
Resistance is futile...miss out on a couple of deluxe set releases and get yourself a basic BD player instead. Even if you're not using it to its maximum advantage in terms of image, you'll still be able to experience the extra content.
The more obvious thing is that this is a ploy to get people to upgrade. Players are getting silly-cheap and it will get to a point where studios will just cater to the BD crowd.
Warners have announced combo packs for all upcoming titles and it can't be long before they basically drop individual DVD releases and simply put both in the same box: you buy and play the disc you can. But that the BD will have the extra content is the incentive to buy the new player.
Eventually, the studios want us all Blu so they can stop DVD production entirely and just concentrate on one format. Warner was the distributor who saw sense and brought the HD-DVD/Blu-ray war to an end, and I shouldn't think for a second that it wouldn't rather just author and put out a single format rather than dual releases.
For a while they went with single, extras-free DVDs and two-disc sets...and I see their logic (to a point) in saying that the extras-free DVDs are still there but if you want the cinefile experience then BD is the way to go.
It's not entirely fair, and I still say that any video based content should be made available on both formats, but at the moment they're authoring three sets: the single DVD, the two-disc DVD and the BD disc/set. Makes much more sense to offer one cheap, basic version (single DVD) and one high-end, collectors version.
We had the same with LD, VHS and DVD, with many people saying they didn't want to jump to DVD to get the extras that they could put on LD or DVD. But look at us all now...we all have DVD, and VHS and LD are again the simple joys of all but a handful of die-hards (myself among them!) that won't let go. Just as we will always keep some DVDs when BD does eventually take over all disc-based content delivery.
Resistance is futile...miss out on a couple of deluxe set releases and get yourself a basic BD player instead. Even if you're not using it to its maximum advantage in terms of image, you'll still be able to experience the extra content.
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...The even MORE obvious-er thing is that they're still releasing the DVD's, just not giving them top billing in the ads anymore, since it's now a lesser "niche" market for them.Ben wrote:Or...they'll be thinking that the original Fantasia Legacy would still do for the DVD people? Though that's been OOP for a while.
The more obvious thing is that this is a ploy to get people to upgrade. Players are getting silly-cheap and it will get to a point where studios will just cater to the BD crowd.
What's the point of mentioning it, if it's a Blu-ray trailer?--Yes, like Snow White, DVD's are becoming less and less of a day-one priority, but they still know that whitebread Wal-Mart sales are their business, which is why they were still making VHS's back when their first DVD's were coming out, and if this was an exclusive, you can believe they wouldn't be shy about telling us. Chill.
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Yes, and also remember that early DVD ads on both VHS and DVD titles mentioned "coming to video and Disney DVD" even into the early 2000s.
It's just the way format change happens...like any software supplier they'll keep supporting the other formats quietly and with less fanfare each time, until the newer format has such a grip that to keep mentioning the old format seems redundant.
Since DVD took such a strong hold, BD has been somewhat positioned as the cinefile format of choice. Obviously there isn't quite the comparison there since LD never grabbed fringe fans like BD certainly has, though the definitions are just as clear and the same: you like a movie? Buy it to watch on VHS/DVD. You like the movie and want a state of the art viewing experience with extras? Buy the LD/BD.
Both formats existed side by side for a long while before DVD obliterated everything by giving it all to everyone on a disc the size of a CD, and the same will happen for a long while with DVD/BD. I have traditionally been an early adopter but waited out on the format wars this time (even if my heart was always in BD for some reason), but still know some friends of mine have yet to jump on board...surprising given their taste for technology.
One of them nearly bit at Christmas, but it's still not quite there for much of the general public. As I said in the into to our Best Of 2009 article, it looks as if people are "upgraded" out, having gone from VHS to 16x9, Digital widescreen TV to DVD and now being asked to buy everything they have already again in HD, with a new TV - and the promise of yet another upgrade to 3D (more new players and screens) starting this year. Plus the appeal of downloads and such, which is another format entirely.
But, going back to DVD and the progression to Blu-ray, it was the same process as VHS to DVD, and it will be the same as DVD and BD - and whatever 3D holographic cube device comes after that!
It's just the way format change happens...like any software supplier they'll keep supporting the other formats quietly and with less fanfare each time, until the newer format has such a grip that to keep mentioning the old format seems redundant.
Since DVD took such a strong hold, BD has been somewhat positioned as the cinefile format of choice. Obviously there isn't quite the comparison there since LD never grabbed fringe fans like BD certainly has, though the definitions are just as clear and the same: you like a movie? Buy it to watch on VHS/DVD. You like the movie and want a state of the art viewing experience with extras? Buy the LD/BD.
Both formats existed side by side for a long while before DVD obliterated everything by giving it all to everyone on a disc the size of a CD, and the same will happen for a long while with DVD/BD. I have traditionally been an early adopter but waited out on the format wars this time (even if my heart was always in BD for some reason), but still know some friends of mine have yet to jump on board...surprising given their taste for technology.
One of them nearly bit at Christmas, but it's still not quite there for much of the general public. As I said in the into to our Best Of 2009 article, it looks as if people are "upgraded" out, having gone from VHS to 16x9, Digital widescreen TV to DVD and now being asked to buy everything they have already again in HD, with a new TV - and the promise of yet another upgrade to 3D (more new players and screens) starting this year. Plus the appeal of downloads and such, which is another format entirely.
But, going back to DVD and the progression to Blu-ray, it was the same process as VHS to DVD, and it will be the same as DVD and BD - and whatever 3D holographic cube device comes after that!
.... Except the BD comparison to LD really isn't fair, Ben.
There are more people who own Blu ray machines after 3 years than there were LD owners throughout the 20-year lifespan of that format.
BD will be around for at least as long as DVD has existed so far.
Studios make more money off physical media than they do downloads.
There's more profit for them there.
Excepting mp3, people generally do not like to download entertainment software. It's a pain in the rear-end.
Pirates and cheap-skates do the torrent thing.
They're also the ones that are driving Internet providers to put caps on bandwidth and are forcing 5-inch optical media to stay put for longer than the so-called pundits would have you believe...
Don't believe everything you read in Wired.
Those guys are dead-wrong over half the time.
They get freebies from the hi-tech companies.
Why would they cut their throats by telling the truth?
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One big advantage Sony has over its competitors is that is primary Blu ray machine -- the PlayStation 3 -- is designed to handle hi-res 3D. It can output two 1080p streams which is exactly what is needed for hi-def 3D.
I don't think there's another Blu ray compatible machine on the market that can do that now. How much will the other companies have to charge for that feature???
Sony is losing the current videogame war but are probably better positioned for the next-generation than their competitors. They have tons more experience with true hi-def format and have a built-in 3D capability which will carry over to the next-gen PS4 (along with more than a few PS3 components in addition to the BD drive).
With the recent price-cut of the PS3 to $299, Sony is positioned to take over the 3D home video market when it launches in 2011. Granted, it will be another slow migration to that standard. PS3 won't go away... it'll continue to exist alongside PS4 just as the PS2 is still being alongside the PS3 (for the moment).
*********
Now the bad news...
We're talking new hi-def TV sets to handle 3D... I doubt we're going to see new 3D sets much lower than $4,000 at first. (Good news is that current set technology will be forced to lower pricing!) More expensive Blu ray discs (in all likelihood) are on the way unless the studios are stupid and try to put 2D and 3D of films on the same disc (which they shouldn't -- space is at a premium and they should split films across two discs for both versions).
Granted, there are a lot of if's for 3D and whether or not it will take off (I have my doubts -- costs being a huge factor and the economy in all likelihood still being shaky for the forseeable future) but Disney, Sony, and a number of other companies are pushing for it.
Sony has the prime player for it...
Disney has already announced it's launching a 3D ESPN channel (sports in 3D will drive 3D just as they did "flat" hi-def) and a 3D Discovery Channel (Mythbusters and World's Dirtiest Jobs in 3D?).
*********
Lots more news on this and other things are popping out from this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
There are more people who own Blu ray machines after 3 years than there were LD owners throughout the 20-year lifespan of that format.
BD will be around for at least as long as DVD has existed so far.
Studios make more money off physical media than they do downloads.
There's more profit for them there.
Excepting mp3, people generally do not like to download entertainment software. It's a pain in the rear-end.
Pirates and cheap-skates do the torrent thing.
They're also the ones that are driving Internet providers to put caps on bandwidth and are forcing 5-inch optical media to stay put for longer than the so-called pundits would have you believe...
Don't believe everything you read in Wired.
Those guys are dead-wrong over half the time.
They get freebies from the hi-tech companies.
Why would they cut their throats by telling the truth?
********************
One big advantage Sony has over its competitors is that is primary Blu ray machine -- the PlayStation 3 -- is designed to handle hi-res 3D. It can output two 1080p streams which is exactly what is needed for hi-def 3D.
I don't think there's another Blu ray compatible machine on the market that can do that now. How much will the other companies have to charge for that feature???
Sony is losing the current videogame war but are probably better positioned for the next-generation than their competitors. They have tons more experience with true hi-def format and have a built-in 3D capability which will carry over to the next-gen PS4 (along with more than a few PS3 components in addition to the BD drive).
With the recent price-cut of the PS3 to $299, Sony is positioned to take over the 3D home video market when it launches in 2011. Granted, it will be another slow migration to that standard. PS3 won't go away... it'll continue to exist alongside PS4 just as the PS2 is still being alongside the PS3 (for the moment).
*********
Now the bad news...
We're talking new hi-def TV sets to handle 3D... I doubt we're going to see new 3D sets much lower than $4,000 at first. (Good news is that current set technology will be forced to lower pricing!) More expensive Blu ray discs (in all likelihood) are on the way unless the studios are stupid and try to put 2D and 3D of films on the same disc (which they shouldn't -- space is at a premium and they should split films across two discs for both versions).
Granted, there are a lot of if's for 3D and whether or not it will take off (I have my doubts -- costs being a huge factor and the economy in all likelihood still being shaky for the forseeable future) but Disney, Sony, and a number of other companies are pushing for it.
Sony has the prime player for it...
Disney has already announced it's launching a 3D ESPN channel (sports in 3D will drive 3D just as they did "flat" hi-def) and a 3D Discovery Channel (Mythbusters and World's Dirtiest Jobs in 3D?).
*********
Lots more news on this and other things are popping out from this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
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I can finally watch BD since my brother got a PS3. I'm not really in it for the high definition yet as HDTVs are a bit expensive (thank God it works with regular TVs.) What attracts me most is the bonuses that are left off the DVD releases. Although the Up BD may not be as loaded as other Pixar releases, it still has a heck of a lot more than even the lame "deluxe" DVD (who needs digital copies?) And I was thrilled to finally be able to see the bonuses for Ratatouille-I especially loved the 12-minute "ratumentary" on Michael Giacchino by his son Mick.
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Of course, they're not being "mean" in leaving a few BD extras off the earlier DVD releases--
Never mind PiP "Sleeping Beauty" commentary, I'm pretty sure there was no technical way of putting the onscreen "Spot the Cars" game on the same DVD disk as the movie.
Also, admit it: When there's an old 4:3 featurette from the earlier disk, and a new 1080p documentary made for the Blu, which one do YOU watch?
Never mind PiP "Sleeping Beauty" commentary, I'm pretty sure there was no technical way of putting the onscreen "Spot the Cars" game on the same DVD disk as the movie.
Also, admit it: When there's an old 4:3 featurette from the earlier disk, and a new 1080p documentary made for the Blu, which one do YOU watch?
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I was wrong, wrong, wrong about the BD 3D release!
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents <=== Read the update for January 7th... Lots of nice tidbits there about the electronics. Samsung = WOW!
It's this year!
2010, not 2011.
These companies are desperate to release something new.
Some of it sounds neat, too.
DVD is dead as a growing format. The home video future is still BD regardless of whether some people want to recognize that fact or not.
Samsung is really pushing hard to become the elite home entertainment electronics company of the world. They could manage it, too, if they bring up the quality on all their products, too.
No reason to laugh at them anymore. That's one company that really is turning its image around and doing a much better job overall than they did in the 1990s when everybody thought their products were junk.
DW, Disney, Spielberg, Cameron, and Lucas are heavily invested in 3D, period.
I still wonder if the consumer market is going to embrace this.
BD is in no danger of going away any time soon (large enough sales with just the PS3 end of the equation to keep it going) and is doing much better than laserdisc ever did but there is a part of me that wonders if there really are enough rich people out there for this stuff!
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents <=== Read the update for January 7th... Lots of nice tidbits there about the electronics. Samsung = WOW!
It's this year!
2010, not 2011.
These companies are desperate to release something new.
Some of it sounds neat, too.
DVD is dead as a growing format. The home video future is still BD regardless of whether some people want to recognize that fact or not.
Samsung is really pushing hard to become the elite home entertainment electronics company of the world. They could manage it, too, if they bring up the quality on all their products, too.
No reason to laugh at them anymore. That's one company that really is turning its image around and doing a much better job overall than they did in the 1990s when everybody thought their products were junk.
DW, Disney, Spielberg, Cameron, and Lucas are heavily invested in 3D, period.
I still wonder if the consumer market is going to embrace this.
BD is in no danger of going away any time soon (large enough sales with just the PS3 end of the equation to keep it going) and is doing much better than laserdisc ever did but there is a part of me that wonders if there really are enough rich people out there for this stuff!