Colin’s Film Journal

I’m starting a new project for DVDTimes - I am going to build ‘The Ultimate Home Cinema PC’ using top of the range components and will take you through all of the steps needed to build a system capable of running anything you wish to throw at it. There will be no limitations on format - DVD, Blu-ray and HD DVD will all be compatible and regions won’t be a restriction.

I’ll cover the hardware, software and configuration of the system and to top it all, the finished PC will be given away in a competition on DVD Times. The total retail cost is expected to be nearly £1,000.

In the run up to the article I will also update my

FilmJournal with my progress. This is an exciting project, both in terms of scope and the ability to play all formats and I hope you all find it useful.

The First Component

The first component is here - the stunning Shuttle SG33G5M. This gorgeous piece of hardware specifically designed for media centre use - it comes with every connection you need, supports all of the hardware and software we will be using and even ships with a remote control.

Now that I have fully adopted Blu-Ray (albeit via my US PS3), I’ve been looking ahead to some of the titles coming this year. For Blu-Ray to succeed it has to impress the masses over the next 12 months - this timescale will be enough to tell us whether the format is going to have any sort of longevity. We’re not going to see many big hitters this year, the Star Wars films, Indiana Jones and other classic blockbusters will be held back until Blu-Ray is more established. Thankfully that doesn’t mean we’re starved of quality as long as we know where to look.

Over the coming days I’ll be posting the titles I’m most looking forward to over the next year…

Today, my pick is currently only a rumour, but it’s a tantalising one! Alex Proyas’ mind-warping, little seen classic, Dark City. This film was drowned out on release by the hype that accompanied The Matrix, but it is by far the more rounded experience of the two. It requires constant attention - miss a couple of minutes and you may as well stop watching, but if you’re commited Dark City is totally rewarding.

The latest news is that writer, David Goyer, has said that we can expect new extended cut with new effects. The extended length means the film is being rescored and even more exciting is the prospect of a limited theatrical release; I can only hope that this theatrical outing makes it to the UK as Dark City should really be experienced on as big a screen as possible. The word is that a DVD and Blu-Ray release of this new cut will follow shortly after.

Sandra Bullock and Jullian McMahon star in this confusing, plodding, supernatural thriller from director, Mennan Yapo.

Housewife Linda Hanson (Bullock) learns of the death of her husband, Jim (McMahon), in a nasty car accident on the previous day; only to wake to discover he is still alive. The film then jumps forwards and backwards to events before and after the so-called accident as Linda has premonitions of what is to come. Premonition is a difficult film to judge - the performances are all there, and it’s not your usual ‘everything ends well’ piece of cinema. In fact it is a very downbeat film that closely mirrors Linda’s on-screen depression. Unfortunately this makes it a chore to watch and the eventual twist is one that is expected and doesn’t do anything to lighten the tone.

However, this downbeat feel isn’t the film’s biggest mistake - the real problem is that we really don’t care about the characters. There is no attempt to make Linda a likeable person - she is depressed from the start and we don’t get to know her or her husband in any way before we learn of his death. While this could be forgiveable if the subsequent scenes build on their relationship, they don’t - all we learn is that their marriage is in trouble and he’s thinking of having an affair (although bizarrely, all seems forgiven when he changes his mind about shagging his boss in a hotel). Coupled with some glaring continuity issues, which in all honesty should really be ironed out in a film that is inherently going to be a disjointed experience, there isn’t really a lot to like here.

Yes, it tries to be a bit different and there isn’t any kind of ‘reset button’ ending, but that isn’t enough to make me want to recommend this film…

The Blu-Ray release is good with a decent picture and sound quality. I did notice some flickering in the backgrounds that at times was a little irritating to my eyes, but other than that it was still an obvious step up from SD.

There are plenty of special features, but in all honesty after sitting down to watch the film I was in no mood to go through them all afterwards. Maybe I’ll revisit them in the coming days, but I somehow doubt it! As such, the rating below currenly only takes into account the picture and sound quality…

Film: 3/10, Blu-Ray: 6/10

Toshiba UK are refusing to comment on rumours that their support of HD DVD is coming to an end. Recent industry reports and speculation, and rumours that Toshiba are developing a Blu-Ray player have cast significant doubt on the future of HD DVD, and Toshiba’s reluctance to make any statement to refute these rumours is damning. I predict that the coming days and weeks will see some significant changes to the HD playing field - this is happening far more quickly than anyone (including myself) had predicted.

Jodi Sally, vice president of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products says, “Based on its technological advancements, we continue to believe HD DVD is the best format for consumers, given the value and consistent quality inherent in our player offerings”. This is as non-commital as we’ve come to expect from the company and does nothing to quell rumours and continues a trend of an obvious lack of confidence and support that has plagued the format since its inception. This is most obvious from the total lack of good marketing allowing Blu-Ray to surge into the lead despite the advantages HD DVD had to offer the consumer.

I would no longer be surprised if Toshiba, Universal and Paramount all throw their weight behind the dominant format within the next few months…

Today I heard a rumour that Toshiba may be looking to release their own Blu-Ray players this year. Even more surprising is the suggestion that they have actually been working on two machines for a while, with a September release in mind. Sources are suggesting that this release schedule has been brought forward with a July date now more likely due to the shifts in allegiances in the HD marketplace.

Toshiba, along with Universal, are the two biggest proponents of the HD DVD format. If either one of them shows any sign of switching to the rival Blu-Ray, that will almost certainly be the final nail in the coffin. We’ve heard suggestions that Universal’s exclusivity agreement has come to an end, but that has been flatly denied so far and now rumours of Toshiba moving some eggs out of the HD DVD basket are very interesting indeed.

Even if these are just rumours, they are now out there. With both sides grasping at anything to boost their chosen format’s reputation, any rumour could be enough to prevent take up of either one of the formats. Denials often just give the company involved the chance to make announcements in their own time. HD DVD’s days are numbered, and the quieter the HD DVD camp are, the more speculation there will be that one or more of the big supporters is looking to break away.

The big question isn’t whether Toshiba will release a Blu-Ray player, but when? and what other formats will it support? Could they be looking to boost HD DVDs chances by producing a dual-format player?

The press has been awash with stories on the current format war between HD DVD and Blu-Ray. These new formats should be taking us into the next decade with style - HD is the new big thing, from TV channels to gaming and even mobile phones, the HD buzzword is selling hardware like hotcakes, but with HD DVD and Blu-Ray the story is somewhat different. Even the early adopters are being more cautious than usual.

Why is this?

Well - throughout the press all we’re seeing are each ‘camp’ taking pot-shots at each other, scoring cheap points (Blu-Ray outsells HD DVD one week and vice versa, the PS3 is selling poorly, Blockbuster drop HD DVD in most of their US stores) while consumers keep their distance waiting for that day that one or the other capitulates. Unfortunately, by the time that happens, disc-based formats will be old news and neither HD DVD or Blu-Ray will have made it big.

The only chance either format has is if they both survive and feed off each other’s publicity. Dual-format players have to be the way forward - no sensible member of the public is going to buy two expensive pieces of hardware to clutter up their already crowded living rooms. Warner are going to trial their Blu-Ray/HD DVD hybrid discs, but these shouldn’t be needed and offer more drawbacks than benefits - they’ll have no disc art and will be far more fragile. The format war should NEVER happened - it’s all well and good having studios pick their preferred format based on technical needs and costs, but the end user shouldn’t have to do the same.

The move to HD is confusing enough with different resolutions and connectivity standards without that off-putting need to decide which films you don’t want to be able to buy. You see, that’s the problem - consumers are going to realise that whichever format they choose, they won’t be able to buy everything they want, so why should they bother if that old DVD format that everyone owns offer them everything they need.

HD as a whole needs to offer consumers more, not less. HD releases of new films should come out either before or day and date with DVD from the start, they should offer more content to justify all of this hot air about storage capacities and there should be wide-spread promotion as a whole.

The studios should choose whether a particular film should be released on Blu-Ray (if it needs more space) or HD DVD (if it doesn’t), and all customers should need to do is pick up the film they want in their local Asda and come home and play it regardless of which hardware they’ve bought.

All of this confusion is forcing HD DVD and Blu-Ray into a niche and unless there’s an urgent rethink in the next few months, by this time next year we’ll be using our broadband connections to download the latest HD films to our PCs directly from the studio servers. It’s going to be a struggle for either format to become anything more than the new ‘Laserdisc’ and it’ll be impossible if this pathetic ‘war’ continues for much longer.