Combo Disc!! Combo Player!! BABEL!! BEERFEST!! CLERKS!! Herc’s HDTV Cellar!! -- Ain't It Cool News: The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news.

Published on Tuesday, January 16, 2007 - 2:05am

Combo Disc!! Combo Player!! BABEL!! BEERFEST!! CLERKS!! Herc’s HDTV Cellar!!

I am – Hercules!!

CES La Vie! It was a big week for HD with the arrival of the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. And people are perhaps beginning to awaken to the idea that neither of the new HD disc formats may necessarily be Betamax. The Associated Press’ Gary Gentile commented on the continuing HD-DVD/Blu-Ray format rivalry:

Analysts and executives thought that by this year's show, there would be a clear winner, especially after Sony in November released its Playstation 3 video game console, which comes standard with a Blu-ray disc drive. Instead, both sides have hunkered down for what could be a long fight, and some are even conceding that both formats may be here to stay.

"In an optimal world you would have one format," Kevin Tsujihara, president of the Warner Bros. home entertainment group, said this week. "But there are many industries where multiple formats have existed and flourished." Tsujihara noted that in video gaming, three incompatible formats - Playstation, the Microsoft XBox and consoles from Nintendo, including the recently released Wii - have existed for years.

Trouble With LG’s Blu-ray/HD-DVD Combo Player? LG is set to introduce on Feb. 4 the BH100, an $1,199 machine designed to play both Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs. But there’s word that the new device will not play HD-DVD’s HDi (aka iHD) interactive content. So I’d continue to give consideration to just taking your $1,200 and buying an HD-DVD player, a Blu-ray player, and an A/B switch.

Warner Intros Blu-Ray/HD-DVD Combo Discs Another way to resolve the format war? Warner Bros. says it will introduce in the latter half of the year an HD disc that will play in both HD-DVD and Blu-ray machines and will not cost “materially” more than a regular disc. It’s called a “Total Hi-Def” (THD) and you can read more about it at engadgethd.com.

Moriarty Says HD-DVD Wins AICN editor Drew “Moriarty” McWeeny says HD-DVD has won the format wars because Blu-ray is not pursuing pornography. This is particularly telling because I think Moriarty says he has no use for porn.

HD Pic of the Week!!

Here’s some of what this site’s headgeek, Harry Knowles, had to say about “Clerks II,” which arrives on HD-DVD today:

… What [writer-director Kevin Smith] has slyly done in his own ass-to-mouth, donkey show kinda way -- has crafted his own modern mid-thirties geek retelling of AMERICAN GRAFFITTI. This film is a turning point movie. Set on that day where your old life and your new life are set to split -- and it scares friends, one's self ...

Then there's Rosario Dawson -- this actress is amazing. She has a wanton sexuality about her that flies off the screen. She's able to project sex, womanhood and one of the guys all at once. Rosario plays "Becky" the manager of MOOBY'S and Dante's gal pal. The most sublimely beautiful moment in the history of Kevin Smith films takes place with her and Dante on the roof of the Mooby's - Rosario teaching him to dance - by having Jay & Silent Bob boom-boxing "ABC 123". This song is... pure innocent joy. When Michael was black and the age he wanted and still wants to be. The scene that erupts from this was beautiful. Simply beautiful. …

CLERKS II is fucking funny. It also counts. It isn't an empty bag of laughs, there's a lot of soul here. …

HD Disc Calendar

January 9
Crank (BLU-RAY)

January 16
Clerks II (HD-DVD) <--- NEW!!
Employee of the Month (BLU-RAY)
Goodfellas (BLU-RAY)
Gridiron Gang (BLU-RAY)
Lucky Number Slevin {HD-DVD} <--- NEW!!
The Mummy Returns (HD-DVD)
Poseidon (HD-DVD)
Pulse (HD-DVD)
Scooby-Doo (BLU-RAY)
Scooby-Doo (HD-DVD)
The Sting (HD-DVD)
Winged Migration (BLU-RAY)