Bourne HD-DVD First To Feature "Instant Access"

Universal's release of The Bourne Supremacy is the very first HD-DVD title to feature Toshiba's "Instant Access" bonus feature - which can best be described as a video commentary track.

During playback of the movie, users will have the option to bring up the "Instant Access" feature, which appears as a small box in the corner of the screen. There, viewers will see the actors and crew talking about what is happening on-screen - including behind the scenes footage that is perfectly in-synch with the action that is happening as you watch the film.

Warner Bros. plans to have a similar bonus feature on their upcoming HD-DVD release of Constantine.

For our complete, exclusive review of The Bourne Supremacy HD-DVD, CLICK HERE.

Exclusive Review: Unforgiven

"It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. You take away all he's got...and all he's ever gonna have."

Clint Eastwood's revisionist Western gets a fantastic hi-def transfer on HD-DVD and includes all the goodies that were available on the 10th Anniversary standard edition.

Click Here to read our Exclusive Review of Unforgiven on HD-DVD!

Your Fugitive's Name Is Dr. Richard Kimble...Go Get Him!

In an announcement that is sure to please all current HD-DVD owners (and perhaps bring a lot more into the fold), Warner Bros. has set May 23rd for the high-definition release of Harrison Ford’s The Fugitive on the HD-DVD format.

The DVD will include a 1080p high-definition transfer of the film, along with the same standard definition bonus features that were included on the Special Edition DVD release back in 2005.

The title is due to be released alongside the HD-DVD version of Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles.

Product Review: Toshiba's HD-A1

Well, we've taken the plunge and bought the first HD-DVD player on the market. And you know what? It's not that bad...not that bad at all! It does have its problems - but not as many as you've heard on those other sites. Is it worth investing in? Read our Exclusive Review and decide for yourself!

Playstation 3 & Blu-Ray: What Sony Isn't Telling You

The big news came down from Sony yesterday: the highly-anticipated Playstation 3 will hit stores in November of this year. And much like the launch of the rival XBox 360 system last year, the Playstation 3 will come in two versions: a "cheaper" (if you can call it that) $499 system and a more "loaded" system that will retail for $599.

Both versions of the Playstation 3 will include Blu-Ray drives, but hidden in Sony's annoucement was the fact that the cheaper of the two systems WON'T have an HDMI output - crucial for any high-definition viewer, since it provides a protected output path to your HD televsion. This MAY mean that those with the lower-end players will be forced to watch down-converted Blu-Ray movies, depending on if movie studios apply Image Constraint Tokens to their Blu-Ray releases (something studios are considering to avoid piracy). This image constraint technology only affects analog connections, which is why an HDMI hook-up is so important for high-definition users.

So for those looking to make the Playstation 3 their primary Blu-Ray player as well, it's probably a good idea to start saving for the more expensive $599 model, which is roughly $100 more than Toshiba's already-released HD-DVD stand-alone player and several hundred more than the intitial cost of an XBox 360.

What's the bottom line on all this tech-talk? Well, put simply, the battle between Sony's Blu-Ray and Toshiba's HD-DVD players suddenly got a lot more interesting - and it's a battle that seemingly was Sony's to lose. With the prohibitive costs of the Playstation 3, those strictly looking for Hi-Def DVD viewing may now jump over to Toshiba's cheaper priced players (or get Microsoft's just-annouced HD-DVD add-on for their XBox 360) rather than fork over $600 for a Playstation 3 (buyers have bad memories of the Playstation 2's poor standard DVD performance) or (gasp!) the $1000+ Blu-Ray stand-alone models due out this summer.

In short, a format war that should have been over before it started has suddenly become a real contest.

HD-DVD Add-On For XBox 360 Confirmed

Although they have not yet revealed just how much it will cost, Microsoft confirmed today that they will be releasing a HD-DVD add-on drive for the XBox 360 that will connect via a USB cable.

Microsoft made the announcement at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (known as "E3") , currently taking place in Los Angeles. The price of the add-on may be release later in the Expo, possibly as early as tomorrow.

Welcome To DVD Empire's Hi-Def Blog!

The way you view entertainment in your home is about to change, and this Blog is devoted to keeping our customers up on the changes.

As you may or may not know, high-defintion DVD is finally here, but there's a catch. Instead of one usable format, companies Toshiba and Sony have created two rival formats - leaving it up to you - the consumer - to ultimately decide who the "winner" is.

Toshiba's format is known as HD-DVD and has already hit the market, with a handful of movies in release. Sony's format is called Blu-Ray and the first players and movies for it are due to be released in late June.

DVD Empire will take no stance on which format is the "best" - we'll leave that up to you...but we will keep you posted on all the news (the good and the bad) about both formats as the home entertainment market takes a bold leap into the future.

For more about HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, be sure to visit DVD Empire.