Fortunately some of the press materials for the software and hardware announcements shed some light. The list of titles is below, and the most salient feature noted is that all the Blu-ray titles are specified as being 1080p, not 1080i, and some, such as Fifth Element are listed as having uncompressed multichannel digital audio soundtracks. Blu-ray is spec'd for uncompressed linear PCM, up to eight channels at resolution as high as 24-bit/192kHz (HD DVD is spec'd for up to eight channels at 24/96kHz). In addition, both Dolby and DTS have new audio formats that will be available for Blu-ray and HD DVD releases that offer lossless compression with bit-for-bit reconstruction on playback. I'm encouraged, if not outright thrilled that we're already seeing titles aimed at providing higher quality sound in addition to high definition video, something that will be a natural for Blu-ray concert and music videos as well.

Just when we thought we were safe from the blue diva demo scene!

On 1080p, that makes me a little curious. As far as I know, most HD masters archived by the studios are 1080i. I don't know if Sony has made new masters, if they do some deinterlacing before encoding the discs to get 1080p from a 1080i master, or if the players simply do a conversion to 1080p and the marketing people are playing a little fast and loose with the distinction. Look for some news on that soon here at UAV.

As far as timing is concerned, the press releases on hardware and software vacillate between spring and "early summer." The Blu-ray press releases also tout that there will some titles day and date with DVD releases, which raises an ugly worse case scenario. Should Warner and Paramount choose, they could confront consumers with new day and date release in not one, not two, but all three formats. Ouch. That could leave a mark.

Blu-ray Discs really are blue!

One other note is that while Warner has lately been portrayed as being more compelled by Blu-ray, there are a handful or hot titles, including the surefire hit Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, that are for now announced only for HD DVD, not Blu-ray.

So it does appear after all that HD DVD might in fact get a head start on Blu-ray in stores, if the current timetables hold. Later in the show, I asked a representative from Philips how they plan to convince uninitiated consumers that Blu-ray is a better high definition format when they're faced with not one but two formats in their local Best Buy. His answer was that even a non-techie will be impressed by the greater number of choices in Blu-ray players and the broader selection of movies available. Unfortunately, we're going to find out just how compelling a sales pitch that is.

Announced Players

Blu-ray

Panasonic DMR-E700BD - No Price, early summer

Philips BDP - No Price, 2nd half of 2006

Pioneer Elite BDP-HD1- $1800, June

Samsung BD-P1000- $1000 early spring

Sony BDP-S1- No price, early summer

Sony PlayStation3- $300-$400, spring

HD DVD

RCA HDV-5000- $500, April

Toshiba HD-A1- $499, March

Toshiba HD-XA1- $799, March

Announced Titles

Blu-ray

Buena Vista Home Video (Disney)- Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Dark Water, Ladder 49, The Brothers Grimm, Armageddon, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Dinosaur, Everest

Fox- Fox claims its initial "first wave" of Blu-ray titles will be 20 strong, but for now has only specified the following titles: Behind Enemy Lines, Fantastic Four, Ice Age, Kiss the Dragon, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Lion's Gate- Devil's Rejects, Dune, First Blood, Lord of War, The Punisher, Reservoir Dogs, Saw, T2: Judgment Day, Total Recall

Paramount- Aeon Flux, Four Brothers, The Italian Job, Mission Impossible 1, 2, and 3, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Sahara, The Manchurian Candidate (remake), Sky Captain and World of Tomorrow, Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, U2 Rattle and Hum, We Were Soldiers

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment- The Fifth Element (multichannel uncompressed audio), Bram Stoker's Dracula, Desperado, For a Few Dollars More, The Guns of Navarone, Hitch, House of Flying Daggers, A Knight's Tale, Kung Fu Hustle, The Last Waltz, Legends of the Fall, Resident Evil, Apocalypse, Robocop, Sense and Sensibility, Stealth, Species, SWAT, XXX, Black Hawk Down (50GB dual-layer), Bridge on the River Kwai (50GB dual-layer)

Warner- Batman Begins, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, Constantine, The Dukes of Hazzard, The Last Samurai, Lethal Weapon, The Matrix, Million Dollar Baby, Oceans 12, Swordfish, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Training Day, Troy, Twister, Unforgiven

HD DVD

Paramount- Aeon Flux, Four Brothers, The Italian Job, Mission Impossible 1, 2, and 3, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Sahara, The Manchurian Candidate (remake), Sky Captain and World of Tomorrow, Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, U2 Rattle and Hum, We Were Soldiers

Universal- The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Apollo 13, The Bourne Supremacy, The Chronicles of Riddick, Cinderella Man, Doom, Jarhead, Serenity, U-571, and Van Helsing

Warner- Batman Begins, Blazing Saddles, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, Constantine,The Dukes of Hazzard, Full Metal Jacket, Goodfellas, The Green Mile Special Edition, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Last Samurai, Lethal Weapon, The Matrix, Million Dollar Baby, Oceans 12, Phantom of the Opera, Poseidon, Rumor Has It, Swordfish, Syriana, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Training Day, Troy, Twister, Unforgiven