It’s been an exciting
year for high-def fans.  More TV networks
are filming new programs in HD, and there are more HD channels to show them
on.  High-def hardware prices continued
dropping, making HDTV, HD DVD, Blu-ray, TiVo, game consoles, and other HD
devices more affordable than ever.   Both
optical HD formats released a lot of good titles, and thanks to sales and
promotions, movie prices came down faster than expected.

So what’s in store for HD in 2008? Here are two perspectives
on what we may expect from high-def in the next year.

Adam:  HDTV prices
will hold flat thanks to manufacturers tightening supply, combined with the
2009 transition to digital broadcasts, which will make current analog TV tuners
obsolete without a converter box.  HD DVD
and Blu-ray hardware prices will stabilize between 0 and 0 dollars for
most models.  On the programming front,
cable and satellite providers will continue to add additional HD channels as
their capacity allows. Studios will release fewer older, “catalog” titles on HD
DVD and Blu-ray this year until there are more players in homes, though we will
still see day-and-date new releases.

Starting January 7th, the Consumer Electronics
Show (CES) will be filled not only with new products but also big
announcements. HD DVD and Blu-ray will come out swinging—and one announcement
has already broken about smaller, laptop-sized Blu-ray drives that will fit in
more laptops. Warner Brothers, which currently releases movies on both formats,
may announce at CES that it has picked a side (I can only assume it will come
down to which side offers WB a bigger “incentive” package). At the pace the
format battle is going, though, don’t expect a side to emerge as a clear winner
just yet.

Sam: I see HDTV makers doing the exact opposite of what Adam
says—they’ll work their tails off to attract fence-sitting consumers. As the
2009 switch draws nearer, more TV watchers will learn that their current cable
and satellite programming will work fine without an upgrade, and there are a number
of consumers who are not only happy with their 10-year-old TV sets, they’re
also not interested in ponying up over 0 for a new one. Extreme price drops
on HDTVs—at least in the smaller-screen sector—might be the only way to sway that
significant number of non-enthusiasts.

Worse, the current writers' strike might have repercussions on TV programming for months to come if it keeps up; if network TV is inundated in repeats, reality shows and game shows all the way into Fall '08, HDTV sales could very well suffer as a result.

HD DVD and Blu-ray camps have the additional burden of format confusion in
attracting mainstream sales, so studios and hardware makers will
work hand-in-hand to keep prices reasonable and encourage as many new adopters as possible. I’m also looking forward to CES, but I think any announcement akin to a WB
side-choice will make a huge impact, especially if this past holiday season shows a significant gap
between installed bases of the formats. Software sales will be the deciding
factor, as Blu-ray’s installed base is inflated by Playstation 3 game system
owners, who may have no intention of purchasing movies in the Blu-ray format.

And while both programming formats will beef up their high-def offerings through 2008, satellite is going to pull ahead if cable doesn’t take drastic steps
to compete with satellite’s sizable lineup lead. It’s this sector that will
prove the most interesting and competitive of them all, and we’ll certainly
talk more about that battle in the months to come. --Sam and Adam

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On Saturday, after you've finally had enough turkey and stuffing and shopping and football to hold you over until Christmas, turn on the TV and tune to the Sci-Fi Channel, as Battlestar Galactica - Razor airs this Saturday. (UPDATE: the first few sources I read had Sunday as the air date, but scifi.com  confirms that it is indeed this Saturday at 9:00 pm/8:00 central). Get your popcorn ready, and enjoy. For more info, check out this review on Wired. It did show on some big screens in select cities, but this will be the first chance that most BSG hungry fans will have to see it.

We just got the trailer in. Check out it below, and pre-order your copy now, it'll be out December 4. And you can also sign up to get an email when Season 3 is ready to order. Enjoy. --Dan

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Old-timers (relatively speaking) might remember that Blade Runner was released very early in the DVD era, but only in a director's cut--if you wanted to see the version you saw in theaters you were out of luck. Now here comes Blade Runner: The Final Cut in one of the most ambitious--and confusing--DVD releases yet. First of all, the Final Cut is what director Ridley Scott says is his definitive version of the movie. But you have many choices in how much Blade Runner you want. You can find complete details in our guide, but here's a quick run-down:

• Two-Disc Special Edition: has the Final Cut plus a feature-length documentary called Dangerous Days
• Four-Disc Collector's Edition: same as above, plus a third disc with three additional cuts of the movie (including the theatrical cut with Harrison Ford's narration, the international cut, and the previously available director's cut) and a fourth disc of featurettes and promotional material.
• Five-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition: same as above, plus a fifth disc with yet another version of the movie (a "workprint" version), all in a plastic Deckard-style limited-edition briefcase with miniature spinner car, origami unicorn, photos, and more.

But that's just for the standard-definition DVD. If you want a high-definition version, you have four more choices:

• Five-Disc Complete Collector's Edition [Blu-ray]: in Blu-ray, but otherwise the same as the Ultimate Edition above, but without the briefcase and other collectibles
• Five-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition [Blu-ray]: in Blu-ray, but otherwise the same as the Ultimate Edition above including the briefcase and collectibles
• Five-Disc Complete Collector's Edition [HD DVD]: in HD DVD, but otherwise the same as the Ultimate Edition above, but without the briefcase and other collectibles
• Five-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition [HD DVD]: in HD DVD, but otherwise the same as the Ultimate Edition above including the briefcase and collectibles

Well, that's a lot of choices. Yeah, some people may want still more choices, like the five-disc DVD without the briefcase or the Blu-ray and HD DVD versions without the additional cuts. But give Warner credit for offering this many options, pricing them reasonably (especially the versions without the briefcase), and continuing to straddle the fence on high-definition so both Blu-ray and HD DVD camps can enjoy this. Want more info? We talked to Ridley Scott and Sean Young about the movie and the Final Cut, and you can watch it here. --David

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