In the Best and Worst of 2005, I defiantly declared that Blip.TV was the Best Free Video Hosting site. I still believe Blip.TV and Revver are among the best video hosting sites for filmmakers. They offer video in various codecs (including a very good Flash Codec) that can be easily downloaded. Currently with Revver (and very soon with Blip.TV) you can even make a buck or two. However, as 2006 progressed, I realized that video hosting sites don't become popular because they serve filmmakers but because they serve their audience. After the break, our first award!

Backing up your media is important, especially to an off-site location. It is a good thing optical media is as cheap as it is so creating a duplicate copy isn't a cost prohibitive operation. But if you are going to devote the time and energy to backing up, you want to be sure your media will be readable in the future. Ad Terras Per Aspera has a thorough technical explanation of optical media and what makes a good disc. To summarize his findings:

1. DVD+R has superior error correction and burning control.
2. Taiyo Yuden makes the best discs.
3. Gold plated discs don't offer any added protection.
   

I suggest you read the full article to understand how he came to his conclusions and become a DVD whiz kid in the process.

To go along with the other video comparisons we have posted about, here is a side by side by side by side look at a frame from I Robot. The formats in question are Xvid, DVD (480p), 720p, and 1080p and as expected the 1080p looks superb. However, the 720p doesn't look that much different and would be cheaper/easier to produce for a film. Of course if you are aiming for a large screen distribution, then the extra cost of 1080p would make sense, but for anything else, 720p will do just fine. Get a good look at the full size image and see for yourself.

I am certainly not a big Hi-def DVD supporter. I am perfectly happy with my standard definition DVD's. Until now. Someone took stills from the HD DVD and regular ol' DVD versions of Lord of the Rings and put them side by side to compare. To no one's surprise, the HD quality was better but the amount of difference shocked me and I am guessing will shock you. The HD had better colors, better resolution, was brighter and less contrast. The picture was generally prettier. Long shots were especially better with HD. Take a look for yourselves, roll your mouse over to see the difference.

(via Gizmodo)

Update: The HD footage is from HDTV and not Hi-def DVD. Thanks Richard.

I've made a couple of mentions of The Journal of Short Film here on DVGuru in the past, but this PopMatters interview with founder Karl Mechem makes for a great read if the concept behind the quarterly DVD publication was never quite convincing. To refresh, JSF is a compilation of short films that get submitted from around the globe, and published on DVD to be purchased online or subscribed to. Anyway, Mechem discusses the viability of short film itself, inspiration for starting up a DVD publication, issues of copyright and distribution, and some other good stuff. I'm a big fan of The Journal of Short Film, whose grassroots, no budget approach to getting films distributed is really admirable. Give the interview a look for some nice background information on the group.

Let's face it. The HD format war is far from over. Surely we are destined for many years of back and forth name calling, and brow beating before a victory can be claimed. War is hell.

Even so, that shouldn't prevent us from enjoying a few of the spoils. We at DVguru have been proclaiming the benefits of HDV for some time, with the caveat that it is difficult to play in the living room. However, with the first wave of IDE burners hitting the market that's no longer the case.

No one realizes this better than the gang over at EventDV. They have provided us with a look at three ways to get your HDV content onto a disk. It's a great summary of the state of HD burning thus far. Definitely worth a look.

Linked via EMediaLive

The Best v Best DVDs feature a sampling of award-winning short films from festivals all over the world, including Cannes, Sundance, BAFTA, Edinburgh, Berlin, and more. Assembled by Shooting People, Volumes 1 and 2 feature seven and ten shorts, respectively. A portion of each sale goes back to the filmmakers, and the (region free!) DVDs cost £15 each, or £22 for both. Short films like these are rarely seen outside of the festival loop, and this would make a neat gift for filmmakers and enthusiasts alike. Check out the website for trailers and other info.

So, I was watching the new "Pirates" DVD over the weekend, and decided to check out the "sneak peeks" on the disk. I should preface this by saying I couldn't find an online version of the clip, so those of you who didn't buy "Dead Man's Chest" will have to take my word. Disney has assembled a trailer of sorts promoting Blu-ray disks.

To my surprise, many favorite Disney characters, from Aladdin to the fairies in Sleeping Beauty turned out in support of the format. Basically, Disney pulled every clip of every character they could think of, who said the word "blue" in an animated feature. I have to admit, it was a bit unnerving seeing some of my beloved childhood animations hocking a format that could just as easily disappear as become THE standard.

Disney has always supported the Sony developed format over rival HD-DVD, but the company seemed in the past to be...hesitant to jump in feet first. Well, now they come out with a one-two punch that just about made me feel like Blu-ray was a member of my family.

Interestingly, the same "Pirates" movie which contained the the trailer will not be coming to Blu-ray in the near future. According to this article, Disney plans not to release any of it's "major A-list titles" until they reach a certain "platform penetration."

It seems to me Disney could help the platform grow by releasing all it's major titles in Blu-ray format. At the same time, I realize they have a reputation to think of, and it wouldn't look good to have mountains of unsold copies on store shelves. Maybe you can understand why I'm confused by the the house that Walt built.

That was the lecture, now here is your homework.

Tell me where you think Disney stands in the format war. Are they:
A). totally committed to Blu-Ray
B). sitting on the fence to see what happens
C). not really concerned about which format they use.

For bonus points, tell me "How important is Disney's role in the success or failure of the Blu-ray format?" The winner, who will be selected by an impartial panel of judges, will receive a personalized message board response from an authentic DVGuru blogger.

Looking forward to your input

Adam

The DVD Wars is a website that tracks HD-DVD and Blu-Ray sales data, giving a pretty clear indication of how the two formats are faring against one another. Granted, the website only tracks sales of discs through Amazon, but it's safe to say that the mega retailer is a pretty clear indicator of overall trends. Useful stuff here. Check it out for specific battle reports.

(via CinemaTech)

As if HD-DVD and BluRay weren't enough, in strolls EVD, or Enhanced Versatile Disc, unleashed by Chinese manufacturers last week as another official foray into the realm of high definition DVD media. A grand total of 54 new video players were unveiled, and an Associated Press report claims that Chinese electronics companies plan to switch completely to EVD by 2008, with exports of EVD players beginning next year. Specs on the format seem to be sparse, but this Wikpedia entry provides some useful history on the format, which apparently was announced back in 2004. Will EVD be confined to China? Will it seriously catch on in the first place? If anything, at least 'EVD' is a bit more conventionally named and easier to say than the awkward 'HD-DVD' or 'BluRay'.

(via Cinematical)

Well folks, you can all pack up your things and head home. The HD format war is over! I know, I know - just yesterday, it seemed like it would go on forever, but Rob Enderle over at digital trends has called it for HD-DVD. He says Blu-ray can, at best hope to play catch up, and will eventually fade into the history books.

Of course, I'm just horsing around here. I would love for it to be true so I could finally feel comfortable buying one of these. I do however give Mr. Enderle mad props for having the Bal...'ahem'... guts to come out and proclaim his view on who is going to win this war. Although, I don't know if I would be equally confident in proclaiming HD victory, this is one of the most comprehensive and well written articles on the subject I've had the pleasure to read. It's obvious Mr. Enderle has done his homework.

Enderle has sales figures, and price comparisons to back things up. He briefly touches on the game console aspect of this mess, and cites HP as a major format fence-jumper. He does provide Sony a glimmer of hope, as they have thus far maintained alliances with Dell, Disney and Apple, but ultimately sees Blu-ray as a niche high capacity storage medium. (betacam anyone?)

It's truly refreshing to see a serious journalist hop off the fence and take a stand on this one. I suspect Enderle will be the first of many. However, he does hedge his bets slightly by mentioning that Internet movie downloads could trump both disk based formats.It's definitely worth a look.

Click READ below.

Back in 1999 The Blair Witch Project became the most financially successful independent film of all time, partly due to the way the producers played the internet to create a lot of buzz. Now, the team is at it again with another movie, Altered. Granted, the film is backed by mainstream Rogue Pictures, but we'll have to see whether the team can pull it off again. Investor Ken McCarthy seems to think so and is on board with the horror flick. Since The Blair Witch Project was hailed as one of the first successes of "viral marketing," way back in the late 90's, it'll be interesting to see what approach the film makers take now that the internet is even more pervasive. Check out the trailer below:

Scott Taves over at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (gotta love a paper with a hyphen in the name) has a roundup of the latest in the "hi-defmatch" (his words, not mine.) The article is a pretty comprehensive look at the current format war and, while there isn't much new for anyone who has followed Blu-ray and HD-DVD closely, it is a pretty good article.Taves discusses some of the lesser known issues, such as boot up time,and box design, and also dredges up the video game console argument.

Click READ, and check it out.

Serious distribution is a major challenge in getting your film seen, but there are several companies out there who claim to make the daunting process a bit more manageable. Indie-Pictures is one of those companies, and they take an approach to distribution through releasing and selling DVDs online and attempting to get them into stores across the country through their own network. Of course, they share DVD sales revenues with individual filmmakers. For more information and a sampling of their previous releases, check out their website. Seems like it might be worth investigating, depending on your wants and needs.

(via DIY Filmmaker)

Blockbuster is seeking to enter the movie download business sometime in 2007. But it is a move they will make so as to not be left out of the market. Blockbuster's Chief Executive John Antioco says that "we think packaged media remains king for a long time". And with High Def becoming more common, for right now, the bandwidth just isn't there. But because Netflix is starting a movie download business in 2007, Blockbuster feels like it has to respond. What tells me that Netflix will beat them to the market again.