Current OOP HD-DVD and Blu-ray titles

[oopAnt]

Well, at this point in the game, there are a handful of titles that are OOP in both camps. Some are interesting to note, others are questionable. Most are Blu-ray titles from Paramount, but there are some HD titles as well. While there are titles currently selling at premium prices, rumors are running that Paramount is in the works to move back to Blu-ray. Investments are risky at this point, if the titles are to be exactly the same. If all HD-DVD's are out of print, I do not know if they will maintain a premium price, or if they will be similar to laserdisc and betamax, where only select collector's would be interested in it. I will update this listing as things change (add and subtract titles as their stock changes).
So here they are in full color-blazing glory.

HD-DVD

NOTES: Casablanca is not really out of print, but Amazon seems to be out of stock on them. And they make the disclaimer that WB will not support them after May 31st.
EDIT 2/19/08 - Casablanca is now in stock.
Eyes Wide Shut as well is not discontinued, although some vendors are also out of stock outside of Amazon. Whether WB or Amazon plans on restocking these, we shall find out.
The last 2, one is from Bandai, and the other is an independent group with lousy reviews.
EDIT - 2/20/08 - Freedom from Bandai is not OOP, but most retailers are discontinuing their HD-DVD stock. Bandai has it at their website.
EDIT - 2/20/08 - Band of Brothers Japansese import added. Amazon does not have a listing, but xploited cinema was selling them for a time, but has since sold out.
Army of Darkness - just announced. This is the HD-DVD/DVD combo version. The regular, non-combo version, accordingly is still in print.
Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains the Same - Although re-released, the original edition was recalled by Warner Brothers. The newer edition no longer includes the bonus feature of the Cameron Crowe radio profile, probably due to the music in the background which is not Led Zeppelin. Also the new edition corrected any audio drop-outs that some customers have complained about.
Mission Impossible, Mission Impossible 2, Trading Places, Coming to America and Next are not officially announced, however, Amazon currently are out of stock. Whether or not these get replenished we shall see. It could also be a reaction from buyers not being able to get the Blu-ray version (for those that own both players).

UPDATE (4/23/08): The Frighteners from Universal Studios is discontinued and no longer available on Amazon .
Blade Runner Ultimate Suitcase Edition from Warner Brothers. Has this title actually dried up?
Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black released from Universal is discontinued and no longer available.
Happy Feet Combo DVD from Warner Brothers is discontinued and no longer available.
Superman Returns Combo DVD from Warner Brothers is discontinued and no longer available.
Chicago & Earth, Wind & Fire - Live at the Greek Theatre released from Image Entertainment is discontinued.

bandbrossetb31m.jpg (14.57 KiB) Viewed 1160 times

Blu-ray

NOTES: Aeon Flux and Black Snake Moan are from Paramount. The Blu-Ray 4-pak is an interesting item to see out of stock as its from Buena Vista. But I suppose its just a promotional pack to get people buying, so it would have a limited range in time.
Eyes Wide Shut is also no longer available on Amazon, but again, its the same deal as with the HD-DVD version. I am not sure why Amazon does not have it for offering. I can;t imagine it has anything to do with content, being an unrated version with slightly more risque scenes than the rated version. Disturbia is from Paramount.
Flags of Our Fathers is a Dreamworks/Universal release, while Freedom Fighters is a Paramount release.
Hostel is a Sony Pictures release that has been postponed, but evidently some seemed to have gotten out? I don't know if those are trust worthy sellers or not. But a newer edition has been released since with the same cover art.
Lara Croft and all Mission Impossible's are Paramount releases.
Om Shanti Om is a Bollywood Production released by Eros Entertainment. The artwork you see is not the official Blu-ray art, but a UK edition, but I suppose it would look similar. But MMM says its out. I would suppose that Amazon does not have access to it yet.
All the others are Paramount releases.
Blades of Glory has said to have been spotted in the Circuit City listings, which is, I suppose, the first Blu-ray title to be discontinued. Untouchables on the other hand was the first one to be discontinued that has had an online retail market.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow - no longer available on Amazon. No word at this time when Paramount intends to re-release these titles.
Black Rain - Starring Michael Douglas is no long available on Amazon. It appears that there are very few copies available (4 as of this writing).
U2 - Rattle and Hum - This title is no longer available on Amazon as of this writing.

UPDATE 4/23/08: The Fifth Element from Sony Pictures is discontinued and no longer available.
Mission Impossible III from Paramount is discontinued and no longer available.



That is all of them for now. Most are close to retail cost as many of them are just starting to run out of stock. Some of the more difficult ones are Shooter, which has been a hot title. We Were Soldiers looks to be a hot one as well. Some of the older releases like Untouchables, Italian Job, Trading Places and Coming to America has slipped in price.

I will keep it changing as things change.

OopAnt

[AOD]

Great thread ant. I'll try and contribute for the HD DVD side. One would anticipate Pan's Labyrinth to be one of the higher fetching HD DVD in the near future due to it being Newline's first and last HD DVD. It is technically OOP.

[KFelon]

Great thread ant. I'll try and contribute for the HD DVD side. One would anticipate Pan's Labyrinth to be one of the higher fetching HD DVD in the near future due to it being Newline's first and last HD DVD. It is technically OOP.

I see these all the time, why would the HD-DVD be worth more than the Blu-Ray when both releases have flawed transfers?

[AOD]

Great thread ant. I'll try and contribute for the HD DVD side. One would anticipate Pan's Labyrinth to be one of the higher fetching HD DVD in the near future due to it being Newline's first and last HD DVD. It is technically OOP.

I see these all the time, why would the HD-DVD be worth more than the Blu-Ray when both releases have flawed transfers?

Transfer aside, Newline will continue to produce Bluray's and by default, produce more Pan's Labyrinth on BD as needed. Their Pan's Labyrinth HD DVD disc is pretty much a one time deal now. Newline will not produce anymore. What's out there is it. That should make it valuable in the eyes of collectors and resellers alike (like here).

[hindolio]

Great thread ant. I'll try and contribute for the HD DVD side. One would anticipate Pan's Labyrinth to be one of the higher fetching HD DVD in the near future due to it being Newline's first and last HD DVD. It is technically OOP.

I see these all the time, why would the HD-DVD be worth more than the Blu-Ray when both releases have flawed transfers?

Transfer aside, Newline will continue to produce Bluray's and by default, produce more Pan's Labyrinth on BD as needed. Their Pan's Labyrinth HD DVD disc is pretty much a one time deal now. Newline will not produce anymore. What's out there is it. That should make it valuable in the eyes of collectors and resellers alike (like here).

i think i read somewhere that the pans hd dvd has some special features not on the br?

[KFelon]

source

After the formal news that came out this morning regarding Toshiba ceasing production of the HD DVD format, we got word this afternoon about how Bandai Visual USA will be handling their release of the Freedom OVA series on the Twin Disc format: "[W]e will continue to release future installments of FREEDOM on HD-DVD / DVD Twin-Disc Format. We do not want to abandon our fans that have purchased FREEDOM 1-3. Retailers will soon stop carrying FREEDOM 1-3, but they will be available via our dot-anime.us (http://www.dot-anime.us) website along with the future installments." No word about any potential plans for the series on Blu-ray was included in the statement.

[oopAnt]

source

After the formal news that came out this morning regarding Toshiba ceasing production of the HD DVD format, we got word this afternoon about how Bandai Visual USA will be handling their release of the Freedom OVA series on the Twin Disc format: "[W]e will continue to release future installments of FREEDOM on HD-DVD / DVD Twin-Disc Format. We do not want to abandon our fans that have purchased FREEDOM 1-3. Retailers will soon stop carrying FREEDOM 1-3, but they will be available via our dot-anime.us (http://www.dot-anime.us) website along with the future installments." No word about any potential plans for the series on Blu-ray was included in the statement.

Thanks for the update KFelon. So they are not out of print, just distributed differently. I will update.

OopAnt

[oopAnt]

The Japansese import of Band of Brothers is also discontinued and had a short life on the market.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Band-of-Brothers-HD ... dZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/HBO-Band-of-Brother ... dZViewItem

They were released individually in 5 a 5 disc series and as a group, but not necessarily as a boxed set.

OopAnt

[oopAnt]

According to yesasia.com, Lady of the Water, a Warner Brothers release is out of print (US version).

http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/c ... 004828351/

OopAnt

[KFelon]

The Japansese import of Band of Brothers is also discontinued and had a short life on the market.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Band-of-Brothers-HD ... dZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/HBO-Band-of-Brother ... dZViewItem

They were released individually in 5 a 5 disc series and as a group, but not necessarily as a boxed set.

OopAnt

It came back in print a few weeks ago, many Japanese retailers got these again and a lot of folks on AVS were snatching them up. Whether it was a small reprint or not I can't say, but most Japanese HD-DVD online vendors got these again.

There are several "rare" Japanese releases to keep an eye out for including the newly released HD-DVD of Afro Samurai, yes has Japanese and English audio options, as well as some older ones Equilibrium, The Machinist, and Reign of Fire. (Oddly those 3 have Christian Bale in them.) Whether they are truly rare or not could be diluted by the fact we don't live in their home country to really see what is available there?

[oopAnt]

According to YesAsia, these HD-DVDs are listed as "out of print" in their catalogs, however are still available at Amazon:



This HD-DVD has already been double-dipped with a director's cut version released on HD-DVD. So this version probably wont get too much attention if it is out of print, unless the director's cut is extremely bad.

Does anyone know if Warner never released Hairspray onto HD-DVD?



Dragon's Lair looks like it might get discontinued soon from the looks of it.

The US releases are all still available on Amazon, but I will keep an eye on them and adjust the main list appropriately.

OopAnt


Does anyone know where else one can get this title? YesAsia says its out of print. HKFlix does not have it, nor does xploited. This might be a rare title provided its really not available anymore. And it is not available on Blu-ray either. Nor are there any copies on eBay. Oh, and its a Japanese version, there was no US version released, but because there are no regional codes on HD-DVD, it would seem beneficial to grab one.

[oopAnt]

It came back in print a few weeks ago, many Japanese retailers got these again and a lot of folks on AVS were snatching them up. Whether it was a small reprint or not I can't say, but most Japanese HD-DVD online vendors got these again.

There are several "rare" Japanese releases to keep an eye out for including the newly released HD-DVD of Afro Samurai, yes has Japanese and English audio options, as well as some older ones Equilibrium, The Machinist, and Reign of Fire. (Oddly those 3 have Christian Bale in them.) Whether they are truly rare or not could be diluted by the fact we don't live in their home country to really see what is available there?

That is true. I am not sure what the availability are for these. They are not running rampant on eBay, only one auction at the moment.

That aside, with Paramount going back to Blu-ray, then its quite possible the former Blu-ray titles will get re-released, probably exactly the same seeing they are already prepared, and will probably get released first before other titles. As I have read about the Circuit City incident, Transformers is also evidently in the works as well as rumors that Shooter and Blades of Glory are back in the line-up. So we may see the Paramount titles no longer an investment for re-selling potential.

OopAnt

[oopAnt]

Oh, one last thing, according to MMM, Departed is listed as discontinued.



OopAnt

[DougieZero]

Do you guys really think there will be a market for OOP HD-DVD titles?...

[Krychekxf]

Do you guys really think there will be a market for OOP HD-DVD titles?...

I think it might take awhile but some HD movies are bound to go up in price as long as they are not released on Blu Ray.

[KFelon]

Do you guys really think there will be a market for OOP HD-DVD titles?...

I think it might take awhile but some HD movies are bound to go up in price as long as they are not released on Blu Ray.

Like Galaxina & Maximum Impact maybe?

[Krychekxf]

I was also thinking maybe Robin Hood too since it was just released.

[darkblueme]

Does anyone know if Warner never released Hairspray onto HD-DVD?

Hairspray is distributed through New Line, so it will not be released on HD DVD. "Pan's Lanyrinth" is the first and last New Line release to go HD DVD. The rest are Blu-Ray exclusive, as far as I am aware.

[KFelon]

I was also thinking maybe Robin Hood too since it was just released.

The Adventures of Robin Hood was released in 2006. Also I don't believe the BBC series made it out on HD-DVD, definately not stateside anyways. But it still could be a good contender since it is one of those older films that might now draw much attention on an HD medium.

This HD-DVD has already been double-dipped with a director's cut version released on HD-DVD. So this version probably wont get too much attention if it is out of print, unless the director's cut is extremely bad.

I've read the DC makes the movie slightly better and adds more much needed character development. Also the first release was one of the 5 free titles, they ran out and started giving away the director's cut. It appears the DC is available on Blu-Ray.

[AOD]

Looks like all those paramount BD OOP titles might have just been sitting in a warehouse.

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/02/23/ne ... at-amazon/

[oopAnt]

Looks like all those paramount BD OOP titles might have just been sitting in a warehouse.

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/02/23/ne ... at-amazon/

But I am not sure what they are saying. If I look through the list of Paramount Blu-ray titles, the same ones are still out of stock on Amazon. Unless its the third party that is getting the items.

anyone?

OopAnt

[darkblueme]

I was thinking the same thing. All of the current Paramount Blu-Ray's on Amazon have always been there. The ones that went OOP are still OOP. So...?? Nothing new, I think.

[KFelon]

The Jack Ryan Collection (re-release) has been canned on HD-DVD so the original release that got out w/ the misprint about special features may be worth something. Whether its still coming in Australia is unknown at this time.

[AOD]

Ant, by the look of things, the last remaining HD DVD's are going to be very hard to find. Even blockbusters like I am Legend are not going to be in Best Buy for retail purchase. This may help the value tremendously for those who are not able to get them. If one happens to be able to snag a copy of Bee movie on Tuesday from a retailer that is none the wiser, it should be worth a couple big ones. One would think that pretty much all the discs out there, with the exception of new releases, are technically OOP.

Oh, you can add the Japanese HD DVD release of Equilibrium (Rebellion) to the OOP list. All gone.

[oopAnt]

Ant, by the look of things, the last remaining HD DVD's are going to be very hard to find. Even blockbusters like I am Legend are not going to be in Best Buy for retail purchase. This may help the value tremendously for those who are not able to get them. If one happens to be able to snag a copy of Bee movie on Tuesday from a retailer that is none the wiser, it should be worth a couple big ones. One would think that pretty much all the discs out there, with the exception of new releases, are technically OOP.

Oh, you can add the Japanese HD DVD release of Equilibrium (Rebellion) to the OOP list. All gone.

Great! Thanks, yeah I was not certain about that title, blu or HD version.

I also read this recently and found it a somewhat interesting homage to the HD-DVD format:

Twister is notable for being the first movie ever to be released on the DVD format[1] and the last ever to be released on HD-DVD[2].

Accordingly, the HD-DVD is set for release on May 26th. So is this the last title to be released by Warner? I thought another title was slated after it.

OopAnt