Great Next Gen Blu Ray Entry

Despite the fact that the overall movie and poor character development wasn't quite what I has hoping for the next entry in the Harry Potter series, it is an excellent Blu-Ray entry in the world of next generation high definition picture and sound. Both HD-DVD and the Blu Ray disc contain VC1 1080p video. The only difference is the HD-DVD also contains the standard definition DVD on the reverse side of the disc. The Blu Ray picture is unbelievable in quality and is filmed in the film's original aspect ratio. The audio is PCM 5.1 uncompressed and is an amazing experience and true to the theater going experience. It is one of the better 5.1 PCM tracks currently on Blu Ray. However, it is unfortunate that Warner Bros didn't give the Blu Ray the same edge as the HD-DVD version with its Dolby True HD track. Of course, it would have been even better if Warner Bros had provided a DTS Master Audio Track on both formats. We will just have to wait for the studio master feature to become more wide spread on both formats, including the use of the 7.1 channel sound. The HD-DVD version goes par for par with the Blu Ray version in special features but neither are overly impressive. This is no surprise for anyone who has ever owned a Warner Bros DVD. The Blu Ray ultimately falls short of the HD-DVD in overall special features. The HD-DVD version contains an exclusive Picture in Picture commentary and behind the scenes look at the making of the film that is not found on the Blu-Ray. All in all, from a technical standpoint, the film is an excellent addition to the slowly growing blu-ray library.

Blu-ray version has extra content

For those of you with both high-def formats, you should be aware that the Blu-ray version not only has over twice as much bonus content, but it's in full 1080p video. The HD DVD version bonus content is only in 480p (DVD quality). The Blu-ray version also has over a dozen foreign language tracks, while the HD DVD version only has three.