Having the HD-DVD player added to my Xbox 360 was a great investment. Not only does it upconvert regular DVDs with astonishing ease and clarity, but one can't deny just how much cooler a film in HD looks. One such film coming out in both formats is Transformers, due out on October 16th, and, besides making a great addition to any DVD shelf, it looks great on your biggest television set.
Transformers on DVD & HD DVD
You know Paramount is messing around when you see the DVD and HD-DVD box. Both very clean with transparent covers featuring the mugs of Optimus and Megatron; well, the HD version only features Optimus. They look great and definitely stand out once placed among your DVD collection.
I first watched the DVD version upconverted to 1080i through Xbox 360. It looked great, with multiple sequences looking very HD-like. I highly suggest you get the two-disc special edition, as two-disc is always better. But, in the case of Transformers, you do get a lot of nice additions to blow extra time on.
The Special Edition DVD is great for adults and youngsters alike, and I have no doubt it will be selling off the shelves come this Tuesday.
When it comes to Transformers on HD-DVD, I got a great story. First off, the clarity is awesome. Sure, there were a couple small areas where one wouldn't likely tell the difference between HD and DVD, but when the camera backs up and lets us take it in, it's breathtaking. The only catch is I couldn't put the format to the test in the final battle sequence. What happened? Well, as I've mentioned previously, I play my HD-DVDs through the Xbox 360 Elite, a console that has been told to get the Red Ring of Death. While testing out Transformers it was like BHAM, and then my console died. Fortunately I did get to check out the HD-DVD extras, which are reason alone to own an HD-DVD player.
Two features stick out in my mind: the HUD and the cool Tech Inspector.
Transformers comes to DVD and HD-DVD on October 16th.
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