Specifically, the Japanese space agency, who I'm sure is only 12 years away from colonizing the moon with Gundams.

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=1131

HD-DVD was region-code free, but Blu-ray is not.  There is a chance that this particular release is region-free, I hope.  But $45 for 17 mins of hi-def space footage?  Tempting, admittedly, but ridiculous.  HD-recorded Blu-ray releases of space footage would be something I'd buy though, much like how I've come close to picking up the BBC's Planet Earth release to see nature in all of its 'sitting-inside-watching-it-on-beautiful-HD' glory.

And since image tags are turned off, I can't help those too lazy to click this link to a screenshot:  http://digitalbits.com/articles/miscgfx … seinhd.jpg

Aw, no one likes outer space footage?

I saw "Gundam" in the first line, read the post, felt led astray that there was nothing to do with them. Why you gotta play me like that, brudder?

Space footage is cool.

I did not know that region encoding was absent from HD DVD players / discs...That's actually pretty cool.  Shame about HD DVD...Microsoft's dropped their crappy 360 HD DVD drive, like luggage.

Presumably there's a Blu Ray player out there that will be multi-region and multi format (PAL/NTSC)...They have DVD players out there that do this...It may cost you a few extra bones, and you may have to wait until such a device is produced / and or hacked but that's an eventual solution.

What we really need, for a 17 minute video like this, is High-Def You Tube.  Wonder if that's in the works.

Brandon, yeah, but I already wasted all those benjamins on a PS3.  Perhaps, if all else fails, it'll wind up on either MS' or Sony's video marketplace stores, so I can DL it hi-def, or it'll get a US release like Planet Earth did.

Sorry.  Was trying to be funny, is all.

Speaking of Gundam, I picked up the Anime Legends Gundam Seed sets, but afraid to open them.  How are they?  And are the Seed movies worth picking up as well?

The Seed movies are really only quick run thrus of the story.  It's a compressed version of the series.

Seed is one of those shows whose main share of public opinion seems hinged on inevitable comparisons to other Gundam series. For instance, it lacks the originality of shows like 0079 or Zeta, and completely forfeits the hard-edge razor sharpness of something like Victory, and has very little of the sentimentality of series like Turn-A or 0080.

For what it is worth, however, the series does stand well enough on its own with characters who are likable enough, mech designs which are, at the very least, interesting, and some really nice music courtesy of Toshihiko Sahashi.

As for the movies? I assume you mean the Gundam Seed Special Editions. These basically take the TV series and condense it down into three parts. Obviously, this means the plot moves at a breakneck pace, with various changes made here and there to make it work. I wouldn't recommend them.

Thanks to both of you for saving me money on the movies... I'm a bit concerned about the series itself now.  The only other Gundam I've watched is Wing; and I have no interest in trying the original Gundam or anything tied to the 70s cartoon.  I guess I'll suck it up and give it a watch, after I enjoy season 3 of Battlestar Galactica.  I have to get that watched before season 4 starts early next month.

I was worried about the region encoding of blu-ray, but it won't seem to affect me. Southeast Asia, Japan, and Korea share the same code as the United States, so I'll be able to buy Korean blu-ray movies when I finally get a player.

Here's a link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Blu- … ut_key.png

Thanks for the good news!  Now if I can get the dollar to go up so it doesn't cost $45...

Haha, nice

So, as a graduate student in physics (but concentrating in astronomy), yeah I am a big fan of space footage! By the way, Planet Earth is very cool, but it's not as magical as Life of Mammals. I haven't seen a nature documentary that's better than LoM... simply amazing! Of course PE is definitely worth watching, and it has footage you won't see anywhere else, but then again so does LoM and I feel that LoM also give you a better understanding (although it's not available in HD). As for movies dealing with astronomy, the classic Sagan "Cosmos" is still a must watch! Even though some of the information is outdated, it's still the best astronomy documentary ever made. If you want to see something amazing (with NO special effects) then rent SolarMax. It's about the Sun, and has some of the most astounding footage you'll ever see!

cheers,

-avatar!

What, are you a sadist?!?

Apparently so my friend, apparently so...