Quoting Mark Harrison:

Quote:
John,

The very next day Michael Bay posted a retraction of sorts.  In fact the night of the blowup he said he watched 300 on HD DVD and was blown away.  So the story you're talking about was nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction and is old news.

I'm not sure why it was ever a big deal anyway.  For years film buffs have dissed Bay left and right.  Now all of a sudden some want to treat him as one of film's greatest assets.

Well, I was just reacting to the post I quoted.  I don't personally care one way or the other.  If Michael Bay has a hard on from being dissed that's his own ego running him into the wall far as I can see.  I didn't see Transformers and had no desire to.  I don't see that he was the only director who could've done it based on previews I saw.  Hence the post I made last time.

Let's take a look at Paramount's impact on the HD market.  Here are the Nielsen Videoscan top 20 of HD sales since inception (as of Aug. 5).  Of course, Nielsen Videoscan does not count Wal-mart and some smaller merchant sales with their numbers (Amazon.com is included).



No Paramount titles are on that list!  Almost 35 titles released and NOTHING on the top 20.

Also, 16 of the 20 titles listed are Blu-ray titles.  Casino Royale is the first EXCLUSIVE title to sell over 100,000 copies to Blu-ray customers.

Here is the top 20 list for Blu-ray and HD DVD titles separately.



Those images shouldn't be too large.

When Warner Bros. releases Batman Begins,  V for Vendetta, and Matrix Trilogy; Blu-ray will most likely smash the HD DVD versions in sales.  That will add even more sales to Blu-ray's number sold.

4th Quarter Line-Up for HD DVD so far (Transformers, Shrek 3, and Bourne Ultimatum have not been dated, yet).  Also, Warner Bros. titles were removed because they are neutral releases and most likely will sell better on Blu-ray anyway.

August 28, 2007
Blades of Glory (Paramount)
Dawn of the Dead (2004) (Universal)
Heroes: Season One (Universal)
The Hurricane (2000) (Universal)
Notting Hill (Universal)
September 11, 2007
Nature's Journey (Koch Distributing)
Wings of Honneamise (Bandai Visual)
September 18, 2007
Elizabeth (Universal)
For Love of the Game (Universal)
The Last Starfighter (Universal)
Saturday Night Fever (Paramount)
September 25, 2007
Evening (Universal)
Freedom: 2 (Bandai Visual)
The Getaway (1994) (Universal)
Knocked Up (Universal)
Next (Paramount)
Patch Adams (Universal)
October 02, 2007
Dreaming Nevada (The Picture)
Galapagos (BBC)
A Room with a View (BBC)
Top Gun (Paramount)
October 09, 2007
Evan Almighty (Universal)
October 16, 2007
A Mighty Heart (Paramount)
October 23, 2007
Carlito's Way (Universal)
Carlito's Way: Rise to Power (Universal)
Inside Man (Universal)
The Jack Ryan Collection (Paramount)
Seed of Chucky (Universal Entetainment)
October 30, 2007
Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics (DVD International)
Face/Off (Paramount)
Talk to Me (Universal)
November 10, 2007
Star Trek: The Original Series - Season One (Paramount)
November 13, 2007
Pride & Prejudice (2005) (Universal)
Ultimate Force (BCI)
November 20, 2007
Queen Rocks Montreal (Eagle Rock)
Tremors (Universal)
November 27, 2007
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (DreamWorks)
December 04, 2007
Battlestar Galactica: Season One (Universal)

Here's Blu-ray's 4th Quarter Line-Up

September 04, 2007
* Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds: Live at Radio City (Sony BMG)
* Delta Farce (Lionsgate)
* Remember the Titans (Buena Vista)
September 11, 2007
* Nature's Journey (Koch Distributing)
* The Replacement Killers (Sony)
* Wings of Honneamise (Bandai Visual)
September 18, 2007
* The Condemned (Lionsgate)
* David Gilmour: Remember That Night (Sony BMG)
* A Few Good Men (Sony)
* House of 1000 Corpses (Lionsgate)
September 25, 2007
* Black Book (Sony)
* Memoirs of a Geisha (Sony)
* Tekkonkinkreet (Sony)
* Underworld (Sony)
October 02, 2007
* Bram Stoker's Dracula (Sony)
* Dawn of the Dead (1978) (Starz)
* The Day After Tomorrow (Fox)
* Day of the Dead (1985) (Starz)
* Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (Starz)
* Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer (Fox) JUST LISTED!
* Galapagos (BBC)
* Halloween (1978) (Starz)
* Master & Commander (Fox)
* A Room with a View (BBC)
October 09, 2007
* 28 Days Later (Fox)
* 28 Weeks Later (Fox)
* The Amityville Horror (1979) (MGM)
* Edward Scissorhands (Fox)
* The Fly (1986) (Fox)
* From Hell (Fox)
* Reign Over Me (Sony)
* RoboCop (MGM)
* Surf's Up (Sony)
October 16, 2007
* Hollow Man (Director's Cut) (Sony)
* The Invisible (Buena Vista)
* Masters of Horror: Season One - Volume One (Starz)
* Masters of Horror: Season One - Volume Two (Starz)
October 23, 2007
* The Company (2007) (Sony)
* Eyes Wide Shut (Warner)
* The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007) (Fox)
* Home of the Brave (Fox)
* Hostel (Sony)
* Hostel: Part II (Sony)
* King of New York (Lionsgate)
* Meet the Robinsons (Walt Disney)
* Mr. Brooks (MGM)
* Scary Movie (Dimension)
* The Sopranos: Season Six, Part Two (Warner)
October 30, 2007
* Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics (DVD International)
* Spider-Man 3 (Sony)
* Spider-Man: The High-Definition Trilogy (Sony)
November 06, 2007
* Battle of Britain (MGM)
* Beowulf & Grendel (Starz)
* A Bridge Too Far (MGM)
* Cars (Buena Vista)
* Monty Python's Life of Brian (Sony)
* Oldboy (Tartan)
* The Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 1 (Walt Disney)
* Ratatouille (Walt Disney)
November 13, 2007
* Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Sony)
* Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan/Broly - Second Coming (Double Feature) (FUNimation)
* I, Robot (Fox)
* IMAX: Africa the Serengeti (Razor Digital)
* IMAX: Alaska Spirit of the Wild (Razor Digital)
* IMAX: Antarctica -- An Adventure of a Different Nature (Razor Digital)
* IMAX: Australia Land Beyond Time (Razor Digital)
* Masters of Horror: Season One - Volume Three (Starz)
* Ultimate Force (BCI)
November 20, 2007
* Badder Santa: The Unrated Version (Buena Vista)
* The Die Hard Trilogy (Fox) JUST LISTED!
* Live Free or Die Hard (Fox) JUST LISTED!
* Pathfinder (Fox)
* Queen Rocks Montreal (Eagle Rock)
* The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (Buena Vista)
December 04, 2007
* 20 Million Miles to Earth (Sony)
* Cast Away (Fox)
* Independence Day (Fox)
* Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Fox)
* Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Buena Vista)
* Ronin (MGM)
December 11, 2007
* High School Musical 2 (Walt Disney)
* Lost: The Complete Third Season - The Unexplored Experience (Disney)
* Masters of Horror: Season One - Volume Four (Starz)


This is what HD DVD is facing in the 4th quarter.  Did you know that Fox owns the rights for Paramount distribution in Japan?  That means Transformers and Shrek 3 will be on Blu-ray (probably better sound and PQ) in Japan.  Japan is REGION A (same as the US).  I might just import these. 

Funny how you throw the word "desperation" around, but Blu-ray is in the leads 2:1 software sales, leads in Blu-ray player sales, 50+% EXCLUSIVE studio support, and CE support.  Why would that make ME desperate? 

Titles I would buy on HD DVD if I owned a HD DVD player.

August 28, 2007
Heroes: Season One (Universal)

September 18, 2007
The Last Starfighter (Universal)

September 25, 2007
Patch Adams (Universal)

October 02, 2007
Top Gun (Paramount) -- Had a pre-order for blu

October 23, 2007
The Jack Ryan Collection (Paramount) -- Had a pre-order for blu

October 30, 2007
Face/Off (Paramount)

November 20, 2007
Tremors (Universal)

December 04, 2007
Battlestar Galactica: Season One (Universal)


-------

Titles I will buy/have pre-ordered on Blu-ray

Here's Blu-ray's 4th Quarter Line-Up

September 11, 2007
* The Replacement Killers (Sony)

September 18, 2007
* The Condemned (Lionsgate) -- Pre-ordered
* A Few Good Men (Sony)

September 25, 2007
* Underworld (Sony) -- Pre-ordered

October 02, 2007
* Bram Stoker's Dracula (Sony) -- Pre-ordered
* The Day After Tomorrow (Fox)
* Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer (Fox) JUST LISTED!

October 09, 2007
* 28 Days Later (Fox)
* 28 Weeks Later (Fox)
* Edward Scissorhands (Fox)
* RoboCop (MGM)

October 16, 2007
* Hollow Man (Director's Cut) (Sony)
* The Invisible (Buena Vista) -- Pre-ordered

October 23, 2007
* The Company (2007) (Sony)
* Mr. Brooks (MGM)

October 30, 2007
* Spider-Man: The High-Definition Trilogy (Sony) -- Pre-ordered

November 06, 2007
* Cars (Buena Vista)
* Ratatouille (Walt Disney)

November 13, 2007
* Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Sony)
* I, Robot (Fox)

November 20, 2007
* The Die Hard Trilogy (Fox) JUST LISTED!
* Live Free or Die Hard (Fox) JUST LISTED!
* Queen Rocks Montreal (Eagle Rock)

December 04, 2007
* Cast Away (Fox)
* Independence Day (Fox)
* Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Fox)
* Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Buena Vista) -- Pre-ordered

December 11, 2007
* Lost: The Complete Third Season - The Unexplored Experience (Disney)

Quoting pplchamp:

Quote:
Damn you blu. Too many tiutles I want coming out. Damn you blu.

Out of the HD DVD releases listed, I'd probably have only bought 4 or 5. But, I see atleast a dozen if not more blu titles.

Did you know you can import Face/Off and Top Gun from the UK on Blu-ray (I believe those titles are REGION FREE)? Transformers and Shrek 3 can be imported from Japan (Fox...Region A) when released. 

It all depends on how well a PAL title would play on NTSC players, or does it not matter with HD?

Quoting pplchamp:

Quote:
It all depends on how well a PAL title would play on NTSC players, or does it not matter with HD?

There should be no difference if it's encoded at 1080p/24.

Bwa-ha-ha-ha!

300 sold 134,200 Blu-ray units, making it the highest selling HD disc of all time. And it also sold another 70,200 HD DVD units as well, bringing its total combined HD disc sales to 204,400.


Impressive, except it isn't.

For the week ending August 26, 2007 (that's one week's sales, not all sales from... forever), Wild Hogs sold 737,956 standard DVD units. That's nearly 5.5 times as many discs in seven days (of its second week in release)compared to the life of all Blu-ray and HD DVD discs... For a better comparison, the #2 best selling DVD for that one week was 300 (same film as the best selling Blu-ray disc ever), selling 345,363 units. So in one week (its fourth week in release), the same DVD sold more than 2.6 times as many in standard format as it did in its entire lifetime as the very best selling HD disc of all time.

In fact, if we compare the five best selling HD discs (Blu-ray and HD DVD) and add their total sales, we get 439,200 units sold. 300 (both Blu-ray and HD DVD), Casino Royale (Blu-ray), The Departed (Blu-ray), and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Blu-ray), have together sold fewer than 60% than Wild Hogs sold in standard DVD in one week. Adding up that same one week's top 5 DVD sellers (Wild Hogs, 300, Perfect Stranger, House M.D. Season 3, Fracture) gives a total of 1,765,927 units sold... over the life of just these 5 DVDs, they have sold 11,407,013 units...

"300" had sold 7,433,815 standard DVDs in just four weeks of release... 36.3689 times as many as it has sold in both Blu-ray and HD DVD combined since it was released according to A_S.

Of course, my figures are from the week ending Aug. 26, where A_S's are total through Aug. 5. But still... my pie chart, again: