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| Registered: March 14, 2007 |  Posts: 1,338 |
| | Posted: | | | | this is the death blow for sure, but now its time to figure out who has outs in their hd-dvd contracts and who doesnt lol...
it will also be interesting to see how fast retailers react to this news and stop supporting either players or software for hd-dvd... | | | | -JoN |
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| Registered: March 14, 2007 |  Posts: 254 |
| | Posted: | | | | Quoting twojayz: Quote:
I know this isn't going to be a particularly popular comment but I can't imagine the incentives they were offered to do this. You know they were there too, please don't be naive enough to think that wasn't part of the deal they struck. They did what they felt was best for them I think, not necessarily the consumer. It's good for business but not always in the best interest of the consumer. Of course there are incentives, there always are with exclusivity deals, it would be naive to think there arent. But it seems as though this is a case of Warner accountants advising them that they arent making any money from HDM, on either format, and they have to do what they can to end the war as its their only chance of pushing HDM adoption. What they don't realise is that after this decision although HD DVD will die a painful death over 2008, Blu Ray will not up its mass market adoption, as hardware and software prices will remain artificially high, and niche film collectors will shun Blu Ray thanks to its Region Coding and small library compared to DVD. HDM will go the way of Laserdisc and DVD will reign for a long time to come. |
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  | Erik | | It's a strange world. |
| Registered: March 13, 2007 | Reputation:  |  Posts: 422 |
| | Posted: | | | | Quoting pplchamp: Quote:
Paramount should have "outs" in the contract they signed. If they don't, its their own stupidity.
I see Universal at least going neutral soon. They won't want to be the last one holding the bag. Before HD DVD turns into a punching bag, I'll repeat something a friend said a while back that I think is very true... "The thing I tell everybody about the format war, is that because of it we get better products at cheaper prices, so in many ways it's the best thing that could have happened from a consumer standpoint. Do you think Sony would have just dumped the MPEG-2 codec in favor of AVC if not for HD DVD looking twice as good every time out? Hell no! The more these two formats push each other, the better off we are. It's really that simple." | | | Erik
"Has it ever occurred to you, man, that given the nature of all this new stuff, that, uh, instead of running around blaming me, that this whole thing might just be, not, you know, not just such a simple, but uh - you know?" -- The Dude, The Big Lebowski
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| Registered: March 13, 2007 | | Posts: 550 |
| | Posted: | | | | If I remember correctly, wasn't WB look at a disc that would play in either player ( LINK). I guess they decided that wasn't cost effective. | | | Schultzy - http://www.michaelschultz.net
grenactics - The art of skillfully fraggin one’s opponent with the use of grenades or other compact explosive devices that are thrown by hand or projected. |
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| Registered: March 13, 2007 | Reputation:  |  Posts: 5,481 |
| | Posted: | | | | I'm a bit confused here as I have been reading all week, on how WB has screwed up on BluRay recordings of Terminator 3/ Blade Runner and a Harry Potter title ?? . all within the past month , and now they are exclusive BluRay?/
So does this mean no HDDVD for WB titles at all?? only BluRay and reg DVD's ??? | | | In the 60's, People took Acid to make the world Weird. Now the World is weird and People take Prozac to make it Normal.
Terry | | | | Last edited: by widescreenforever |
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| Registered: March 13, 2007 | | Reputation: | | Posts: 1,911 |
| | Posted: | | | | Quoting widescreenforever: Quote:
I'm a bit confused here as I have been reading all week, on how WB has screwed up on BluRay recordings of Terminator 3/ Blade Runner and a Harry Potter title ?? . all within the past month , and now they are exclusive BluRay?/
So does this mean no HDDVD for WB titles at all?? only BluRay and reg DVD's ??? WB will continue to release on HD DVD until I think it said May of 2008. Here is the relevant portion... Quote:
Warner Home Video will continue to release its titles in standard DVD format and Blu-ray. After a short window following their standard DVD and Blu-ray releases, all new titles will continue to be released in HD DVD until the end of May 2008. | | | | Signature banned: Reason out of date... |
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| Registered: September 7, 2007 | | Posts: 265 |
| | Posted: | | | | The thing I'm not entirely comfortable with is that the stated reason just doesn't seem honest to me. WB said in the press release that the consumer has decided that Blu-ray is the next generation format. I don't see that that is in fact the case. In all honesty, with the releases being so fragmented it's nearly impossible to see what format "consumers" would really choose given a level playing field. Nobody can say that the formats were on even ground because they weren't. Sure, Transformers would have sold a bunch more if it had been a dual release, so would POTC and Spiderman.
Again, my intentions were to become neutral anyway so it really doesn't have a huge impact on me and I don't necessarily see this as the final death blow for HD DVD. Sure, it's not good news but I have to believe that Toshiba isn't just going to let it roll over and die now. It still has some legs. Of course they've been cut off at the knees but amputees still find a way to survive. They still (unless something else happens) have a full year of what could be very big releases for the format. More people will still buy the players.
When it all comes down to it though, from a personal perspective, even if there were never another HD DVD release I still find my investment to be worth it. I have around 30 HD DVD titles and will still be buying more. Ultimately a single format, or inexpensive dual players, are the only way that HDM will ever fully take off. I want that more than HD DVD or Blu-ray logos on my player. |
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| Registered: March 14, 2007 | | Posts: 1,777 |
| | Posted: | | | | Ouch...the next mainstream home video format exclusively controlled by Sony. Given how thoroughly they've screwed consumers in the past when they are in control, it does not bode well for innovation or pricing. Oh well, to the victor goes the spoils. Too bad we're the spoils. |
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| Registered: March 13, 2007 | | Reputation: | | Posts: 1,911 |
| | Posted: | | | | Quoting mdnitoil: Quote:
Ouch...the next mainstream home video format exclusively controlled by Sony. Given how thoroughly they've screwed consumers in the past when they are in control, it does not bode well for innovation or pricing. Oh well, to the victor goes the spoils. Too bad we're the spoils. Ugh, no! How about "controlled by the Blu-ray Disc Association". | | | | Signature banned: Reason out of date... |
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| Registered: March 13, 2007 | | Reputation: | | Posts: 1,911 |
| | Posted: | | | | Posted over at HighDefDigest Quote:
Warner: No Payoff for Move to Blu-ray
Warner Home Entertainment President Kevin Tsujihara says the studio took no pay-offs to exclusively back Blu-ray.
In a post-announcement conference call, Tsujihara flatly denied rumors that studio had accepted anywhere from 250M to $500M in exchange for dropping its HD DVD format support.
According to the exec, Warner's sole motivation in dropping its HD DVD format support was to ensure growth of the "category" and the long-term health of the industry.
"The packaged media business is a $42 billion dollar business worldwide at the retail level, and we [Warner] have the largest market share of anybody," said Tsujihara. "From our perspective, the most important piece of this whole puzzle is, "How do we get growth back into this category?" That far outweighed anything else."
This [decision] was one hundred percent around what makes the most sense for the consumer, the retailer and the industry. This was not a bidding war. This was all about what was best, strategically, for us."
Stay tuned for more news from the Tsujihara conference call shortly... | | | | Signature banned: Reason out of date... | | | | Last edited: by NewEnglander |
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| Registered: September 7, 2007 | | Posts: 265 |
| | Posted: | | | | I read that as well Champ. The same goes for Paramount though. Though weren't paid off to drop Blu-ray, they were given an incentive deal that covered marketing and other costs. There is a difference, technically. Realistically it's all symantics though. You say tomato, I say tomato... |
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| Registered: March 13, 2007 | | Reputation: | | Posts: 1,911 |
| | Posted: | | | | Quoting twojayz: Quote:
I read that as well Champ. The same goes for Paramount though. Though weren't paid off to drop Blu-ray, they were given an incentive deal that covered marketing and other costs. There is a difference, technically. Realistically it's all symantics though. You say tomato, I say tomato... I agree, it has just come out that todays announcement does not cover New Line, HBO or BBC. Those studios will do what they feel best for them. According to WBE in the same conference call. | | | | Signature banned: Reason out of date... |
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| Registered: September 7, 2007 | | Posts: 265 |
| | Posted: | | | | And what's with the timing of this announcement? They are two days away from the HD DVD CES press conference in which they are expected to outline the forthcoming releases for the year. They are only a couple weeks out of the HP series releases. Like I said, something doesn't feel right about the way this happened.
Cheers to Blu for a nice uppercut though. |
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| Registered: September 7, 2007 | | Posts: 265 |
| | Posted: | | | | Good news about New Line and the rest though. Softens the blow a little bit. Maybe I can still look forward to LOTR on my media of choice. Hey, I'm still going to support HD DVD until there's nothing left to support. I'd be plain stupid to not maximize the investment as much as I can. Besides, every title i buy is still a vote for HD DVD. I live in America, my vote counts...sometimes  |
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| Registered: March 13, 2007 | | Reputation: | | Posts: 1,911 |
| | Posted: | | | | From Engadget HD Quote:
The Real Reason Warner Went Blu
We knew this wouldn't take long -- just like when Paramount made the switch to HD DVD, rumors are swirling that a sum of $500 Million was involved in the decision to make the switch. The rumor goes on to say that FOX's allegiance to Blu-ray was a factor as well, but when they refused to defect from the blu camp and accepted an undisclosed amount, Warner had no choice because at this point, without another studio going red it would've only put the war into more of a stalemate then it already was. Of course Warner tells the story a little differently and on a recent conference call when asked about any "compensation" Kevin Tsujihara, president, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group said that it "was not a bidding war" and that it really came down to 4th quarter sales, specifically in the International markets -- then he wanted to know if we had any idea where they could collect the $500 Million. Ultimately, Warner wanted to try and give consumers a reason to get off the fence.
As for the remaining five months, although there will be a delay in the release of Warner HD DVD titles in comparison to the Blu-ray releases, the specifics haven't been worked out just yet, and the decision has also not been made to stop production of current HD DVD titles -- but the retailers will have a say in that one. We closed the call with the most pertinent question of all, "where's the Matrix on Blu-ray?" to which the answer was, as soon as they work out the details of BD Java and PIP | | | | Signature banned: Reason out of date... | | | | Last edited: by NewEnglander |
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| Registered: March 15, 2007 | | Posts: 366 |
| | Posted: | | | | WB waited until after the holiday season because they wanted to see the Q4 disc sale numbers. On all their discs released in both formats, Blu-ray outsold HD DVD on all of them. AT the same time, most of the major brick and mortar stores have been reducing floor space for HD DVD and increasing Blu-ray space. It costs WB a lot of money to provide inventory in both formats, so it's a pretty sound business decision based on real-world numbers. |
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