Warner Bros to back Blu-ray exclusively!!!!!!

[King Darkness]

Now, now. Whether you had a horse in this race or not, there's no reason to pour salt on others' wounds. Many people made a significant investment in HD DVD players and movies, just as many did with Blu-ray. The unfortunate truth is that someone had to eventually win, and that means that some people will perceive their investment as wasted, and some will certainly want to place some of the blame for that on Sony, deservedly or not.

No salt pouring, I just get tired of hearing the "evil Sony" and "heavenly HD DVD stuff".

I actually feel bad for anyone who made a HUGE investment, but even so, you still have your HD DVDs and can still watch them anytime you want. So its not like a total loss.

 

[WetaWork]

Middle Earth will be Blue as well...

As expected New Line to follow:

https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117978461.html?categoryid=1009&cs=1

Warner's move leaves only Paramount and Universal squarely in the HD DVD camp. Sony, Fox, Disney and Lionsgate all back Blu-ray. Warner sister company New Line confirmed it will shift allegiance to Blu-ray only as well.

 

[Radagaster]

Ok, here's my take on the matter:

Wanna know why BD beat HD 2:1? Simple --- they made it affordable to me to buy their movies for cheap, especially with all the BestBuy and Amazon buy 1 get 1 free. Had HD-DVD done the same thing, I'll certainly buy their movies.

It sucks that Warner had to let the cat out of the bag after the holidays because I know a lot of people who bought the HD-DVD player for the holidays. no matter, since the HD-DVD player can double up as an upscaling player.

I highly doubt that Sony made a dent in the standalone players over this past holiday season.

Now what does this all mean if Blu-Ray wins this format war? It means, Sony doesn't have competition to drive their players down in price. It also means they don't have to have a firesale to bloat the statistics on media sold out there anymore. That means the price of hi-def movies may likely remain in the $25-$35 price range.

For my pocket, I hope HD-DVD has something to counter with so that I can see some semblance that Sony is willing to pander to the common man at Walmart prices. Last I checked, I haven't heard Sony lower their price on anything they have exclusively.

I suppose, at length, it's good for Sony to win this format war. They were getting their pants beat on the gaming front by the Wii that they sorely needed to win at something else. That means the only competition they'll have in lowering the Blu-Ray PS3 price will now be from the Wii itself. Go Wii!

Here are my pros and cons on both HD and BD:
1) BD has the nice scratch-resistant coating, HD does not.
2) HD has the PiP that's been proven to work from day one. We have yet to see how the BD's version works when 2.0 Profile comes out.
3) PS3/BD can play DIVX movies and great as an HDNA player.
4) HD players are dirt cheap. I have 3 players now in my house.
5) BD has the higher capacity potential -- not sure if it's played a major role in anything yet.
6) HD is region-free. Great for getting titles from overseas releases that are unavailable locally.

 

[Darklord Dave]

Ok, here's my take on the matter:

Now what does this all mean if Blu-Ray wins this format war? It means, Sony doesn't have competition to drive their players down in price. It also means they don't have to have a firesale to bloat the statistics on media sold out there anymore. That means the price of hi-def movies may likely remain in the $25-$35 price range.

For my pocket, I hope HD-DVD has something to counter with so that I can see some semblance that Sony is willing to pander to the common man at Walmart prices. Last I checked, I haven't heard Sony lower their price on anything they have exclusively.

Here are my pros and cons on both HD and BD:
1) BD has the nice scratch-resistant coating, HD does not.
2) HD has the PiP that's been proven to work from day one. We have yet to see how the BD's version works when 2.0 Profile comes out.
3) PS3/BD can play DIVX movies and great as an HDNA player.
4) HD players are dirt cheap. I have 3 players now in my house.
5) BD has the higher capacity potential -- not sure if it's played a major role in anything yet.
6) HD is region-free. Great for getting titles from overseas releases that are unavailable locally.

DVD had no competitor yet players and media plummeted in price, which ever format wins will probably do the same.

As for downloading - I don't see this development as anything like a forestalling of that becoming the single method of media delivery. Netflix is going to be all download eventually, they took steps this week toward that end. And it really is painless (depending on the system) I can download films from Amazon Unbox just as simply as selecting which programs to record on my Tivo and I have them within a couple of hours. Once the bandwidth problem is solved it will be virtually instaneous, I don't see the drawback to download winning over all.

 

[tomandshell]

So will my HD DVD collection self destruct later this year?

 

[darth dypshyt]

I'm more than sure that there is a loophole, that Paramount had some sort of clasue that depended on HD-DVD's ability to sell for them to stick around. i don't see it happening and I feel that PAramount is looking for a way out. Plus, I also read somewhere that Paramount might not have gotten the $150M payoff all at once and it was an incentive laced contract.

Yes, for the time being Paramount will stay HD-DVD exclusive....and it is going to cost Microsoft a fortune...

 

[darthviper107]

That logic doesn't work Viper. You acknowledge that Microsoft paid off Dreamworks/Paramount, yet you write them a "get out of jail free" card. Why? Because it had less of an effect? Then that's Microsoft's fault for not going after someone higher up. And, it was Microsoft who started this whole "let's buy studio exclusivity" crap in the first place. Sony is only following suit. Sure, it's still underhanded ... and in the end, hurts consumers. But don't paint Microsoft as a saint in this little drama. That's like saying, "Well, Johnny, they caught you cheating on your test, but since you failed any way, no harm done." The logic just doesn't work.

Don't get me wrong, I own both a PS3 and a 360 HD-DVD player. I didn't want to wait out the format wars. I would disagree with you about PS3 being a "crappy" game machine. Sure, 360 has more exclusives now, but the future games for the PS3 look amazing. I have no doubt I will get my moneys worth out of both machines over the next 2 to 3 years.

Actually, I thought it was stupid for Microsoft to pay for the Paramount deal, they don't really have a whole lot put in for HD-DVD other than the Xbox addon, which is actually just a Toshiba drive in an enclosure, so it's kind of confusing in that aspect since they didn't stand to gain anything from it unless their plan was to have HD-DVD win thereby destroying the PS3, but that's of course not working.

But I do actually hope the PS3 gets better. Right now it doesn't have much in games, and the big titles that it is getting are games I'm not interested in, I really can't stand MGS. But hopefully by the time I buy one there were be a good game that is exclusive that I would want to play

It will be interesting to see what Toshiba does about this, either they'll just go down or they'll do something big, maybe something to turn it around but I really can't see that happening unless they dropped all of their prices significantly, maybe at least like half of what it is now, and that might not even do much itself so who knows, it seems they were really surprised. I was half surprised, Warner had a change of management to someone who favored Blu-Ray so it makes sense.

 

[The Chaver]

So will my HD DVD collection self destruct later this year?

I read some were that Sony had the plans for a player that would play both formats.So I don't know what the hell their up to?

 

[Radagaster]

DVD had no competitor yet players and media plummeted in price, which ever format wins will probably do the same.

As for downloading - I don't see this development as anything like a forestalling of that becoming the single method of media delivery. Netflix is going to be all download eventually, they took steps this week toward that end. And it really is painless (depending on the system) I can download films from Amazon Unbox just as simply as selecting which programs to record on my Tivo and I have them within a couple of hours. Once the bandwidth problem is solved it will be virtually instaneous, I don't see the drawback to download winning over all.

Dave, you forget that DVD did not have one major company as the proponent that licenses the technology. The same is not true for HD-DVD or Blu-Ray in the hi-def video market. Think if SACD had won the hi-def audio format instead of going into a stalemate with DVD-Audio. Everyone would be paying Sony licensing fees, and both the players and media would not come down in price. If Blu-ray wins this war, there would be no pressure on Sony to lower their licensing fees for the Blu-ray technology. The future of hi-def video would rest solely on Sony until another technology eclipses it.

 

[Jen]

DVD had no competitor yet players and media plummeted in price, which ever format wins will probably do the same.

As for downloading - I don't see this development as anything like a forestalling of that becoming the single method of media delivery. Netflix is going to be all download eventually, they took steps this week toward that end. And it really is painless (depending on the system) I can download films from Amazon Unbox just as simply as selecting which programs to record on my Tivo and I have them within a couple of hours. Once the bandwidth problem is solved it will be virtually instaneous, I don't see the drawback to download winning over all.

I don't have a Tivo or even cable for that matter.....I would have to download them on my computer then what? Could I even watch them...I would probably need a new computer just to view these HD downloads....plus I'm a collector....I like having things...not just downloading, watching it and deleting it. I watch a ton of movies...so to download them all and keep them I would need a system or computer with like a 1000000000gb harddrive. A bit of an exaggeration...but not much. I like to have display cases with my vast collection of movies....where depending on whatever mood I'm in I can go and pick one out to watch instantly. For me, downloading movies will not only be inconvienent but take the pleasure out of my movie collection.

 

[Natrix]

Once the bandwidth problem is solved it will be virtually instaneous, I don't see the drawback to download winning over all.

Well let's see....will you be able to take a movie to a friends house and watch it there...sure if you take your movie and transfer it to a portable hard drive and your friend has a decent computer hooked up to a tv that can run the movie.

Sounds real convenient!

 

[Fubeca]

Death to HD DVD

Long live Blu-Ray!!!!!!!

 

[The ill Jedi]

No salt pouring, I just get tired of hearing the "evil Sony" and "heavenly HD DVD stuff".

I hear you man, so many people hate on Sony it's pathetic. I've even heard, "I hope HD-DVD wins the war just 'cause I hate sony", what's even funnier is that they buy their products.

 

[The ill Jedi]

Death to HD DVD

Long live Blu-Ray!!!!!!!

 

[tomandshell]

I have had an iPod for a few years now and I still prefer buying a hard copy when an album comes out.

I had a frustrating couple of days when, after closing an AOL account that had shared billing info with my iTunes store account, iTunes started telling me that I no longer had the rights to listen to the first few months worth of purchases in my music library.



I have downloaded several movies to view on my 360, but for me that option will never replace ownership of a physical disc with a case and artwork--particularly with well-loved films. I don't mind downloading Underdog for my kids, but I want to own a copy of Lord of the Rings and see it sitting on my shelf.

 

[RoboDad]

So will my HD DVD collection self destruct later this year?

Self destruct? No. But, with right catalyst, who knows what you could achieve?

 

[uscmhicks]

im not ready for hd or blu-ray yet , im waiting until they become known as normal as dvd jumped from brand new and shiny to normal and vhs disappeared i assume normal dvds will 2 to make way for blu ray and hd. Maybe not until a few years but doubling the price buying just 10 dvds saves me a lot of money and i buy way more than 10 dvds in 2 years.

 

[RoboDad]

Yes, for the time being Paramount will stay HD-DVD exclusive....and it is going to cost Microsoft a fortune...

Actually, the latest buzz is that they won't be staying HD DVD exclusive (and BTW, it's Toshiba that is out the fortune ).

What I've been reading is that a) the agreement was not only time-based, but performance-based, meaning that Paramount has a bail clause in the event that market factors indicate that they would lose potential revenue by continuing to exclusively back the format, and b) Toshiba hasn't paid out all of the $150 million yet, so they may want out, since it could save them some cash.

Also, and forgive me if this has been posted in this thread, but I've been bouncing between so many forums tonight that it's all a bit of a blur right now, but, Toshiba has CANCELED the CES HD DVD press event scheduled for Sunday, citing the Warner announcement as the reason. That is HUGE.

It's getting very interesting...

 

[tomandshell]

This will help some of the public decide to enter the high def world, but three of the Top 10 movies of 2007 are still not available on Blu-ray, and as long as a supposedly winning format still doesn't play all the movies, many people will still wait on the sidelines. The Blu-ray camp is going to be trumpeting the end of the war, and when people show up at Best Buy to purchase the Bourne movies or Shrek or Transformers, they will be going home empty handed.

The Warner announcement hastens the end of the format war--even assures (possibly for the first time) that there will indeed be an end--but it's not really going to be over until one format is left standing with 100% studio support, and we're not there yet.

 

[The ill Jedi]

Actually, the latest buzz is that they won't be staying HD DVD exclusive (and BTW, it's Toshiba that is out the fortune ).

What I've been reading is that a) the agreement was not only time-based, but performance-based, meaning that Paramount has a bail clause in the event that market factors indicate that they would lose potential revenue by continuing to exclusively back the format, and b) Toshiba hasn't paid out all of the $150 million yet, so they may want out, since it could save them some cash...

Thanks Robodad, that is exactly what I was trying to say earlier, but I wasn't sure if I got the wording right.

Also, and forgive me if this has been posted in this thread, but I've been bouncing between so many forums tonight that it's all a bit of a blur right now, but, Toshiba has CANCELED the CES HD DVD press event scheduled for Sunday, citing the Warner announcement as the reason. That is HUGE.

It's getting very interesting...

Toshiba canceling their event is huge, whoa.