CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

**kal** · Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 10:34 pm Post subject:

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10270

Even if it is temporary for any studio the net effect on the consumers with little awareness beyond a headline will get them to move on a decision that might ultimately tip a scale farther. In fact, I am a perfect example in that tday I chose not to buy a second HD DVD player.

zaphod · Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Posts: 2002 Location: Cloverdale

you could buy my first HD-DVD as your second one Smile

greg_mitch · Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 5320

MYoung · Joined: 24 Feb 2007 Posts: 369 Location: Madison, WI

I heard that The Matrix won't be released immediately when WB goes BD exclusive because they want to wait until BD specs are hammered out more so they can do it right.

I wonder what would happen if Paramount and Universal started releasing HD DVDs for $15 a pop. We saw huge cuts in hardware costs, but no real cuts in HD DVD title costs. The combo format was a missed opportunity to convert DVD sales to HD DVD sales. Those titles should have at least been the cost of a standard HD DVD.

How many people watch their HD movies more than once? Twice? Three times? How many times do you have to watch a HD movie to make it worth buying verses just renting? Maybe 5 times? It seems to me that life is a little too short to watch most movies 5 times over the course of a format's lifespan. Owning would make sense if movies were $5 each.

Even if HD DVD dies, the whole HD video authored as a HD DVD on a DVD is intriguing. That would be a cool fringe format for short HD indie films, not to mention storing HDTV shows. Does anyone know if BD players can play HD content written to a DVD?

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10270

oliverg · Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 2:27 pm Post subject:

I don't think HD-DVD will ever totally die. But BR will definitely become totally dominant. Its the old point about us (4% of the market) enthusiasts not really having much impact on the end result - because 96% are the every day mainstream that don't like the multi lettered acronyms and find it much easier to say "bluray". Clever Sony.

HD-DVD remains a relatively inexpensive platform to deploy high def content on.

I love my dual format player Wink

greg_mitch · Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 5320

**kal** · Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 7:44 pm Post subject:

More news:

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UPDATE: (3:10am ET, 1/05/08) Variety is reporting that Warner sister company New Line has confirmed that it too plans to shift to Blu-ray exclusivity.

Though it's widely expected that Warner Bros. subsidiaries New Line and HBO will follow Warner Home Entertainment to Blu-ray exclusivity, for the moment they remain format-agnostic.

That's according to Warner Home Entertainment President Kevin Tsujihara, who said that the studio's announcement that it would drop HD DVD support does not extend to titles released by New Line, HBO or the BBC (which Warner distributes here in the US).

"They'll be making whatever decision they're going to make," said Tsujihara. "I assume they'll let people know very quickly, but they are not covered by this initial announcement."

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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."

greg_mitch · Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 5320

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10270

Does it really matter? How many studios does that leave doing HD DVD exclusively? Of course, with the HD DVD forum canceling their pre-CES announcement I wonder how the standards body will feel (limp dicked?) once the market (studios) have spoken. Hey, maybe they can grow some balls and say, "we were wrong, and we are reversing our decision to make BD the next DVD standard ..." ok, enough dreaming. Smile

And there is nothing to keep Warner, or anyone else, from reversing course 12-months down the line.

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 6:18 am Post subject:

rod · Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 4:42 am Post subject:

rod · Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 4:52 am Post subject:

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10270

I don't have avatars enabled--nor signatures.

Chuck27 · Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 1:15 pm Post subject:

greg_mitch · Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 5320

zaphod · Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Posts: 2002 Location: Cloverdale

emdawgz1 · Joined: 14 Mar 2006 Posts: 7949

zaphod · Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Posts: 2002 Location: Cloverdale

no offense taken. i didn't turn off just yours, i turned off everyones Smile

if i had wanted you to stop posting them (or stop keeping up that thread - if you still do) i'd have asked you to stop. but that's not my place. i make decisions for me, not for other people.