Disney, Lions Gate and Fox to HD DVD? Also MGM See Post #94 (1 Viewer)

[Lew Crippen]

Obviously we have very different views on what constitutes an effective method of addressing issues with studios.

The position of the petitioners (as interrupted in the posts) is that bringing rumors to the attention of the studios is an effective means of effecting change and that assuming that these same studios are unaware of potential problems in the industry is valid.

I happen to believe that they know far more than I about the state of the technology (agreeing that they are likely not engineers) that impacts their business than do I.

As far as feeling strongly, I was only responding to an earlier post that said no one was discussing the issues in the petition. I only feel strongly that the petition in question is not a very good means of achieving that end. Personally, I would prefer that all of the studios release their movies in both formats, but not for the reasons contained in the petition.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Even BD supporters should be leery of anything that makes studios cast a jaundiced eye at optical HD formats; if something hurts HD DVD, that can very easily slop over into hurting BD too. This isn't a zero-sum game; both formats can be losers.

 

[Rob_HD]

Well said folks.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Are you aware that "everyone" else has concured that the petition has problems? Even the pro-HD DVD and format-neutral posters said the same. Marc Colella wasn't even disputing the problems with the petition...just asking why I cared since an ineffective pro-HD DVD petition shouldn't matter to a BD supporter (to which I offered an explanation that I feel it does a disservice to the HD DVD format and the serious enthusiasts who support it). Mark Zimmer went so far as to say that the petition not only has the potential to hurt HD DVD, but BD as well since it could make HD media look-bad in general to the studio.

 

[Rob_HD]

The continued harping on about the petition is what is getting the commentary now, mostly. Let's get over it.

Besides, there's 200 people that agree with the Disney one, and nearly as many who agree with the Lions Gate one.

That's slightly more than a vocal few here. And don't start speculating that none of them have read the petition, as that would be self-serving.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This is my final warning! If you have a problem with another member then take it offline because the rest of us are not interested in your personal beefs. Stop calling out other members by their name to ridicule them personally. If you can't argue factual points without challenging another's personal motivation then don't do so.





Crawdaddy

 

[Sam Davatchi]

Wow, HD topics are like Star Wars threads! Just imagine the day Star Wars gets released in HD.... and in both formats! That should give a big nasty ugly thread!

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

It took 50,000+ signatures to get Lucas to release SW on DVD, and he still hasn't managed to do it right. Even "Veronica Mars" had a coordinated, well-funded, multi-website campaign (with an airplane!), and it barely hung on. These HD DVD petitions have, at this point, a couple hundred signatures, mainly from a single web forum with several vocal representatives and vendors of HD DVD products that post messages bordering on advertising. And the petitions themselves are filled with rumors, half-truths, and dubious sources.

Let's face it, these decisions won't even begin to be affected by us at anything less than the purchasing level. At this point, the format war is 99.99% business, and not a very good one on either side. The studios are watching the money, and little else. But the idea that no one outside of the engineers at the studios know as much or more than we do about the formats is ludicrous. Remember when everyone thought HD DVD was the clear-cut winner? Something happened that we weren't aware of, and all of the sudden Warner and Paramount dropped exclusitivity. We weren't privy to the details then (we still aren't), and it's obvious that the studios still know a lot more about the format war than we hear.

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

So let me try and understand this situation. Despite all the exposure, despite the target audience, despite requesting that everyone should ignore any and all criticism of the petition, and despite your request that all HD DVD supporters sign them regardless... so far there are only 200 signatures.

Even if you weren't wrong about Toshiba selling 25,000 HD DVD players, I'm confident there are more than 200 owners, let alone supports of HD DVD that have at least heard of or read the petition. Perhaps some may have an issue with how the peition is written, and the accuracy of the information it provides. Or perhaps there are far fewer HD DVD supporters than many of us assumed there were.

 

[Marc Colella]

I noticed there really aren't that many different people posting in the HD forums (on this site and other sites). That tells me that there aren't many interested in HD in general (regardless of the format). When a forum dedicated to Home Theatre doesn't have that many people interested, then there's cause for concern I think.

On the plus side, there's already more people participating in the HD forums then there are who are interested in SACD/DVD-A.

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

I agree with you completely Marc, and while it is a plus that there appears more support for these HD formats than SACD/DVD-A, the overall lack of interest has to be unsettling for the companies with the greatest vested interest in them.

Personally, I would love nothing more than for HD video to appeal to the largest possible audience, as this would result in more products, better products, and at lower prices. Unfortunately, by all appearances, that kind of mass market acceptance is still a long way away, and no, the end of the format war isn't going to make it happen all that faster.

The largest obstacle that I see is not only making available more choices for consumers (displays, players, and content), and to get the prices of these to come down, but then these companies will also have to convince the majority of consumers who really are perfectly happy with standard DVD to jump on board the HD train.

Believe me, nothing would make me happier than to see a full HD train zipping down the track, but I just don't see that happening for a long time.

 

[Randy Korstick]

He was probably refferring to the actual units they moved out of stores vs. the actual sales. The difference would be the defective returns.
So 200 may not be too far off.

 

[Rob_HD]

Good morning to all HD DVD owners!

There is now a petition online to ask FOX to support HD DVD with releases from their catalogue. If Fox can be persuaded to support HD DVD, it may also have implications for MGM titles, as they will now be controlling MGM's library as MGM has taken control away from Sony this week.

The petition is online here - http://www.petitionspot.com/petition...Support_HD_DVD

Please do sign it now and distribute the link to everyone you can, and on any sites that you know of!

 

[Rob_HD]

I think a good example of how only "a few" signatures can be very effective can be seen here - http://www.putgrandprixondvd.com/

7,500 may seem like a lot, but when one considers how many regular DVD owners there are out there, it was actually a miniscule percentage.

The studios are likely to take into consideration the percentage of the HD DVD population that this petition represents.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Very interesting Rob. Do the petition backers have any reason to believe that their petition had a significant effect on the release?

I’m not saying that it did not, but for a studio to put a John Frankenheimer movie starring James Garner on DVD is not exactly a decision without precedent. Many, many movies have been released on DVD without those kind of credentials.

Secondly, I’d observe that the release of a single movie on DVD does not take very much money and has no impact on the studio’s future. The decision to go with two (rather than one) of the new HD formats is exponentially more expensive and getting the answer right or wrong will significantly make their position vis-à-vis their competitors better or worse.

 

[Rob_Walton]

Seems to be based, huh. As the original poster, rdjam, you should know what you based it on. Your posting style, topics of interest, and forms of personal attack remain the same despite your different screen names. You aren't fooling anyone with this pretense, and frankly the deception only hurts your case.

The petition itself? If just one hotel got their guests and staff together and signed up that would outnumber the total number of current signiatories. There seems no reason to believe any Hollywood studio is going to start authoring, encoding, taking inventory, and releasing titles on a new format just for the tiny number of people who signed on this poorly worded petition.

 

[Lew Crippen]

I clicked on the link and was denied access.

 

[Randy Korstick]

shhh... we don't know that he is rdjam and we also don't know that he works for Toshiba. He has been fooling us really well.

"Desperate Times call for Desperate Measures"

 

[Todd H]

As was I.

I still can't support a company that supposedly kills a cute little puppy every time an HD-DVD player is sold. And since I read it in an internet forum, it's got to be true. Where there's smoke there's fire.

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

Another petition filled with half-truths, lies through omission, and internet rumors, from a site with HD DVD industry reps and retailers. Quel surprise.