**Official HTF HD Formats Ind./Retailer/Studio Support Thread-*SEE POST 3176, p. 106* (1 Viewer)

[Alfonso_M]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Frezon
I advocated, many pages ago, that this thread had run its course and could be closed.[/quote]

 

[Walter Kittel]

- Walter.

 

[Paul_Scott]

If Blu-ray didn't seem so moribund right now, there would likely be more variety to the conversations. There's a time to cheer and a time to sit at the bedside listening to the raspings inside the oxygen tent. Luckily Dr. Bill says there's nothing to worry about and pretty soon ole Blu will be up and as hale and hearty as any other premie in the ward.

 

[Jari K]

(post removed by Jari K) .. best to let it go ..

 

[Mike Frezon]

I'm not sure if my remarks are being interpreted correctly.

I'm not saying people shouldn't be free to criticize Blu-ray, HD-DVD, Microsoft, downloads, the future of the industry, et al.

I was just saying that the conversation in this thread had taken on a "rondo" form as it was simply tending to recycle the same ideas in a repeating form. To my eyes, there was no forward movement of ideas/discussion.

 

[Paul Arnette]

Moribund? Seriously, moribund? We have just resolved a format war, there are two studios currently in the midst of switching formats, and all this has occurred or will occur during the two most historically slow quarters for releases, and you're call the prevailing format moribund? Unbelievable.

In my opinion, most of your concerns with Blu-ray Disc are premature at best. If the current state of things remains after Q4, then I will begin to share your worries. I think you, and a lot of other early adopters, fail to realize that the studios and retailer aren't targeting us any longer. They've already 'hooked us'. They're looking to further the install base beyond our numbers. Typically that adoption is most successfully achieved during the 4Q holiday season. The Blu-ray Disc push will occur then, and 2009 will become a make or break year for the format in terms of mass adoption.

Perhaps Blu-ray Disc will fail, perhaps it will become niche, perhaps I will just enjoy the high-def ride while it lasts rather than continually wringing my hands because, given the choice, its not like I'm going back to SD DVD.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

"Serenity NOW!"

_Man_

 

[Paul_Scott]

Paul A- I realize that was rhetorical but yes, the sensation for me is that the format seems lacking in vital force for a host of reasons people are sick of seeing me enumerate. Do I really think it's on life support at this point? No- sometimes hyperbole is merely intended for humourous or sarcastic effect. Some people find it tedious and humourless to compare the vigor of the format at the moment to that of a premie. I get it. I just thought the analogy was kinda funny (sheepish grin)

 

[David Wilkins]

If you can't find more than a couple of titles you like, from the fairly healthy list already available, and the ever growing roster of titles upcoming in the next three or four months, that's your problem, and one that probably isn't shared by more than a couple of other people on this forum. After all, it's a fairly new format, and the "war" issue was just settled. It was a long time before very many worthwhile titles were released on any past format. Tough it out.

And...I never implied we should have only happy talk. And I, personally haven't "won" anything. I don't qualify as a Blu fan-boy, having amassed 122 HD-DVD titles over the past year and a half. For some reason, I just want to get past all the shit talk. So sue me. Jeez...talking these format issues is about as rewarding as talking politics during the past eight years, or religion at any time. I really don't know what's worse, listening to the endless rattle of 15 year old gamer-heads on some of the other forums, or tuning in here, to the "older, wiser, more mature, highly informed" people on this forum, continue with the same piss talk, day in and day out, rattling on about the sure, forward march of downloads...and market penetration, and price points.

Yeah, they're really bleeding us to death with those $23, 1080p, TrueHD titles. Yes, the format is going down in flames with those bloody prices. I suppose that if they're not given away, the format is doomed, we're all doomed, headed for bankruptcy. It's a HOBBY, not a life sustaining product. If you can't hack it, then...cry me a river, and find another hobby.

What is it with people, anyway? Bitch, bitch, bitch. Whine, whine, whine. Maybe too many of us have way too much time on our hands, if we get so wound up and over emotionally invested in something as inconsequential as the format war. None of this matters. We're not saving lives here. Why can't people, in general, let go of this silly shit? That was the point I tried t make a couple of pages back. It used to be about home theater. It used to be about movies. Maybe some people around here need more actual problems in their lives to help add perspective.

I used to spend time here, casually, to relax and catch up on matters related to the home theater hobby that I enjoy so much. Not anymore. I know that a lot of you will get all choked up, but I'm unsubscribing from this thread. It's the first time I've done so at HTF, during an active thread. In the past, I've done so, only to cull out the old dead ones.

No joy here. No joy at the 15 year old gamer-head forums. Am I the only one? Am I over reacting? Or are there plenty of other people tired of the non-stop shite?

 

[TravisR]

David, I share alot of the frustration that you have. I think alot of other people do too but they haven't been vocal about it.

That being said, I just roll my eyes when I read certain posts or I skip over certain people's posts entirely so I can get to posts that are worth reading.

 

[troy evans]

Good post David. It is time to move on and get back to home theater and enjoying it.

 

[Jari K]

You´re not the only one, believe me. I´m sure that most of us here are tired of this "non-stop shite" as you put it..

It´s just very difficult at the moment, since there are certain group of flamers that has mainly one goal; to add confusion, uneasiness, and doomsday-talk to the forums, so that others can´t enjoy their HD-format. For them, it´s best that also Blu-ray fails, since they´ve reached that certain limit of bitterness. They don´t care anymore about HD. It was "my format" or not at all.

By doing all this (and by spreading it to as many forums as they can), others then get defensive (even when they don´t really want to at this point - the war is over) and what do we (again) have? Another more-or-less bitter debate/argument..

So yes, it's frustrating. These flamers doesn´t have any effect on my buying-habits or to anything significant when it comes to my HT/film/Blu-ray/DVD-hobby (I buy what I want - whenever I want) but it´s sad that we can´t talk about these issues anymore e.g. in these forums. Everything has that "personal"-angle, when it comes to HD.

Not sure what to do, but I guess we need to do something? It´s quite ugly at the moment..

 

[Robert Crawford]

It's rather simple what you guys need to do is just ignore them. If nobody responded, sooner or later such negative posts will go away. Same with this thread, those that complain about it, shouldn't be posting in it and eventually it will die a natural death.

If members want to discuss positive issues about Blu-ray then do it because nobody else is stopping you from doing so. I hardly see anybody starting a new thread about the latest BRD they just viewed. How come? It seems to me that it's not only the naysayers staying focused on the negatives about BR or HDM in general. By the way, I'm patiently waiting for my BR import of "Beowulf" to show up. I will be doing an "A" versus "B" comparison with the HD DVD. Moreso, audio-related than video-wise.





Crawdaddy

 

[Walter Kittel]

FWIW, I am invested in both HDM formats fairly heavily and I find all of the back and forth talk to be very uneventful. The lesson that all HT enthusiasts should take from the resolution of the format conflict is that as enthusiasts we have absolutely nothing to do with the success or failure of these formats. All of the cheer-leading or doomsday talk on this forum is going to have absolutely zero impact on the Bd format. If someone bothers you that much, I recommend the Ignore feature. It is all just opinion. So what. Big deal.

Certainly applies to this post.

- Walter.

 

[Cees Alons]

Funny reaction, Jari.

Unless forum rules are clearly violated, we are always hesitant to close a thread thus simply declaring the discussion useless from that point on. It happens, but mostly in cases where specific and limited content is discussed or specific questions were asked.
Members are thought mature and wise enough to stop posting if they feel there's no longer a meaningful discussion to be continued. Such threads then sink quickly to oblivion.

This thread was almost dead finally, sinking off the page since March 14th, until it happened to be you yourself and no-one else, Jari, not by getting "defensive", but by posting about a new "competition" aspect (Microsoft not offering a BR-player for the old 360) and adding remarks a representative of MS made about downloading, who revived it more than a week later (on March 22nd) and re-started the "doomsday discussion" about downloading of movies.

Perhaps they are somewhere, but if you spot those on this forum and are able to make your suspicions solid: please report those evil posters to the staff. Our Mission Statement clearly states: "We will never post with the sole intention to spoil other's pleasure."


Cees

 

[Robert Crawford]

Walter,
You are so right and I've stated so more than a few times, but it seems like I might as well be talking to the wall. None of these naysayers or cheerleaders are going to make a bit of difference on the future of HDM. It's all about economics and marketing now as the industry tries to take BR to the mass market far beyond HT enthusiast segment/consumers. As far as ignoring, it is an ability that many people have difficulty in using even if it's their best interest in doing so.

 

[Jari K]

Same to you Cees..

Well, here´s some positive news:

Advertisement

****
"Overall, 18.8 million Blu-ray units will be sold in 2008. Breaking down that figure, Strategy Analytics projects 4 million stand-alone set-tops, 13 million PlayStation 3 consoles and 2 million PC-based Blu-ray drives will sell globally this year.

Fueled by a clear high-definition format choice as well ongoing consumer transition to HDTVs, by 2012, sales of Blu-ray devices will be 57.4 million units. That just about doubles projected sales in 2008.

Also by 2012, more than 132 million homes worldwide will have at least one Blu-ray device."
****

So not that grim future after all..

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

Ugh. Not only were you basing your "theories" on incorrect data, but you also have the audacity to snidely mock an industry source and fellow forum member whose data has been correct far more than your posts have been.

In fact, I should point out that it was Bill Hunt and other sources you decry were the ones that first mentioned at the retailer and studio dominoes that were going to fall, despite the hints from HD DVD "insiders" all over the Internet that Warner's defection was "not what it seemed" and HD DVD had something planned to strike back. Of course, Toshiba, the retailers, and the studios have since revealed that they had essentially begun planning the announcement of HD DVD's cancellation by the end of CES. So next time you want to attack "Dr. Bill", maybe you should remember that he's been pretty much dead-on in his predictions of late.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Some interesting comments in that linked article including Fox's Steve Feldstein's comment about "Blu-ray's targeted demographic of young male adults" and the price differential between SD DVD and Blu-ray which is contributing to the higher percentage of sales for Blu-ray.

 

[Robert Crawford]

The next six months should be revealing as I see the industry moving away from promoting this format from the early adoptor segment to the mass market. Hopefully, by the Holiday season, the industry will stop looking at Blu-ray consumers as only early adoptors and will lower prices that will help promote the BR format along with an aggressive marketing campaign for all those folks that bought new HDTVs over the last couple of years.