Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

My local BB here in N. Phoenix stocks alot more Blu-ray titles than HD-DVD. There seems to be around 2/3 more Blu-ray retail space than HD-DVD. I guess we will know soon if retailers like BB are going to start reducing retail space for HD-DVD or not?

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

I'm going to take a pass on the Onkyo receivers for the moment, they tend to be either too buggy (with passing video via HDMI), or don't have enough inputs for my particular situation. At this moment, the only receiver I'd probably consider purchasing would be a Denon 3808CI ($1300+), but I'm hoping less expensive (but not at the expense of features) options do turn up. Either way, buying a PS3 will introduce a need to upgrade your receiver if you want the lossless audio portion that BD offers. It's another expense that will hopefully be avoidable with standalone BD units (like the upcoming Panasonic BD50 with the 2.0 profile) that offer analog audio outputs, and also component video output if people still want to use their older HD TV set that aren't HDMI-capable.

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

I can still see the war continuing because they (Toshiba, Univeral & Paramount)could get some consessions for whatever drives their profit line. Business is business and $$$ drive them. The consessions don't have to be in the High Def Medium, it could be in something else. I don't consider that being spiteful, just good business acumen. And the line about this format war is confusing the public, I don't buy it at all. I really think that most of them don't care one way or the other.
Anyway, in the immortal words of Yogi Berra, "IT AIN'T OVER, TIL ITS OVER".


(it's been a rough day in my world, so the grammer and spelling hasn't been up to snuff)

Re: Years from now

Aaaah. I see.


We have a bard in the house. Did part/most of this also come from some movie I'm not familiar w/? It reminds me that I can't wait to have that uber-HD version of LotR that Peter Jackson alluded to in the past. Sadly, I think I'll need some BD version of it sooner than I thought since I just found out this morning that my Two Towers: EE 2nd disc got scuffed up and is a bit flaky on playback -- my kids had been careless w/ it. Maybe I should borrow my brother-in-law's copy of it at some point to hold me over...

_Man_

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Thanks Man. Most people use other 4-letter words to describe me. An earlier poster made some crack about St. Crispin's day.

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

very nice Dennis.



I also can not wait for Lord Of The Rings to be available on Blu-ray. It is one of my must have titles to buy in HD.

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Let's hope they compare it to the Answer Print, Dave.


Cees

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Business is business, that you're right about. As for the war continuing, not quite - retail shelf space isn't cheap, and when Wal-Mart, Best Buy, etc. decide to phase out HD-DVD, Toshiba and anyone else making product for HD-DVD will have to contend with the lack of retailers supporting it. I doubt Toshiba is going to continue to underwrite (financially) buying prime shelf space and advertising - their reaction at CES says a lot.

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

LOL. I know that wasn't for me, but I still haven't gotten around to watching BS's Dracula yet.

_Man_

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

I would be one of those crackin "Heroes".

"Should I save the world by allowing myself to blow up?"

Only on HD DVD. Lol.
Good to have you back MAN (I think).

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

DaViD,

Except for Patrick referring to "bitstream" instead of PCM in the message you "corrected" he is absolutely correct in his statement that the only way one gets HD audio codecs from the PS3 is via HDMI. He didn't say anything about HDMI 1.3a, etc. which is overkill for use with the original PS3 at this moment because any HDMI-equipped AVR does the job. And I should know, because in 2006 I purchased an HDMI 1.1 capable Denon 3806 as an "interim" (~$900) pre/pro to deal with both my HD-DVD player and my Blu-ray PS3 - a job that it handled quite admirably. Patrick was just pointing out that there are literally millions of folks out there with AVRs that do not contain any HDMI connectivity at all, so intimating that a PS3 is the "perfect" Blu-ray solution is not correct for those people. That's all that Patrick was trying to say, so your response to him (except for his "bitstream" comment) was way off the mark.

I'm glad to see that you now own an HDMI 1.3a capable AVR and a PS3 for Blu-ray so that you can "get by" with today's HD Audio codecs. At least you are talking from experience in this case, unlike many other times that we've had discussions where it turns out that you don't have any personal experience with certain equipment. That's definitely a step in the right direction. And for the record I side with you in a preference for my players to do the decoding of HD audio rather than the receiver (although I'm now equipped for all options with my new Denon 3808ci, HDMI 1.3a fully capable pre/pro). Ironically, the only place that the PS3 has failed me up until this point (in all other Blu-ray aspects it's top shelf) is in the way it handles - or should I say doesn't handle DTS MA audio. Not only doesn't it decode it at this point, but without a way of passing bitstream information to the 3808ci I'm totally out of the loop with the increasing number of titles available with DTS MA. Hairspray was just the tip of the iceberg. Yes, I know that Sony has stated that a "future" firmware upgrade will address DTS MA on the PS3, but unless there are some licensing issues involved, I really don't understand why this hasn't been done because I'm fairly confident that the PS3 can handle it as well as a 2.0 profile, right? Even my Panasonic BD player can pass the DTS MA coded audio to a receiver - but it's not located in the room where my 3808 resides.

And DaViD, while I have your attention here, I've been meaning to ask you something (not entirely) unrelated to the current discussion. You proudly display "Supporter of 1080p24 video and lossless 24 bit audio" in your signature. I assume this means that you are currently enjoying this form of video and audio in your home or some other personal location? I'm curious as to which equipment you are currently using. My JVC DLA-RS1 can display 1080p/24 and most of my equipment (except for DTS MA from Blu-ray on my PS3) can handle the highest quality audio codecs. What equipment are you experiencing 1080p24 and lossless 24 bit audio on? I have to admit that I have a big problem with people who comment on things based on what they've read or have been told about rather than on the one thing that I respect the most - their eyes and ears. I'm glad that you aren't one of those people, right? I have to assume that everything you say here is based on experience and is presented in a way that respects differing points of view. That's something that doesn't always happen on certain other web sites with self-proclaimed "insiders" who think that they are something special because they sometimes make lucky guesses. Their names need not be repeated here.

Take care.

Re: Warner Brothers is now Blu-ray Exclusive

I wouldn't assume that. Once again, anecdotal, but almost everyone I know with a DivX DVD player are playing the DivX movies on a fair sized HDTV. I've tried it a few times on my 40" HDTV and have seen it on a friend's 50" HDTV - it looks better than cable/satellite (non-HD) and is actually pretty good (and I consider myself picky)... and if people have no problem with the quality of cable/satellite on their HDTV, they certainly don't have a problem with DivX movies.

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Time will tell but I very confident that you will be proven wrong with the never statement.

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Went to lunch with 3 people waiting for the decision to be finalized. They don't have any HD and were ready to go get a blu-ray player in a couple of weeks. Now Ron says it could change again. Come on. Here is hoping the WAR is over.

I think Blu-ray 1.1 is what mainstream is looking for. Release 2.0 is a nice to have feature but may be used by the top 20%. Will I run out to replace my 1.0 player. No. The main purpose is to watch the movie. Why do you think Blu-ray OUTSOLD HD-DVD.

So Warner if you are reading this you did the right thing. Don't change.
Paramount and Universal make an anouncement and end it all together. There is no consumer reason not to change. People on here will say "what about the interactive extras of HD-DVD", they will be there in the future on Blu in the near future. Not all HD-DVD people even used them. If you want them, wait for the 2nd release of the movie. Warner can make more by releasing the ultimate release. Small price to pay to end this.

If it does not end for another year and HD-DVD then stops, look at all the consumers you screwed after this announcement. Don't think they will forget that, when purchasing other equipment. I know my next TV will not be a Toshiba, if that happened.

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

I think it is fairly obvious that the reason Blu sold more units is more exclusive product. Doubt that? Then why weren't Warner's numbers 2:1?

I must say, your Warner comment is a radical departure from the one's you were making in August.

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

BOGO every month, every week, everyday.

Who can compete with that?

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Don't know if any standalone BD unit will ever be affective against the newer re-authored lossless audio HD discs of 7.1 discrete channels and which are becoming more frequently released.
5.1 channels would be compatible with older analog-in receivers and old HDMI 5.1 PCM-in processors like the Lexicon MC12 HD that can use the PS3, but the re-authored discs will make them all incompatible.

Paul

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Not that this makes it any better, as I'm in the same boat as most of you with an AVR that doesn't decode the new formats, but it's happened before and the industry survived it. Remember back when 99% of receivers only did Dolby surround? The introduction of DD 5.1 and DTS made everybody upgrade receivers about 10 years ago. It's just happening all over again with the new codecs.

Upgrades are just part of this expensive hobby, unfortunately.

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

I seem to remember hearing that they were so close to the release dates on those films that they never actually had an answer print. Jackson was talking about how he didn't get to see them on a big screen until the premiere. In that case I guess the answer print would be a digital file.

Doug

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

I initially tried to post this last Friday but the thread was so hammered that the page timed out.
It has been said by many but I think it hasn't been said enough:
Ron Epstein and the mods on HTF have earned my respect and the respect of many others over last 2 years.
Fair, balanced and brooking no bull$hit are admirable qualities.
It really is a pleasure to visit a forum run and populated by grown-ups.
Well done guys.

Other sites may have a higher profile, but I believe what they allow and what they post will come back to haunt them.

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

I'm sorry to say that it would fall on deaf ears. Even if Warner's statement didn't kill HD DVD, the media did. Every news article is "HD DVD Dead". Perception is reality at this point. BoGo's on the HD side will be seen as strictly a fire sale nothing more.

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Hey,

I waited 7 years for Ron to go Mac.
Everyone figured he wouldn't, but whadaya know? Who would have thunk?

I'm saying, this site and staff have been consistently fair for more than 2 years, including being reprimanded when warranted.

Couldn't have run my business successfully without HTF, come to think of it.
Remember the days of Reel.com coupons etc?

ps. Sorry, the BOGO response was in response to why BR (with its EVERYDAY BOGO) has outsold HD DVD.

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Ronald, remember my "wild guess" I said earlier that Toshiba may be looking for a way to gracefully exit the HD-DVD format? I believe that there may be a lot of behind the scenes negotiations going on right now--probably in high-end suites at Las Vegas casino resorts since CES is going on right now in Las Vegas!--that could result in an agreement to be publicly announced some time in spring 2008 (I'm guessing circa April 2008) that Toshiba will begin a phaseout of the HD-DVD format. I'll hazard a guess that the agreement may go something like this:

1) Toshiba will sell in early summer 2008 a lower-cost combo HD-DVD/Blu-ray player (with Blu-ray Profile 1.1 compliance) as a transitional product to protect legacy HD-DVD discs and to allow customers to play Blu-ray discs.

2) Toshiba themselves will start producing Blu-ray players starting the end of calendar year 2008. Don't be surprised that Toshiba may even offer a trade-in deal where you can trade in your HD-DVD player for a Toshiba-brand Blu-ray player at substantially reduced cost.

3) NBC Universal, Paramount and Time Warner may offer substantial discounts to trade in your HD-DVD discs you bought for the equivalent Blu-ray discs by you sending in the proof of purchase (e.g., UPC barcode) from the HD-DVD release.

Are some of these ideas crazy? Probably. But then, my suggestions may be the smoothest way to transition from a HD-DVD vs Blu-ray world to a singular, unified world where Blu-ray is the primary high-definition media (HDM) format.

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

If you are refering to neutral then yes. It is time to end this war for release al movies in both formats. I came to the conclussion this war has to end like the VHS Betamax war. Someone has to win. I will be honest. Am I glad it was Blu-ray, you bet. I saved myself having to get a player.

If HD-DVD won, I would have gone and got a player and actually thought past myself. It is better to end this then keep it up and I have said one format is better than two.

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Be nice if they did that, but I think it will end like te Betamax/VHS wars. My parents had a Betamax and there was no discount or buy back. In fact Sony kept on selling players for a time period. At that level you are never wrong, it is just everyone else.

Hate to say this but after the LA times article. Looks like Retails even want you to keep it all and for them to sell the rest at current proces. Don't think Santa will be nice to them next Christmas.

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

How many on here think it is fair to sell HD-DVD players at this point and not have a sign or tell the consumer the state of the industry?

At this point I think the vendors need to say Movies in HD may not be available in the future next to the player. I would hate for more people to buy a player and think there is all this content coming in the future.

One thing is different then the VHS/Betamax war, The internet can impact a retailer's business. It took longer to get the word out.

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Well I guess your parents never bought another Sony product again in their life. Haha!! Some of the comments on here are ridiculous.(That is not for you Dan) Toshiba has no duty to make your transition easy.

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

My 2 cents:
While the format war had to end sooner rather than later, it is not the panacea that some would like to believe.
Re: oft stated consumer "confusion", I don't think consumers are confused at all.
They saw movies in red & blue cases, thought why are there 2, looked at the price tag and said no way.
In 6 months(maybe) when there are only blue cases, they'll look at the selection, then at the price tag.
What they see then had better be a lot more and a lot cheaper than now or they'll head straight to the DVD bargain bin.

Anyone who looks at Microsoft as the lone devil of downloading needs to look a bit harder.
All of the studios and companies that own studios dream of downloading and will do so at the earliest opportunity.

To those thinking that downloading a 30gb file is "way down the road", need to look up.
There are technologies currently in beta and just on the horizon that will make it feasible, fast and convenient.

You and I make not like it. You and I may prefer hard media but a significant number of consumers don't want it or don't care.
More significantly, the up and coming consumers who have grown up with iPods and PPV don't care about it or see a reason for it.

The format war has illustrated the obvious, the studios will ultimately go where the money is no matter where their "personal" preferences or allegiance lies.
They don't care what you buy as long as you buy.
And they'll change direction on a dime, or at least on 5,000,000,000 of them.

I think the 2 main drivers need to be selection and price.
Movies need to be $19.99 msrp with all releases day-date.
The retailers need to get their $hit together as well.
They must show off HDM as many of us see & hear it in our homes.
Stunning and immersive.
Consumers need to be given compelling reasons to buy HDM over DVD.
It really is that simple. At least to me.

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

LOL or given a sainthood for doing what should of been done a long time ago

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

While it may be fair, it's kind of makes the effort of selling them pointless.
Did any of the retailers post caveats along side BR and HD DVD players and media?

I don't know about $ainthood where you come from but I don't think huge bags of are usually involved.