Does anyone blame the studios for the format wars?

todd s · 08-21-2006, 01:35 PM

I just wondering if anyone thinks that the format wars could have been avoided if the studios had gotten together and "decided" what format to go with? I mean it really makes no sense for them.

Just curious.

Daniel-M · 08-21-2006, 03:01 PM

of course not, that makes too much sense for them to do something like that. Studios can never do anything that benefit themselfs or consumers

Jason Seaver · 08-21-2006, 03:40 PM

So, how does this hypothetical meeting not stop at the Sony-owned studios saying "our parent company is telling us that we're doing Blu-Ray" and expecting everyone else to fall in line?

todd s · 08-21-2006, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Seaver

So, how does this hypothetical meeting not stop at the Sony-owned studios saying "our parent company is telling us that we're doing Blu-Ray" and expecting everyone else to fall in line?

Possible. But, if every other studio went with the better format (whether it would be Blu-Ray or HD-DVD) it wouldn't of mattered for too long. One of the formats wouldn't survive with only 1 studio backing it.

Bob Black · 08-21-2006, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by todd s

Possible. But, if every other studio went with the better format (whether it would be Blu-Ray or HD-DVD) it wouldn't of mattered for too long. One of the formats wouldn't survive with only 1 studio backing it.

Well if there were only one format, what's to say we would actually get the better format? After all, BD had the superior specs all along and look what they've released so far. Would we be happier with only $1000 players and botched transfers rather than a less expensive alternative with superior PQ?

I don't know about others, but the only reason I bought the Toshiba at launch was because it was under $500. I NEVER buy 1st generation hardware for the simple reason that it is always too expensive -- I would rather wait 8-12 months for a price drop. But at $500, there was no way I was letting HD-DVD pass by. I have since been returning/trading all my SD DVD's towards HD titles. I am actually spending considerably less money on weekly releases due to this practice, as I refuse to buy SD titles anymore. My HD-DVD collection now stands at 36, and they can't announce new releases fast enough.

I, for one, think the format war was a good thing. It has created competition which affected price (especially for the Toshiba), probably got the players released sooner, and has shown quality deficiencies in BD. I would hate to have a scenario in which there were no competition for Sony and Blu-Ray, especially considering the lackluster performance it displays thus far even with a competing format around.

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Pete T C · 08-21-2006, 09:43 PM

Oh I do in a big way. Disney and Fox screwed up the original DVD by supporting Divx, now they are doing the same with HD DVD by supporting Blu-Ray. All because they want the strictest DRM/copy protection.

BrettGallman · 08-22-2006, 03:01 AM

Absolutely, but not in the sense that they don't agree on one format. I blame the studios for not equally supporting both formats and letting consumers decide which is superior which is the route WHV and Paramount are taking. To me, the titles are what is driving the format war. I think if all studios would do this, there wouldn't be a war at all because Blu-Ray would pretty much be dead in the water. In my opinion, all it has going for it right now (emphasis on right now) is the potential for some excellent exclusive titles. That's the only thing that's making me consider getting a BD player. While HD-DVD will have some exclusives, it also has the advantage of being much cheaper, but if you remove the existence of exclusive titles for either player, HD-DVD would be the only way to go. And it's really hard for me to say that, because I was an ardent Blu-Ray supporter pre-launch (and still very well could be depending on the quality of the PS3 BD player).

I don't like the fact that I have to get both players to get every title I want. I'd rather studios release the exact same titles and let me decide which format I want to watch them on. I'm happy with being an HD-DVD owner now because I love the title selection; however, I'm already miffed that I'm missing out on Terminator and T2, and I'm sure there's going to be more titles that will further push me towards getting a BD player sometime. However, all this could be avoided if every studio would just release each title on both formats, which, of course is never going to happen (especially with Sony's situation).

PeterTHX · 08-22-2006, 05:38 AM

No.

I blame Toshiba

Marko Berg · 08-22-2006, 06:13 AM

If all studios agreed to release software on both formats, the issue of a format war wouldn't exist. Everyone could choose the format they feel is superior or better suited to their particular needs, and acquire whatever software they wanted to own for that particular format.

In my opinion this would be a preferable solution in the current situation rather than trying to reach an agreement on a single hardware format that could exist in the marketplace.

todd s · 08-22-2006, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

No.

I blame Toshiba

Just curious...Why?