Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive! - Page 25

Jari K · 01-08-2008, 08:25 AM

Related link (found from the AVSforum):

http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/2...tes-unplugged/

"Q=Warner Brothers said last week it was backing Blu-ray exclusively. Will Microsoft remain committed to the HD DVD format even if it appears that the media companies are backing Blu-ray?
A=Certainly we supported both Blu-ray and HD DVD as Windows peripherals. The last announcement was Paramount opting for HD DVD and now this one is going the other way. I still think a format battle is going on there. Our contribution is the HDi Interactive format piece has been really well received. We hope to see that used broadly. ****I think the real competitor in the long run is digital (video) download****. Just like in music, it is going to be the biggest of the three.

Q=You kind of sound agnostic about the formats.
A=No, not really. We have definitely worked with HD DVD in a very strong fashion. Our codecs and HDi are available on the other format and we are a leader in digital download so we have some involvement in all three approaches. ****In the long run, people don’t want physical media****. You don’t say to yourself, what’s the format battle after CD. If someone tried to introduce a new music format, you’d laugh and say ‘well isn’t that my phone, my iPod and my Zune?’ And you’d be right."

So at least MS is not really worried. They want digital downloading...

Douglas Monce · 01-08-2008, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carlo Medina

Counterpoint 1: DVD had no format war competition. Yet prices still declined significantly over time. That is the natural way of electronics since I can remember. You will always be able to buy something better for cheaper, given the passing of time. I bought my Toshiba SD-2006 in May of 1997 for $499 and that was the cheapest player of the launch batch. Yes, Sony released their initial DVD player at $1000.

Does that pricing structure look familiar?

Counterpoint 2: There are many reasons for lower MSRP, competition is only one of them. Another, as was mentioned above, is cost of components. The longer, and the more, of the components are made over time, naturally the price drops. As the price of components drop, the price of the whole item drops. They are interested in maintaining a healthy profit margin, not keeping prices high. As soon as production for players ramps up and costs go down, so will MSRP. And while the "big boys" may not be trying to one-up each other to the death, Funai and the rest of the Chinese/SE Asian manufacturers aren't going to play by the pricing rules of the big boys. The fact that Funai has announced is a big deal.

Sure, BD player prices are not going to drop to DVD player prices any time soon, but people who weren't in the market when DVD launched in 1997 don't remember that pricing for those players followed a very similar trend to BD players.

DVD players became cheap for one reason, Apex introduced a DVD player for $80 at wal-mart and it was all over. With in a few months it was down to $60. It was cheap and it did things most $250 or $300 DVD players couldn't. So I think you are right on the mark with Chinese and Korean companies.

Doug

Marc Colella · 01-08-2008, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Douglas Monce

Yes but there is another factor here. Most people who make a major AV purchase like a $1500 TV, don't make another purchase for at least another year. So there will be some lag time before people start buying players. I think if the price is right, people will start replacing dead DVD players with HD player.

If you look at the market now, people are already buying their 2nd or 3rd DVD players now... and also buying replacement players. The hot item in DVD players are ones that play Divx. Funny how people are going out of their way to play movies that look worse than DVD. Sounds like the whole MP3 phenonenon.

How long will it take for Blu-Ray player prices to come down to $39? I suspect at least another 2 or 3 years - during that time frame more and more DVD players and DVD movies are being sold. The manufacturers will keep making DVD players, and the studios will keep selling DVD movies for cheap. People will be even further into DVD making it even tougher to switch people over especially when a Blu-Ray disc will only play in a Blu-Ray player, and the disc is useless on all the other players they have in their home.

This thing has niche written all over it. I have no problem at all with a niche, but the studios and BDA want this thing to take over DVD. Not gonna happen.

Douglas Monce · 01-08-2008, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marc Colella

If you look at the market now, people are already buying their 2nd or 3rd DVD players now... and also buying replacement players. The hot item in DVD players are ones that play Divx. Funny how people are going out of their way to play movies that look worse than DVD. Sounds like the whole MP3 phenonenon.

How long will it take for Blu-Ray player prices to come down to $39? I suspect at least another 2 or 3 years - during that time frame more and more DVD players and DVD movies are being sold. The manufacturers will keep making DVD players, and the studios will keep selling DVD movies for cheap. People will be even further into DVD making it even tougher to switch people over especially when a Blu-Ray disc will only play in a Blu-Ray player, and the disc is useless on all the other players they have in their home.

This thing has niche written all over it. I have no problem at all with a niche, but the studios and BDA want this thing to take over DVD. Not gonna happen.

Players that play DIVX codec are popular because there are a number of camcorders that record to disc in that format.

Doug

DaViD Boulet · 01-08-2008, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Related link (found from the AVSforum):

http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/2...tes-unplugged/

"Q=Warner Brothers said last week it was backing Blu-ray exclusively. Will Microsoft remain committed to the HD DVD format even if it appears that the media companies are backing Blu-ray?
A=Certainly we supported both Blu-ray and HD DVD as Windows peripherals. The last announcement was Paramount opting for HD DVD and now this one is going the other way. I still think a format battle is going on there. Our contribution is the HDi Interactive format piece has been really well received. We hope to see that used broadly. ****I think the real competitor in the long run is digital (video) download****. Just like in music, it is going to be the biggest of the three.

Q=You kind of sound agnostic about the formats.
A=No, not really. We have definitely worked with HD DVD in a very strong fashion. Our codecs and HDi are available on the other format and we are a leader in digital download so we have some involvement in all three approaches. ****In the long run, people don’t want physical media****. You don’t say to yourself, what’s the format battle after CD. If someone tried to introduce a new music format, you’d laugh and say ‘well isn’t that my phone, my iPod and my Zune?’ And you’d be right."

Guys, can you read what MICROSOFT is saying? Bill Hunt wasn't lying to you. Neither was I. Neither were the BD insiders to told us that last week that in the HD DVD camp's meeting with WB to try to win the contract with HD DVD a few weeks back, Microsoft would ONLY agree to pay for an exclusive HD DVD contract with Warner if Warner agreed to liscense their movie library to Microsoft for exclusive downloading rights. When Warner wouldn't consider providing MS with exclusive rights to their library for downloading, MS withheld their financial assistance and basically walked away from HD DVD. In fact, this meeting with MS helped firm WB's resolve to end the format WAR ASAP to try to establish disc-based HD media while there's till time in the market place. MS put their cards on the table in that HD-DVD bid-meeting and made it clear that it's not HD DVD they want to win, it's downloading, and their support behing HD DVD has been motivated by a desire to prolong this war, not to end it. WB's response was swift and effective. Every HT enthusiast should be thanking them, as the fate of disc-based HD media was given a second chance by what WB just did. Even now after the fact, Microsoft isn't being shy about hiding their real agenda (as seen in this reuters blog).

Is Microsoft's long-term agenda finally becoming clear???

Quote:

If true (about Paramount going BD) the format war could be over sooner than many of us had hoped. There is no way Universal can keep HD-DVD afloat all by themselves, at least not for very long.

Paramount doesn't even need to go BD for HD DVD to quickly fade from market reality. While not completely sunk, HD DVD's life-boat now has a huge gash in the hull and is taking on more water than even Universal and Paramount can bail out with their combined effort.

Marc Colella · 01-08-2008, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Douglas Monce

Players that play DIVX codec are popular because there are a number of camcorders that record to disc in that format.

Ummm... you don't it has anything to do with the millions and millions of movies people are downloading through file-sharing?

Mark Booth · 01-08-2008, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

Is Microsoft's long-term agenda finally becoming clear???

Next week at MacWorld Expo, expect Apple to announce agreements with most studios (possibly including Warner) for movie downloads through iTunes store (both purchases and rentals). I've heard that this was a rub for Microsoft.... that Apple was going to best them once again.

Three cheers for Apple! (I'm no Microsoft fan!)

Mark

Tom BL · 01-08-2008, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Douglas Monce

Players that play DIVX codec are popular because there are a number of camcorders that record to disc in that format.

Doug

I doubt that's the most significant reason, when so much of the pirated material available via bit-torrent and other P2P networks utilizes DivX.

Marc Colella · 01-08-2008, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Booth

Next week at MacWorld Expo, expect Apple to announce agreements with most studios (possibly including Warner) for movie downloads through iTunes store (both purchases and rentals). I've heard that this was a rub for Microsoft.... that Apple was going to best them once again.

Three cheers for Apple! (I'm no Microsoft fan!)

Mark

Let's not forget Sony who are trying to make the PS3 a media-hub and will be offering movie downloads soon. Damn Sony! Why are they trying to kill Blu-ray?!

Mike Frezon · 01-08-2008, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marc Colella

This thing has niche written all over it. I have no problem at all with a niche, but the studios and BDA want this thing to take over DVD. Not gonna happen.

To go back to my earlier post about the impact of this on BD media prices:

if the studios really do want that to happen...they would have to keep prices down.