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post #751 of 1635
1/8/08 at 12:49pm

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

It's over and I really dont care how it happened... None of us were there and even the ones that were there wont tell you exactly how it happened... All I know is that Warner screwed HD DVD and at the same time, got HD DVD fans to blame it on either FOX (who was already Blu) or MS (who has a stake in downloads).

Paramount also gets a free out with their rummored "escape clause" and blame it on Warner...
I wonder what is Universal excuse going to be????
post #752 of 1635
1/8/08 at 1:34pm

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

Austan,

That's not necessarily true.

We pretty much got our information first-hand and summed up
what happened in a previous post.

To be honest, both parties were very guilty on all counts. Nobody
was looking out for the consumer. This was all about who could
walk away with the biggest paycheck. Best to just leave it at that!
post #753 of 1635
1/8/08 at 1:51pm

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

Wow, I'm still rather surprised by this news since I heard it on Friday.

I'm a Blu supporter by default because of my PS3, but prior to this news I had strongly considered format neutral. I wasn't able to get one of the insanely good deals on an HD-DVD player though.

I'm glad to see this war possibly coming to an end though. I realize there are rampant speculations on who did what and how the other side got screwed in this deal, but I for one am happy by this decision and am looking forward to getting some great Warner titles in HD this year. Thanks Warner!
post #754 of 1635
1/8/08 at 1:55pm

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

Keith,

You can say that again.

You can say that again.
post #755 of 1635
1/8/08 at 2:35pm

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

Quote:
I'm just a little baffled as to why Toshiba and the three remaining
studios want to continue the fight.
Two possibilities: (1) They do want to fight. (2) They're not so stupid to undermine their position beforehand.


Cees
post #756 of 1635
1/8/08 at 2:53pm

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

Quote:
Two possibilities: (1) They do want to fight. (2) They're not so stupid to undermine their position beforehand.

I agree with Cees.

The Warner deal doesn't really take hold for another six months, and while it looks grim right now, six months is still far-off. Toshiba may have an ace up its sleeve. Doubtful but possible.
post #757 of 1635
1/8/08 at 3:18pm

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

Quote:
Originally Posted by Todd H
Exactly. Who still pays for porn?

Porn has a very little - if nothing, to do with this "format war". And since both formats has porn anyway..
post #758 of 1635
1/8/08 at 3:24pm

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

HD-DVD as much as I loved and still do love the format that was complete upon release does not stand a chance if the Paramount and even Universal leaving the format rumors are true.

If anything HD-DVD being on the market pushed Sony to add features that HD had from the begenning but in the end it is the almighty dollar that decided this competition not us the consumer.

I will support both formats but will be leaning toward the BR versions of Warner titles for now on and only buy what exclusives are left for HD-DVD which by the sounds of things will not be much longer.

Later Everyone
Brian
post #759 of 1635
1/8/08 at 3:29pm

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

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet
Is Microsoft's long-term agenda finally becoming clear???

Looks pretty clear to me, since the Billy-boy himself spilled the beans.

Btw. Some "news" from New Line:

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/sh...o_Blu-ray/1351

"..a company rep tells us that New Line's move will go into immediate effect, with all of the studio's planned HD DVD releases now cancelled (including the HD DVD versions of current Blu-ray releases 'Hairspray' and 'Rush Hour 3,' which had previously been planned for HD DVD release sometime in early 2008).

As for 'Pan's Labyrinth,' which hit stores late last year as the first (and only) New Line HD DVD release, the studio says that once current retail supplies are depleted, the title will be discontinued -- making it an instant collector's item."

At least New Line will cancel most of their (well, 2 out of 3) planned HD DVD-releases.
post #760 of 1635
1/8/08 at 3:34pm

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

The Look and Sound of Perfect - HD DVD is back online with no mention of Warner or Newline jumping ship. They are still listed as HD-DVD partners.
post #761 of 1635
1/8/08 at 3:40pm

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

Rumors rumors..

The Digital Bits - Celebrating Film in the Digital Age

***
"Well... we've had SOME confirmation this morning of the details of the Financial Times story from last night. While the studio isn't yet commenting, reliable industry sources are telling us that Paramount is indeed preparing to end their HD-DVD support and announce a return to the Blu-ray fold. Details are currently being finalized, and an announcement is expected as soon as they're complete.

Meanwhile, sources are telling us that Universal has also been talking with the BDA, and is looking to follow Paramount and Warner's lead as soon as possible."
***

Of course totally unoffical (like most of these type of sites and blogs), but we could be close to end the war..
post #762 of 1635
1/8/08 at 3:48pm

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

One thing that strikes me as funny is if Toshiba really felt they had the superior format. Why would the have to pay Universal 10 million dollars a month to buy a exclusive studio? I am willing to bet that the share holders are going to get tired of Toshiba paying for Universal's loyalty. I have to agree with a interview I saw recently where it was said, and I am paraphasing "that toshiba was coming from a place of weakness not of strengh when they paid Universal $150 million dollars".

I can not wait to see how Toshiba handles this setback. But it is becoming obvious IMHO that the war is over and Toshiba should bow out. I also beleive that because Toshiba chooses to push this war beyond reasonable efforts to win the war. That this may damage there working relationship with other companies, especially ones that where on the Blu-ray side. Toshiba is walking a fine line by stretching this war well beyond the point where they should be ending it. How much money is Toshiba willing to spend even though it apears that victory is not obtainable at this point. How much damage to HDM is Toshiba willing to inflict before they conceed? It is not a matter of format anymore its a matter of content and revenue. Toshiba is blinded by the fact that they want that revenue stream so bad they are willing to spend as much as it takes to get it.

We will all know what Toshiba is going to do once they have had a chance to figure out where they really stand. I am sure they are going to have some lengthy talks with all of there partners and Toshiba will ether choose to drag this war out as long as they possible can or they will choose a deadline and kill HD-DVD if things have not drastically improved.

I just hope that WB will release Lethal Weapon 3 & 4 on Blu-ray, and I hope they reissue both LW 1 & 2 with lossless audio. I currently own LW 1 & 2 but I would buy a quadrilogy set set if it offered DTS-HD MA, Dolby True HD or uncompressed pcm. I just really want to have a 4 films in HD and it would be nice if WB would make this title a priority since they have allready released LW 1 & 2.
post #763 of 1635
1/8/08 at 4:14pm

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

I assume that the major parties, Toshiba, Sony, Warner, Paramount, and Universal are looking for a graceful way to bring HD-DVD to an end. If they don't all work it out, Toshiba could just dump their remaining stock of HD-DVD players for $50 and really confuse the market place. At $50 people would buy them just as a DVD/HD player and then create a quick demand for HD-DVD movies.
post #764 of 1635
1/8/08 at 4:14pm

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

Quote:
Two possibilities: (1) They do want to fight. (2) They're not so stupid to undermine their position beforehand.

That probably is what they're thinking. However if Toshiba digs their heels in the sand out of pride, they'll lose a lot more. Right now they have a chance with the BDA to graciously concede the format war and "enter the fold" of Blu. They could save their dignity, produce dual-format players, and everyone could shake hands that HD DVD was a great format and did a damn good job of helping the whole HD industry get their act together both in format specs and in execution. Well done Toshiba.

But if they ride this out like stubborn losers, they'll only hurt themselves and look like corporate fools, because THERE IS NO WAY they can keep HD DVD alive long-term. Maybe a few weeks or months. Even their current base of HD DVD consumers will shift, with all but a few die-hards moving over to blu for new purchases.

Warner's annoucement has created a cascade in the market place and the blu-boat is sailing. Toshiba can either get on board now, or get left behind on the dock. Once the retailers shift to blu, HD DVD will be DOA in the eyes of the industry and the consumer. Even the reporters for NPR are saying that Blu is the new industry HD format on the radio. If it's over in the mind of the average consumer IT'S OVER.

A picture is worth 1000 words. So here's a picture of the red/blu situation from CES (the Blu and HD DVD booths):





Folks. Need we say more?
post #765 of 1635
1/8/08 at 4:18pm

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

No.


Cees
post #766 of 1635
1/8/08 at 4:21pm

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

We get it... Blu-Ray won the niche market, HD-DVD lost.

Do we need to see every piece of evidence that supports this fact?
post #767 of 1635
1/8/08 at 4:21pm

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

Yikes!
Assuming those pics were taken at appropriate and comparable times (i.e. HD-DVD wasn't taken while the place was closed or just opened at 8AM, and BD was taken at 1PM in the middle of a "Special Event" they were hosting) those photos speak volumes.
post #768 of 1635
1/8/08 at 4:23pm

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

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Moritz
One thing that strikes me as funny is if Toshiba really felt they had the superior format. Why would the have to pay Universal 10 million dollars a month to buy a exclusive studio? I am willing to bet that the share holders are going to get tired of Toshiba paying for Universal's loyalty. I have to agree with a interview I saw recently where it was said, and I am paraphasing "that toshiba was coming from a place of weakness not of strengh when they paid Universal $150 million dollars".

Anyone remember the good old days when Japanese business managers read Sun Tzu and conducted business like it was war? This whole format war looked more like two emo kids having a slap fight on YouTube than a hard fought business war.
post #769 of 1635
1/8/08 at 4:29pm

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

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet
Right now [Toshiba has] a chance with the BDA to graciously concede the format war and "enter the fold" of Blu. They could save their dignity, produce dual-format players...
Honestly, I hope they do so sooner rather than later. Because I've almost decided, silly as it may be, to buy only Toshiba-branded Blu-Ray players (partly because I hope/expect they'll be HD DVD-capable, and partly as a show of thanks).

Quote:
Originally Posted by Carlo Medina
Yikes!
Assuming those pics were taken at appropriate and comparable times (i.e. HD-DVD wasn't taken while the place was closed or just opened at 8AM, and BD was taken at 1PM in the middle of a "Special Event" they were hosting) those photos speak volumes.
I'm sure you could take much more evenly matched photos, were you so inclined (which this particular photographer surely was not). In fact, I'm sure if you staked out each booth, you could find the right time and the right angle to make things appear the exact opposite.
post #770 of 1635
1/8/08 at 4:49pm

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

Not if David or Bill Hunt get their way. Jesus, give it up fellas.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc Colella
We get it... Blu-Ray won the niche market, HD-DVD lost.

Do we need to see every piece of evidence that supports this fact?
post #771 of 1635
1/8/08 at 5:19pm

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

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Moritz
One thing that strikes me as funny is if Toshiba really felt they had the superior format. Why would the have to pay Universal 10 million dollars a month to buy a exclusive studio?
You do realize that compensation packages for exclusivity have been the norm since the beginning of the format war?

Every exclusive studio has received some form of compensation to be exclusive.

You have to congratulate Sony on the fantastic job they did at securing exclusivity which resulted in their format winning.

I'm certain many case studies will be written that about how they came to market with an incomplete product and still haven't been able to deliver features they promised 4 plus years ago and still managed to succeed. If we could ever get the unvarnished true it would be a hell of a read.
post #772 of 1635
1/8/08 at 5:21pm

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

Looks like Best Buy is focusing now on Blu-ray. Retailers mixed on impact of Warner's HD DVD snub | Beyond Binary - A blog by Ina Fried - CNET News.com Look for a change in the weekly flyer in a couple of weeks.

I would suspect HD-DVD movies to move out of their spot next to Blu-ray and the HD-DVD signs coming down. I bet the players move to the DVD upgrade section until they are sold out. This allows the employees to say "The player upgrades DVDs and if you want HD movies go to this Blu-ray section. "

The HD-DVD movies move to on-line basis only. They were already complaining about space. This would eliminate any confusion for the consumer and leave room for all the new Blu-ray discs.. .

So if Paramount and Universal stay with HD-DVD there will be no retail outlet for the movies, except web purchasing.
post #773 of 1635
1/8/08 at 5:58pm

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

Quote:
Originally Posted by Carlo Medina
Yikes!
Assuming those pics were taken at appropriate and comparable times (i.e. HD-DVD wasn't taken while the place was closed or just opened at 8AM, and BD was taken at 1PM in the middle of a "Special Event" they were hosting) those photos speak volumes.

That's what EXIF data is for! :-) All those pics were taken on 1/7...

HD DVD pics: 3:42 PM, 3:43 PM
Blu-Ray pic: 11:06 AM
post #774 of 1635
1/8/08 at 6:58pm

Re: Warner Brothers is now Blu-ray Exclusive

Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc Colella
Ummm... you don't it has anything to do with the millions and millions of movies people are downloading through file-sharing?

No I think it has to do with the millions of camcorders and camera phones that record in the format.

Doug
post #775 of 1635
1/8/08 at 6:59pm

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

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


Great, more DRM media from Apple. Thats all we need.

Doug
post #776 of 1635
1/8/08 at 7:02pm

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

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Moritz
I would not be surprised if MS ends up buying a movie studio in the near future. The truth is that MS is not satisfied being the primary platform that people use for games, they are not satisfied having the majority of the OS market, and the money they make offering software to other companies like Ford, Nokia, LG, Samsung and many others for cell phones and other devices is not enough for MS. Now they would love to push downloads and not only control movie distribution but to make alot of money off of the revenue stream that they would most likely control as well. This is based on what MS is trying to accomplish every day, its not a MS is evil thing. MS is a company that does a good job at taking over other companies and taking over as much of the market as they possible can. They are a very monopolistic company and they always have been!

I am very interested in what Blu-ray titles WB will be releasing this year. IMHO it was a smart move and they helped bring the end of the format war one step closer to ending. I have nothing against movie downloads and it does have its place. But it is worthless as far as collectors go, downloads will not be worth any value as a collectable. Only a physical format can hold value as a collectable IMHO. I would be interested in HD downloads in situations where I was uncertain if I wanted a title, I could rent the download and buy it on a physical media if I liked it. I could also see renting a download for titles I do not want bad enough but will rent it if I have guests over that want to see a particular title.

To WB I just want to say, thank you for taking the step to go Blu-ray and to help bring the format war to an end.

And as far as the Look And Sound Of Perfect site goes, dam that site is messed up right now.

I doubt seriously they would buy a Movie studio. Movies are a notoriously unreliable business, as every major corporation to buy into movies found out very quickly. You notice that companies like Coke, Segrams, Gulf+Western and other have gotten themselves out of the movie business.

Doug
post #777 of 1635
1/8/08 at 7:17pm

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

Quote:
Originally Posted by Malcolm R
Correct. I'd like to upgrade my TV to HDTV, but the switch to digital isn't going to force my hand or anyone else's. Most will just get a converter box from the cable company.

According to a CTAM Pulse survey released in December 2007, 60% of households that are planning to buy a new TV in the next 6 months are planning to buy an HDTV.

At this point 17% or almost 19 million homes have TVs that are not connected to any service such as cable. And 21% of home have at least one TV that is not connected a service and use over the air broadcasts only.

Thats a lot of TVs that people are going to want to upgrade in the next few years.

Doug
post #778 of 1635
1/8/08 at 7:21pm

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is now Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blaine
Reading posts backward. Mark, this is incorrect. The initial LG offering was actually an HD-DVD player that had BD 'spliced' onto it relatively late in the development process. The intial units used to demo TotalHD (the BD/HDDVD combo format) didn't fully support the BD side. It was all fixed by the time the player hit the market, but the unit was originally an HD-DVD only player.

If it was an HD DVD player originally, why didn't it fully support HD DVD?

Doug
post #779 of 1635
1/8/08 at 7:31pm

Re: Warner Brothers is now Blu-ray Exclusive

Quote:
Originally Posted by Douglas Monce
No I think it has to do with the millions of camcorders and camera phones that record in the format.

Doug

Yeah, sure. Talk about being out of touch with reality.
post #780 of 1635
1/8/08 at 7:36pm

Re: Warner Brothers is now Blu-ray Exclusive

Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc Colella
Yeah, sure. Talk about being out of touch with reality.

You do realize that Divx has become the format of choice for people who are sharing home movies on line right? It produces much higher quality at lower bit rates than quicktime or WMV. Most camera phones that record movies use Divx, as to many of the point and shoot still cameras that also record movies. For many people their point and shoot camera IS their home movie camera. Thats one of the reasons that many DVD players now have slots for CF and SD memory cards. People take the card right out of the camera and put it in the player.

Doug
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