"Total HD" from Warners (re: Blu-ray/HD-DVD hybrid disc) (1 Viewer)

[Dave Moritz]

IMHO I see this as a very bad idea and it will only fuel confusion with the average consumer. Many of which are confused enough allready. While I would only be interested in a high end dual format HD player. I personally have no interest in WB Total HD disc!

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

The average consumer isn't going to be the target market for any form of hi-def disc or player for several years. The average consumer doesn't have an HD display and is just getting up to speed on standard DVD. And he certainly isn't going to drop $500 to $1000 on a new player.
The average consumer isn't even part of the equation at this point.

Right now, everybody is still fighting for the early adopter base (that would be us) so that they can partially fund their R&D and work the bugs out. They know that once the format breaks out, we'll be the ones who others will come to for advice on what to buy. So we're the ones whose hearts and minds they're interested in. In a year or two, if the price comes down enough, the LG player might just tempt me into checking out hi-def DVD - an arena that I had decided to stay out of entirely until the damned war is over. There are plenty like me who are not embracing either format but are on the fence. Anything that makes it easier for folks like me to get in the game is a good thing because it lets us audition both formats without committing to either - which means there can be real competition between them and a chance for a real winner to emerge in an open market - instead of a bunch of people betting on one format or the other at the start and then stubornly sticking to the choice and deriding the other format. (A few of us are fortunate enough to be able to drop $1500 on a pair of new players and hundreds of thousands more on discs in both formats, but they are the exception and even further from the "average consumer" than the normal run of HT fanatic you find on forums like this one.)

Regards,

Joe

 

[John H Ross]

Post deleted. Sorry you pretty much said what I was going to say already! LOL

 

[Dave Moritz]

I would say that the average consumer is the target since retailers like Wal-Mart are now selling RCA and Phillips HD players. And alot of the Wal-Marts are not only starting to sell HD players put they are starting to offer both HD-DVD and Bluray titles. So IMHO the average consumer is very much being sought after in hopes that they will start buying HD movies to watch on the new HDTV's that more and more people have been buying. I work in a delivery department for a home improvement business and I am seeing alot more of our customers spending money on HDTV's and getting HD service to go with it, (HD Cable or HD Satalite). Even a good friends parents who have not wanted to buy a TV for many years. Where so impresssed with the HDTV's that they recenty purchased one and they are very much you avereage consumer!

 

[Chris S]

I've noticed the same thing especially this past holiday season. Everyone I knew that didn't already have a HD set (parents, grandparents, etc) were buying one for Christmas. And those that did already have one were upgrading. I think prices this year have finally reach the level that appeals to the mass market and people will be eager for more HD content. Either via cable or hard disk media.

 

[Steve...O]

I'm not sure why this announcement has been greeted so negatively without the full facts being known yet.

Some of the articles I read today on google about this seemed to indicate the intent of a hybrid/total HD disc was to entice more to move to HD discs by removing the confusion caused by a format war.

If this is the first step towards a unified or universally accepted format I see that as a potentially good thing and reason to be cautiously optimistic. There are many, myself included, who have not bought either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray and have no intention of doing so until the future direction is clear.

 

[Mary M S]

Your statement intrigues me, why do you need a clear ‘winner’ if the hardware does both?
It will just be another DD vs DTS type software argument at that junction.

I think it would be fairly easy for Sales Reps to state to lost consumers, “This is the ONE you want...plays both ...no worries.”

I’m for a dual capability hardware resolution. (Bless the engineers trying to come up with a glitch free unit )
I like a safe and artsy side to each disc. Can’t stand the silver, both sides!

 

[BrettGallman]

I remember when this was first talked about a few months ago, and I have the same reaction now: what's the point? How does this help any consumer at all? Sure, it might ensure that both formats get a title on the same day, but WB has been pretty good about that lately anyway. Beyond that, I truly do not see the point. A dual format player makes sense, but this does not. It just forces people to buy something they don't need, much like combo discs.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

I see serious glitch potential with this format. Why don't we boycott both HD DVD and BD and turn our support towards the Chinese HVD format?

 

[Jesse Skeen]

If the combo players finally come out, these would be useful in putting two different movies on the same disc, one in each format. I don't see the point in putting two copies of the SAME movie on the disc though.

 

[Tim Glover]

Not sure how I feel about this one. While I think it's rather genius on Warner's part to some degree, I don't want to buy software that will be more expensive than it already is. I suppose by buying this total HD software, either way the format goes, you're not screwed....so that has some merit.

Can't decide which is better, a combo player or a combo HD disc?

The best thing is just ONE FREAKIN FORMAT!!!!!

 

[DeathStar1]

I am the earliest of early adopters. If I see something cool that has good future value, I will buy it up, like I did with DVD and my $350 player from Creative. HDDVD has been out for about a year now, and if there had not been a format war, I would have scooped it up when prices hit $499. Now with the format war, even I won't touch it. The only reason I got the XBox HD DVD was because it was so cheap.



But you know that won't happen....so long as we have money grubbing and fame grubbing executives who want to be known as the ones who reared in the best format for movies in history, like Warner was with DVD. As if the million dollar retirement packages are not good enough , lets confuse and screw the consumer even more!

one reason why I do not want to go out to Hollywood anymore to promote my idea for a TV series/comic book. Too many idiots that will destroy their own industry.

 

[Sean Bryan]

I'm somewhat neutral on this idea right now. I'm leaning a bit towards not being too wild about it because of what seems like unnecessary complexity, but I can't say more until more is revealed about this proposal.

My two main concerns would be an increase in purchase price and any potential limiting of the specs of either format.

As I understand it, the current rumors that have been floating around indicate that this would be ONE SIDED (not a flipper), the HD DVD portion could be dual layer, and the BD portion may be limited to one layer. I've also read a rumor that the HD DVD layer would be reduced to only 25GB in the implementation of this dual format disc. So we'd be dealing with only 25GB for either format (though even if the HD DVD wasn't functionally reduced to 25, it seems likely that the title would be authored with the single layer BD as the limiting factor). But none of this if fact right now, and much of it (possibly all) may be BS.

We need more concrete information before forming a strong opinion either way.

That being said, I wouldn't have much of a problem with this (if any) if it allowed both dual layer HD DVD and dual layer BD all on one side of the disc and if the price wasn't any different than what it would be for a standard HD DVD or BD.

If the price is higher, I'm not liking it.
If it reduces the capacity of either (or both) of the formats, I'm not liking it.

And it would seem crazy for a studio to release a DVD, an HD DVD, a BD, and a Total HD disc, so I assume the intention is to just release a DVD and a Total HD Disc (or THDD). But unless every single studio does it, there will still be two different high definition disc formats out in the market (with this making it seem like there is a third to those who don't know what it is).

Ultimately, I think it it would best for the consumers for dual format players to become more common while keeping the two disc formats distinct. I think that solution is ultimately simpler and "cleaner". And I mean that from a consumer's perspective. I don't care how two formats co-existing affects retailers. I'm not a retailer, I'm a consumer, so my priorities aren't influenced by the difficulties in dealing with dual (or triple) inventory for movie discs with limited shelf space.

 

[ScottHM]

I have to disagree. I see both dual format players and discs as nails in HD-DVD's coffin.

First, the presence of Blu-Ray players that can also play HD-DVDs doesn't harm Blu-Ray, it just may help by getting more Blu-Ray capable players into consumers' hands (assuming the price is competitive.)

Second, as far as I know there are no HD-DVD exclusive studios, but there are several Blu-Ray exclusive studios. That means that only some movies will be released on HD-DVD, but that virtually all movies will be released in Blu-Ray format.

People who are still waiting for a winner, like I am, will be much more likely to take the plunge once affordable dual format players are available, and the refusal of many studios to support HD-DVD will cause its slow demise at that point.

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[Sean Bryan]

Scott, Universal Studios is HD DVD only. And I believe that the Weinsteins new studio (though only a bit player) is also only HD DVD.

About the THDD (total HD disc), I just came across a statement from the official BDA spokesman Andy Parsons that seems to indicate that it will be a flipper disc with HD DVD on one side and BD on the other. He also stated that both would be full capacity.

But this was posted second hand at AVS by someone who read an article you need to subscribe to, so I'm still interested in the "official" information that we'll likely get next week. If a find a link to the article, I'll post it here (others, please do the same if you find this info first).

 

[DaViD Boulet]

there might be more than one version of Total HD disc. perhaps a flipper is required to get dual-layer for both formats, if single-side access/replication must limit either to single layer.

 

[ScottHM]

That's good to hear.

I don't think the dual format discs will affect the 'format war' one way or the other, but I still think that affordable dual format players will eventually result in a diminished presence of the format with the least studio support, which happens to be HD-DVD. If 90% of the movies people buy are Blu-Ray releases, and 10% of movies are HD-DVD releases, then Blu-Ray will have 'won' even if HD-DVD doesn't exactly die.

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[dpippel]

The only entity that will benefit from "Total HD" discs is Warner. It offers no incentive for a studio that is currently on one side or the other to jump ship (the reasons they chose Blu-ray or HD-DVD are still relevant), and there is absolutely zero benefit to the consumer. It's a BAD idea, and I agree that if it ever reaches the marketplace it will only result in more confusion. It does absolutely nothing to improve the current situation with two competing high-def disc formats. A dual format player at an affordable price point is a different story.

 

[John H Ross]

Also, and I know they may seem like a bit player in the great scheme of things, but the BBC here in the UK has indicated that they will be backing HD-DVD exclusively. At least for now.

John

 

[ScottHM]

I don't agree. To some extent it protects the purchase from obsolescence because either side A, or side B, will be able to play on whatever hi-def hardware 'wins' the format war. If it could also play on standard DVD players (and for about the same price as current DVDs) then it would be a boon for consumers because they could buy them now without worring about obsolescence, and when they upgrade their TVs and players their movies would automatically 'upgrade' to hi-def along with them.

If only they could figure out how to make three sided discs they'd solve all our problems.

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