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**Official HTF HD Formats Ind./Retailer/Studio Support Thread-*SEE POST 3176, p. 106* (1 Viewer)

Michael Reuben

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This is the Official HTF HD Formats Industry/Retailer/Studio Support Thread.

Just heard that Walmart is going neutral? Or that New Concorde will exclusively release on Blu-ray? Want to know why one studio really stopped releasing on HD altogether? Post it here and discuss the consequences.

But please note that all forum rules apply here...


HTF Staff
 

BrettB

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I took someone's advice and called Target re: no Toshiba decks online. I interacted with a computer for a few minutes and it was ultimately pointless. Then I tried the email and got back this response;


Seems pretty canned.
 

Chris S

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I'm pretty sure this is only so they can move in the new models in October. I imagine the HD players are pretty low volume items that just aren't selling at a rate which they could clear out a new set of inventory before ordering/stocking the newer models. Now, if come October they still aren't online...
 

Paul Arnette

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Exactly, Chris. This will resolve itself in due time. For now it is merely another way to poke at the opposition , which is frankly getting tiresome, even for me. :)
 

ppltd

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It makes reference to checking back at the local stores when the product has been discontinued at the B&M locations.
 

Paul Arnette

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Actually, it makes reference to checking back at the local stores when the product has never been at the B&M locations to begin with, which is even worse.

Anyway, like Brett said, "...ultimately pointless".
 

DaViD Boulet

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WOW.


Brett,

that's the most informative article yet on Universal's position. Wow. thanks for sharing!!!


I can understand Universal wanting full support for interactive web-features in BD hardware. But I also agree with the writer that given the consumer support for BD over HD DVD even on the same titles where web-features are offered on the HD DVD (300), it's unlikely that when profile 1.1 BD players hit the streets this fall, that consumer support for BD will diminish.

;)

Does anyone know if web-connectivity is a required part of the profile 1.1 spec or just optional?
 

Paul.S

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Again, per linkage in 'that other thread,' 1.1 largely codifies what is necessary for BD-J: it mandates 256k persistent memory and a second video decoder. It doesn't address Web-enablement at all to my knowledge. That is 2.0, which mandates 1G of memory and the Ethernet port.
 

DaViD Boulet

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Thanks Paul. Irk... I was hoping that Universal might "get what they're looking for" by fall. If they have to wait for 2.0 for web connectivity, that would suck.

though it is ironic (as the writer of the article pointed out) that the studios makes such a sticking point on this issue when it comes to supporting HD DVD, yet their provision of web-interative features on their HD DVD releases is virtually nill!
 

Paul.S

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Re the Hettrick piece, which is not quite a news story and not quite an editorial (but leans in the direction of the latter): this is ground most of us have covered before but I would be much more comfortable if the piece was presented as a straight q & a interview of Kornblau. Hettrick presents the occasional direct Kornblau quote in the midst of a lot of his own prose, seemingly presenting and then expounding upon largely/only that which corroborates his perspectives as the editor of a openly pro-BD Website. If he spoke to Craig for so long, why so few direct quotes?

And I found his penultimate sentence a rude affront to the filmmakers involved in those movies. "I Now Pronounce" looked offensive enough to me in concept that it was clearly not enough for a non-Sandler fan such as myself to open my wallet. But I think it inappropriate for an industry trade editor to display that kind of cheek in the press. Scott Hettrick is not Peter Bart.
 

CRyan

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Personally, I believe Universal is just playing the double-dipping game. And it just happens to be accross formats. They are selling movies in a format (HDDVD) that I believe is going to go under. While HD penetration is low, sell to that format exclusively and make money from the "poor saps" holding to that format... Boom, then when HD DVD goes away, they get to make more money on the same content AGAIN... Just my opinion of course. I dont think that was their plan all along, but now that this is the situation, they have NOTHING to lose. They understand that the money "lost" in BR now will be made at a later date while taking profits from a dying format now.
 

DaViD Boulet

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CRyan,

Universal certainly is the king of double dipping (or quintouple-dipping. Just how many versions of the Haunting and Mummy are there on dvd???).

I do think their grip with the over-relaxed spec requirements of BD hardware are legit however, and as a BD supporter I wish that profile 2.0 had been finalized and required in ALL HARDWARE day one.

But even if their original plan to support HD DVD was based on legit gripes with BD interactive spec-requirements, it's quite possible that now even as consumers are consistently demonstrating their preference for BD, that Universal's "hold out" position is to maximize profits... which they'll do if they hold onto HD DVD a little longer.
 

Douglas Monce

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I had heard that there was a rift between Universal and Sony before the formats were release. Universal was originally a blu-ray exclusive studio. (again before they were released)

Doug
 

Paul.S

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Also re Hettrick:
And, to the extent I've bought instead of Netflixed, I'll maybe sell those titles. But I can also keep them to enjoy on the HD DVD player that I will likely retain for its insane upscampling abilities on SD (unless the Panny DMP-BD10 I hope to receive in a couple of weeks equals or surpasses it).

Meanwhile, I'll continue enjoying Casino, Apollo 13 and, upon release this fall, the outstanding Inside Man.
 

Paul.S

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FWIW, Kevin Collins spoke to this issue at HME. Although I think there's spin therein, he mentioned the amount of time it has taken developers to learn the code and author such content. One could suppose there's an element of truth there since iHD is a new platform compared to the global ubiquity of Java.

Wouldn't it be fab if the BDA/BD-exclusive studios--with programmers already well-versed in Java all over the world--use all this time between last summer and whenever the hell Profile 2.0 hardware drops to coordinate with said hardware the near simultaneous release of a wide slate of non-gimmicky BD-J titles?
 

Tim Glover

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In regards to double dipping, Universal is certainly NOT alone...let's be fair. How many times have we gotten Underworld and how many MiB editions are there. The 13 going on 30 and Flirty Edition? :D Alot of these studios release their films again and again.
 

Paul.S

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Thanks, Tim. The only reason I didn't chime in on that is because I think your point is so obvious that it goes without saying.

And at least U didn't make like Sony and re-release pan & scan-only versions of classics like Guess Who's Coming To Dinner with the same SKU as its widescreen predecessor, a I think unprecedented slap making collectors' lives more difficult.

-p

P.S. - If you're referring to the 1999 Jan de Bont-directed Haunting, that's a DreamWorks movie . . . released only twice on DVD . . . the second time to include a killer DTS track.
 

Hartwig Hanser

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In todays 2cent of the digital bits, Bill Hunt has something to say about the missing time frame between the video segments. This is where the highly debated Graffeo comment about being under pressure from GE got lost. I must say, it looks like Ben Williams was right after all and it is a shame that he was lost for HTF as reviewer as a result as he told me.
Bottom line is, Universal IS under pressure from above, which makes a switch more likely in my opinion. Kornblau then seems just to uphold the official policy until the switch occurs.

this is the transcript from digital bits:


Audience member: My question is, from the studio perspective, are you feeling the pressure of being the only HD-DVD sole studio?

Graffeo: Don't forget about Weinstein.

Another audience member: Major studio.

Audience member: Major studio. Can you talk to that?

[unintelligible comment from a panelist or audience member]

Graffeo: I feel it every day. [audience laughter] And I will also say that we're owned by GE, so we do hear about it a lot. [more audience laughter]

link: www.thedigitalbits.com
 

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