are Paramount and universal sticking with hd-dvd exclusively? (1 Viewer)

[Sam Posten]

Universal has put out a TON of new releases AND classics on HD DVD.

Do a search on my name and with Review as keyword and titles only and you will find almost all of the Uni reviews, tho others have contributed a few.

Uni has been strangely silent in all of this, dunno whats going on at all with them....

 

[Nelson Au]

Speaking of sticking to sinking ships, I would imagine that a title like Titanic would be forth coming. Whichever format it will be has to be resolved in a mainstream selection. Which may or may not be Blu Ray. Considering Warner's announcement and the overall feeling that the format options could dwindle to one, then it could be BD.

I mentioned this in the other thread, but no one commented, but I recall the Chief Technical Officer for Paramount speaking of the virtures of HD-DVD as one big reason they went with it. The standards and technology were in place and the cost effectiveness to manufacture figured into the selection. I guess that can all go out the door now if and when they make the switch to BD only.

There are a lot of Paramount titles we want, The Indiana Jones trilogy and the forth film coming to name one franchise. The Tom Clancy/Jack Ryan films perhaps has a big following. Of course, I have to have Star Trek, what will become of the TOS seeason sets, will they continue in HD. Probably given they have set a standard or they need to stick with contractural agreements. Maybe a HD/BD hybrid discs will come of this.

 

[ReggieW]

Honestly, I think we've gone beyond the point of studios simply going "neutral." I think Universal/Paramount will either continue to support HD-DVD exclusively for the rest of the year (considering retail permits it), or they will simply cease HD-DVD production and switch to BD replication. I really don't think retail will continue to support major studios publishing in both formats at this juncture.

This is a guess.......

Toshiba may try to go after other smaller studios (Liongates, Starz, etc) in a last dash attempt to save the format, but if they are unable to secure additional support within the next several months, then they'll probably concede defeat. If Toshiba concedes, this'll probably void any contractual obligations with Uni/Paramount/DW.

 

[Jose Martinez]

Do we really want to see Universal's combo crap coming to Blu-Ray?

 

[Sam Posten]

Combo is great as a bridge technology, I've used it LOTS to take my copies to friends houses who only have SD. If they cost the same as SD I dont think people would care as much. I dont see a BD/DVD hybrid ever coming, if there were one format there would be no need for it, regardless of price.

 

[David Wilkins]

I'll bet there are clauses in their contract that allow for this kind of development in the marketplace. If they remain exclusive at this point, they might well be releasing titles to an all but non-existing market. I don't say this to stoke people's emotions...I was red before I was purple...but, I think the bottom is going to drop out for HD. How many people do you think are going to pour dollars into a format, that on paper at least, has next to zero viability?

I think that, very soon, we're going to see fire-sale prices for HD players and HD software. That's how far I think sales will tumble. Retailers don't want to get stuck with it. Toshiba doesn't want warehouses full of it. And the further away we get from this announcement...this one alone...the less perceived value that merchandise will have, and the bigger the bath that re-sellers (and Toshiba) will have to take in order to get rid of it. Don't forget the aggravating effectiveness of the Sony media/marketing machine. Soon as they get cranked up, maybe next week, they'll convince whatever small potential market, that memorial services are being arranged for HD.

The up side: get ready to pick up one or two, very attractively priced, factory fresh, spare players that will ensure years of longevity for your HD library.

That's my fever-induced vision. But then, I don't know anything.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

When Universal and Paramount do start to release on BD in 2008 (hint hint), they BETTER use updated film transfers (not the 10-year+ masters they've been putting on HD DVD for catalog titles) and they BETTER provide lossless audio.

Frankly, I don't want their film to be delivered in the same sub-par manner only to be re-released later mastered/authored properly. I'd rather wait... even a year or so, and get their titles the right way. Plenty of high-def to buy in the meantime from the folks who are providing new transfers and lossless sound.


Here here. In fact, as long as someone doesn't care about their collection having resale-value, there will be a LOT of discounted 1080p product and hardware available very soon. Could be a great way to build an instant collection, as long as one is in full knowledge of the situation.

 

[Dan Hitchman]

Yeah, with Blu-ray there will be zero excuses like oh, we added extras on to our Transformers HD-DVD so no lossless audio for you, or the bandwidth was supersaturated so we couldn't provide a better video encode... blah, blah, blah!

They should be high bitrate and 24 bit lossless from now on!

Now, I understand that Paramount has a contract, but that didn't stop Warner from dropping HD-DVD now did it? I bet you there are some clauses in those contracts so that they can get out from under HD-DVD more quickly than we realize.

Universal did not renew their exclusivity contract, so they're in the clear even though their rhetoric was very anti-Blu, so were a lot of DIVX supporting studios against DVD, but they quickly switched over.

It's about revenue first and foremost, so the bad feelings will soon dissipate.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

I've got more faith in Paramount doing right and delivering lossess as a matter of course than Universal... the Paramount boys actually *wanted* to provide Dolby TrueHD on Transformers (but couldn't for lack of bandwidth/space). Of course, there are also plenty of HD DVDs that *did* have room that also got shafted with lossy sound, and Paramount, Universal, *and* Warner are all offenders. Since the BD-exclusive players (not including Warner) are doing right with 100% lossless on every title, hopefully the marketing departments at these other studios will start to realize that high-end home-theater consumers demand lossless audio if they want to earn our purchase dollar.

 

[Dave H]

When Universal goes Blu (either exclusively or neutrally) I cannot see Paramount as being the only studio to release on HD DVD - not at this juncture.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Universal has been supporting lossless on a lot more titles than they used to.

I think it will come down to what is Toshiba going to do and what will retailers do. Based on their catalog getting a Lionsgate or Starz will do no good. It would be nice if Sony and the BDA could work out some accomidation with Toshiba, Universal and Paramount to truly end it.

While I have met a lot of the players on both sides, I don't know them personally, and I don't know if there will be any egos or bitterness (on either side) that get in the way of settling this sooner rather than later.

 

[Cees Alons]

We still will have to see how well this all is playing out for the parties involved. Toshiba doesn't have to fork out $500 - $650 mil. to mention one difference. Nor does Microsoft.

This will given HD DVD some financial background that BD no longer has.

It's going to be a very interesting period to watch.

(And as always, it will stay as fscinationg to watch movies. Perhaps someone will make a "behind the screens"-movie - pun intended - about this HD-format episode.)


Cees

 

[Manus]

" This will given HD DVD some financial background that BD no longer has. "

Interesting point . It all depends how ' up for it ' they are . Presumably , the BDA won't feel it neccessary pay Universal/Paramount to come on board ( even if they had cash left over ) so there will only be the 'political' need to follow/create the HD market . But as with the Warners decision , politics often wins the day....

Certainly , post-May , BD had better show huge percentage increase in sales or there won't be any alibis left . The late arrival of ' 2.0' Final spec. players may hinder that .

~M~

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Listen....

You can say that BOTH camps have been releasing good to
mediocre fare to their formats over the past year -- and for
good reason!

Until any of these formats really start to penetrate the market,
none of the studios want to put out their best titles.

The same thing happened with DVD in its infant years.

 

[Jari K]

This doesn´t seem to work for the masses and so many people are against them, so IMO they should just drop them. I don´t believe that these combo-releases are coming to Blu-ray, so at least we have one studio less to release them after May..

 

[Marko Berg]

With Warner, you always had the option of buying Blu-ray since they initially supported both formats. Why, then, would you be concerned about combo HD DVDs from this studio? You could just pick the format that doesn't offer this option.

It's one thing to complain about combo releases if they are your only option, but that was not the case here, and I know you have the equipment to play back both formats.

 

[Jason Seaver]

I'm half-willing to bet that "the masses" don't have any issue with combos (when they work, which they have for me) other than the $5 premium Warner charged. We get a lot of re-enforcement of them being annoying here because this forum is full of people who see no use for the SD side.

 

[Jari K]

I guess I hit the "combo-nerve" again, so sorry about that. Sure, with Warner there has usually been a choice (another reason why I´ve picked Blu-ray in most cases).

 

[Tina_H_V]

I actually concur with Sam on the brdige technology issue. And besides, I have always liked HD DVD's combo discs and the option one would have on playing one side in your HD-based system and the other side in your SD-based system. I have done this with several of my combi titles thus far between my main and seconday systems and, to be quite honest, I dig the flexibility it provides.

In fact, during Circuit City's recent Buy 3, Get 2 free HD DVD promotion, a couple of eligible titles were listed with previously-released combo status, Superman Returns and Happy Feet. I found the former quickly in combo formation, but it took me some doing to find the latter, but when I did, the time taken was well worth the wait. Now I have both titles to go with those combi's I already own.


I admit I will miss this about WB's BR exclusitivity status, yet I look forward to getting what I can for such combo discs for as long as they are manufactured.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Good point. Hopefully that trend will continue. While I would love for Universal and Paramount to release on BD, I really would like for them to make the most of the format and not start out with product with lossy sound while other studios are having no problem providing 100% lossless audio... I don't want to have to double/tripple dip in HD over and over just to get better sound! (ie, don't mind double dipping for new bonus material and "SE" status... but give me optimal picture and sound the first time around)