HD-DVD Combo discontinued by Warner Home Video (2 Viewers)

[EricW]

if there's a small price drop, and with the amazon 10% discount ending, i'm about even at least on new titles

 

[Jose Martinez]

I'm guessing once Universal sees the sales jump on Warner HD-DVDs because of the combo drop, they'll finally see the light. Of course, this may be bad news for the Blu-Ray camp.

 

[Rolando]

all I can say is...

 

[ppltd]

It is not too late for Warner to release Trek in a non-Combo set.

I personally never had any major problems with the Combo's, and have many times utilized the SD side, but with all of the negative press they took, it is probably good that Warner is dumping them.

 

[troy evans]

I don't know, since Paramount/CBS is releasing them. Aren't they ?

 

[Dave Mack]

I've had one combo experience so far and it had problems. that's 1 for 1. 100%, batting a thousand. Doesn't bode well. I mean the thing looks ridiculous. 2 discs just glued together? It's amazing they work at all.
And even if you get a disc or a set that appears to work, who's to say in 3 months that you won't have problems? Too late to return them...

agh...

 

[troy evans]

I never noticed, but, I just went to look at my copy of "300",which is my only HD DVD Combo, and it does look like they glued 2 discs together. Man, that is shitty. I mean it works alright, but still. I thought they had resolved the issue after the infamous "DVD 18 (two sided sd dvd)" crap they were doing for TV sets at Universal as well as other companies. Those who don't learn from the past....Well, you know. Guess they learned.....Finally.

 

[Jim_K]

It's about time.


So far I've been able to avoid the Warner combo's by just opting for the BD version but this is great news if it leads to Universal also dropping it. It's the exact same bastard technology used for the problematic DVD18's so I'm amazed Universal has used them this long unless they own some kind of patent on the technology.


It's really unfortunate that CBS is using it for Trek.........10 discs to QC............ugh. I'd be willing to pay more for a non-combo set just for the peace of mind.

 

[Tim Glover]

It was a very clever idea on paper...but consumers just didn't seem to dig it. My 300 combo won't even play the sd side. Not that I really wanted too but that is the idea.

The good news overall is that Warner (and other studios to some degree) DO listen.

 

[Douglas Monce]

I've got 7 or 8 combos never had a problem with any of them, and I use both sides. This just means that now for some titles I will have to buy an HD version and an SD version. I think it stinks.

If I own the HD version does it make it legal to rent and copy the SD version? Hmmmmmmmm
Doug

Edit: that was a joke guys

 

[ppltd]

Your right. My mistake.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Bill Hunt is now reporting that Warner got back to him and stated that they are NOT stopping the Combo discs.

 

[Jim_K]

That's just great ! A ray of hope that these studio's are finally coming to their senses.............that's now squashed like a bug. Well at least with Warner I can continue to opt for the non-combo BD so no big deal I guess.

Where the hell did this "news" originate again?

 

[Cees Alons]

Strange - because the less expensive HD DVD-only versions of former combos are showing up for ordering on Amazon. Many of them, actually.


Cees

 

[RobertR]

What Robert Z and Bill Hunt said are not necessarily contradictory. Robert said no combos for new theatrical releases, which means catalog titles could still be combos.

 

[Jim_K]

Huh? Warner doesn't use Combo'$ for catalog titles, just new releases. So you're saying Warner is going to drop Combo'$ from new releases and start using Combo'$ on catalog titles? It just doesn't make any sense.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I'm a little confused here too by the contradictions. I just read
Bill Hunt's post that Warner is not stopping combo discs.

Personally, I was for them initially. I thought what a great way
for those thinking of getting into HD to buy a title that supports
both. Now that I am a HD-DVD owner, I sort of get annoyed by
the significantly higher price point on these things.

Really, if costs to produce these combi discs were minimal,
the best way to push people into HD-DVD would be for all Warner
titles to be released combi. This would let sDVD consumers know
that there is a hi-def alternative that offers better picture and sound.

...of course, from a financial standpoint this could never be
done -- but I think it would be an effective means of
luring consumers over to high definition.

All that being said, I am hoping Warner just dumps these
combi discs. Hot Fuzz just cost me $9 more than most
other HD-DVD titles. On average over at AMAZON, these combi
discs cost $8 more than other standard HD-DVD releases. The
early adopters love to buy many titles in a clip, and $8 extra for
each title adds up very quickly. Warner obviously can't make
the purchase of these discs more affordable for us so my vote
is to just dump the concept altogether.

 

[Chris S]

I deeply hope that Warner (and Universal) quit releasing combo discs. The enthusiast community has spoken up that they are not interested in purchasing them and the general public has shown that they too have no interest in them.

I suppose it's possible that Warner will begin to test a situation where the combo release comes out first followed shortly (2-3 months) by a HD DVD only release. That at least appears to be a growing pattern with studios that support combo releases.

 

[Jason Seaver]

That's not just the combo, though - combos tend to be new releases, and non-combos tend to be catalog. Comparing the combo to new releases, and it's closer to $4. Still, I'd rather it be $0.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

I have a lot of SACD/CD hybrid discs and they do solve a problem. The SACD hybrids however generally sell for a similar price of a SACD-only disc. There's no gluing together of two discs: they just use different layers on a single-sided disc a la a DVD-9.

Rather than a combo disc, it may be cheaper for them to package a pair of discs: one HD-DVD and the other SD-DVD.