hd dvd's signs of rushed launch becoming reality for dealers (1 Viewer)

[Greg T]

http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6312824.html

Tweeters trying to get 4-6 copies of top movies per store....lol
At least Wal Mart is being realistic and not selling the players....I guess they know Joe Average well enough though, to know he will not be spending anywhere near 500.00

And here I thought the consumers were the ones going to be confused.

 

[Brent M]

There's a word for all of this and it rhymes with clusterduck.

 

[Ed St. Clair]

Just because;
1. The companies
2. The reps
3. The dealers
4. The sales personal
5. The consumer
&
6. The HT fan
Does not have any idea what the heck is going on with this format, doesn't mean it going to be a complete failure, does it? ;-)

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

You forgot Poland.

 

[Juan C]

Bill Hunt elaborates on this:

 

[Andrew Bunk]

Every time I have an iota of interest in getting into the format this year, I read something like this.

I have enough glitvhy discs from Universal-don't need glitchy HD-DVD discs on top of that.

 

[David_MSP]

I had a player preordered from OneCall but decided to cancel the order today. I've been experiencing cold feet for awhile and the article from Video Business pretty much put me over the edge. I really look forward to the day when some sort of HD format is available on DVD. I'm just not convinced (nor comfortable for that matter) that what is scheduled for March is really worth getting into right now. The quality of the discs is a concern as well as the quality of the first players. I will be attending one of the stops on the Toshiba tour on March 21 but I don't expect it to do anything but cause me to dream of what the future might eventually hold.

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

Over at the other forum, the fallback argument when logic prevailed was sometimes "What are you going to be doing on March 28? I'll be watching HD DVD movies!" in a neener-neener tone and with spotty spelling/punctuation. Well, now it looks like maybe nobody will.

One interesting thing about Bill's comments is how poorly authoring is going. Last time I checked, the Microsoft reps seemed to indicate everything was going swimmingly, but a) they have a reason to put a sunny face on things, and b) they've been wrong on a number of things before.

 

[Brent M]

Jesse,

I read that same obnoxious comment over at the "other forum" and all I can do now is smile when thinking about how that guy will probably have to find something else to do on March 28th.

 

[Jesse Skeen]

March 28th is my half-birthday- I'll spend it watching my CED videodiscs

 

[Juan C]

News from Home Media Retailing:Warner Exec Says HD DVD Titles May Be Delayed

- Warner Home Video says it may not be ready in time due to technical issues.

- Wal-Mart was told to cancel HD DVD preorders “because they had published prices, and [Warner] haven’t set prices”.

- Best Buy, too, reportedly had to pull Warner HD DVD titles from its weekly circular.

- Toshiba still is demonstrating its two HD DVD players and says, “Everything is still the same”.

- Sources report only 10,000 Toshiba players are being shipped to retailers initially.

- Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment still has set no dates. Studio sources says Paramount HD DVD titles are unlikely to arrive in stores before mid-April.

- Universal Studios Home Entertainment hasn’t scheduled any firm release dates wither.

- LG Electronics said recently it would support the format as well as Blu-ray Disc.

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

What, so Microsoft's reps, who are heavily involved with HD DVD and have a deal with Warner for VC-1, have been playing fast and loose with the behind-the-scenes facts? I'm shocked!

No, this article must have it wrong. How can we trust a division president at Warner, studio sources at Paramount and Universal, and the retailers when we have an industry source with allegiances to one format on an internet forum?

 

[Andy Kim]

Future Shop here in Canada (owned by US' Best Buy) are listing only 1 HD-DVD title on their website:
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/cla...EN&catid=24074

Future Shop has got 4 Blu-Ray listed:
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/cla...EN&catid=24073

No players listed yet though.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Need I say more?

 

[Johnny G]

Don't think anyone has mentioned the Digital Bits posted this yesterday:-

WHV division president Ron Sanders is now confirming what we've been expecting - that there's likely going to be a delay from the planned 3/28 date of at least one or two weeks (the exact timeframe remains unclear). Neither Universal or Paramount expects to street HD-DVD titles before April (and neither has announced their specific plans to retailers either).