*** Official HTF HD Formats Comparison Thread *See Post 957, p. 32* (1 Viewer)

[Dave Moritz]

Well Jari K I will agree about the a**hole coment as that is what those hackers are. And I do not think it was anything more than some retard with nothing else to do hacking in and messing with the Blu-ray site. These jerks do it to websites all the time and it just happened to be Sony's Blu-ray site. This could have easily happened to the HD-DVD site as well and it may end up happening later on, you just never know?

If it was not for these loosers we would not have web sites being messed with and all the viruses that are floating around the internet. Hackers are the terrorists of the Internet!

 

[ReggieW]

Well, if you read Bill Hunt's blog today (something I was VERY hesistant to do btw), he pretty much makes it clear that this kind of behavior is pretty symptomatic of HD-DVD supporters (I guess Blu-ray supporters are beyond hacking websites and engaging in arrogant obnoxious behavior?!). I guess It never occured to Mr. Hunt that this could've just been a random attack that hackers frequently carry out - and probably had nothing at all to do with the format war.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Which is exactly what I think it was.

 

[Shane Martin]

Best Buy has a buy 2 get 1 free HD DVD sale after Christmas. I doubt these are done.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

They won't be done until there is a clear "winner" of the format war.

 

[Marc Colella]

Or more realistically, when they both lose.

 

[BrettB]

HMM Dec 30 - Jan 5, 2008



Titles Released Dec. 11, 2007
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Warner)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Warner)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Warner)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Warner)
Harry Potter Years 1-5 Giftset (Warner)
High School Musical 2 (Walt Disney)
The Legend of Zorro (Sony)
Lost: The Complete Third Season (Disney)
Rent (Sony)
SOS! Tokyo Metro Explorers: The Next (Bandai Visual)

The Bourne Ultimatum (Universal)
Freedom: 3 (Bandai Visual)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Warner)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Warner)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Warner)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Warner)
Harry Potter Years 1-5 Giftset (Warner)
Picture This (Ally Distribution)

Percentages
BD / HD
61 / 39 Week
65 / 35 Year
62 / 38 Since Inception

Top 10 Titles
1 The Bourne Ultimatum HD 100
2 POTC: AWE BD 65.23
3 HP: TOOTP BD 64.58
4 HP: TOOTP HD 53.64
5 PE HD 22.49
6 Superbad BD 17.46
7 Casino Royale BD 15.24
8 HP Gift Set BD 14.49
9 300 BD 14.38
10 Spider-Man 3 BD 13.87


Number of Titles in Top 10
BD:7
HD:3

Weeks Won In 2007
Blu-ray 50 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
HD DVD 0

 

[Brandon Conway]

Looks like a minor victory for HD-DVD, as Bourne did the best for a single format disc, while Harry Potter 5 sold much closer than a previously standard 2:1 ratio for BD:HD.

If I were to venture a guess, these results will only delay any further change in Warner's stance, and I'd expect the studio to be neutral for a good while still.

However, it is worth noting that Blu-ray titles seem to have less of a sales drop off on the average over several weeks.

 

[ppltd]

There has not been a 2:1 sales ratio for the last eight or nine months. Closer to 1.5:1 or 1.6:1.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

I used to think this, but I am hearing too many rumblings from both sides who are pressuring WB. I think they will be exclusive by the end of January and I would bet an annoucment at CES. it is not WB studios making the decision, but their parent company. Sales will have nothing to do with it it will be about the $$$ both sides are offering. If you look at the full numbers going back to the start, sales for WB are pretty close to even between the formats for WB, with HD DVD in a very slight lead. How can this be with 300 having sold 100K more? sinple Batman Begins, the Matrix, etc. There are still multiple WB titles that are HD DVD only. With the exception of 300, most of their other titles are very close in sales between the formats. Finding Nemo sold more copies on DVD on it's first day of release than both formats have sold since inception, so the BD sales lead means nothing to them either. If they go BD it will be because of the money offered and for no other reason. Same if they go HD DVD.

 

[FrancisP]

Sales wise there is no reason for Warner to abandon their neutral stance. They are getting the best of both worlds. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was the number one seller in hd. Even if blu-ray beat hd-dvd slightly,
you are still talking about 130,000 being sold in the first week. There is no doubt that Bladerunner will do nearly as well or better than blu-ray. Again the combined hd sales would probably vault it into the top 10.

My other observations are that once again Planet Earth on hd-dvd adds to it's lead over blu-ray. And again it comes down to hit movies. Hd-dvd did not have enough to match bluray. Movies are a very cylical business with some studios being hot one year and cold the next and vice-versa. The blu-ray studios are hot this year. The first quarter of 2008 looks fairly even with neither side having any huge films coming out exclusive..

 

[ReggieW]

Wow Adam.

First Dave Vaughn and now you.

It is becoming hard to dismiss these rumors about WHV choosing a side, and it looks like I may be wrong (I thought they'd also remain neutral for the forseeable future). I know that WHV is still scheduled to be at the HD-DVD press event at CES, but of course, this could mean nothing. An announcement at CES would definitely be the shot heard around the world, or it could come soon after the event. I know that I spoke to a video department manager at a local Circuit City last week and he told me that retailers are also putting pressure on Warner because publishing titles on two HD formats creates consumer confusion and takes up unnecessary shelf-space. Whichever side WHV chooses, retailers will view this as one step to ending the format war entirely. Retailers probably just don't think it's worth the shelf space with both formats selling very miniscule numbers relative to SD-DVD.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Reggie-I am hearing two much from insiders on both sides to doubt it. From what I hear both sides are still negotiating and no one from either side knows which way WB will go and probably won't until January 4th or 5th and then it will be under wraps for a few days until the public announcement. It is possible that WB could opt to stick it out for a while but I don't think so. Assuming WB chooses a side, the dominos will fall quickly. BD has been leaning on retailers to no longer carry HD DVD if WB chooses Blu, and HD DVD has been leaning on BD exclusive studios to at least turn neutral in WB chooses HD DVD. The format that WB doesn't choose will still be around for a little while, due to all the contractual obligations the studios have, but I suspect that it will be fading from view quickly by 2009.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I would have to strongly agree with that assessment as well Adam. Its hard to say what WB will do but we will most likely know what that decision is very soon. It would not be good for Toshiba if WB goes Blu-ray and that may convince another studio to ether go Blu or to consider going blu by summer time? We can all guess what will happen but I believe that WB said that they are seriously looking into going Blu-ray only.

So what ever WB decides it will most likely be one of the biggest stories out of CES. I for one am very interested in hearing what WB is going to do, are they going to go Blu only or will they stay neutral? One thing I feel WB needs to do is to stop releasing low bit rate audio tracks on there releases. They need to offer nothing but high bitrate dvd's and they need to release high bitrate lossy or preferably lossless audio. IMHO Fox is the leading cutting edge HDM studio at this time and WB could learn some things from Fox. Fox is releasing some of the best looking HD titles to start with. But they are also offering DTS-HD MA on almost all of there releases. To top it off alot of there releases offer D box tracks on there HDM. New Line Cinema is one of the first to offer 7.1 DTS-HD MA and that places them in the cutting edge catagory also. I am glad to see more and more lossless tracks being used, its a win win for us all.

I am just wondering when we will see 7.1 Dolby True HD tracks and which title will be the first to offer one? IMHO 7.1 tracks could help sell HDM and give some people a reason to upgrade there current DVD libraries. I have never been so excited about a format before. High Definition Media has given my the best reason to not only upgrade my HT equipment, but to also upgrade and buy a larger number of titles for my movie library.

CES is coming soon and at this rate we will all know what WB is going to do. The only question is will they stay neutral or go Blu-ray only? Can't wait to find out!

 

[Edwin-S]

Why would lossless audio convince ordinary people to upgrade their DVD collections, when SACD and DVD-A failed to convince people to upgrade from CD? Ostensibly, audio quality of music should be more important to consumers than the audio quality of movie sound tracks, yet consumers never adopted the hi rez music formats. Audio quality of movie sound tracks will have a neglible effect on the rate at which high def media is adopted.

The only things that will affect the rate of adoption of HDM are:

1) Stability of the HD market, meaning ONE format only.
2) The price of HDM in relation to standard DVD. If HDM prices do not fall rapidly to compete with SD-DVD then it will remain a niche, in relative terms.

 

[Paul.S]

I guess this is studio support talk that should be in the other thread?

Reggie: What Dave Vaughn comments are you referring to please?

Adam: So if WHV is leaning BD, then the amount of money being discussed is enough to exceed or otherwise be a more significant inducement than the revenue generated by Time Warner's stake in the (HD) DVD patent??

On a related side note, it's interesting to me the role that b&m retail is perhaps playing in this dance. I've been buying almost exclusively online for three years and HDM has not changed that--used for me and new for gifts. The "BOGOs" underscored that. As much attention as we here give to online purchasing, I have to remind myself that that is still not the case for the majority of (even younger) consumers: Best Buy, WalMart, etc. still generate a lot of sales. Frankly, part of me wishes that were not the case: a studio's format support decision could be made without the "encumbrance" of retail's shelf space concerns, which really is a next-to-moot issue fo rme personally as a largely online consumer.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I do not believe that lossless audio by itself will bring people to HDM. But its a big plus that HDM offers to the consumer. I there are plenty of people that want there movies to sound there best and are willing to spend a reasonable amount of money to get it. The record industry is a different matter and IMHO they have alienated there customers for the most part. And I believe that most people are tired of paying to much for music and not getting a good product. How may CD's have more than 1 or 2 good songs on them? I feel that most people feel that music is over priced and that movies are a better bargin at this particular time.

 

[Marc Colella]

So WB going HD-DVD only isn't a possibility?
Did WB or any of the insiders indicate that the only options for WB are staying neutral or being Blu-Ray exclusive?

 

[ReggieW]

Dave,

Please post a link where WHV said they would be going Blu only or going neutral.

I do not believe they ever stated such a thing, but if you have some evidence please feel free to share it.

The truth is that no one knows for now except possibly the higher-ups at Time/Warner

 

[ReggieW]

Paul -

Dave mentioned almost the exact same thing Adam just posted here in the AVS insider forum a few weeks ago. Namely, that he had heard insider rumblings that WHV would be choosing a side around the time of CES and that both sides were attempting to woo Warner. I also have yet to see any hard evidence that WHV is leaning either way. I think the BD group are probably a bit more zealous at pushing these rumors than their HD-DVD counterparts.

We'll all know in due time.