Rumor: Influential HD-DVD studio, Universal, going neutral - now denied, see post #22 (1 Viewer)

[London Lawson]

http://n4g.com/industrynews/NewsCom-38720.aspx
Heise Online, a German IT website, is reporting that during a press conference, representatives from Pioneer announced that Universal will break their exclusivity agreement with HD DVD. This would allow Universal, the only large studio exclusively supporting HD DVD, to freely distribute their movies on Blu-ray. It is important to note that this announcement has not yet been confirmed by Universal.

It has long been speculated that Universal was receiving monetary compensation for being an exclusive HD DVD studio. This announcement would signal that they have decided to forgo the compensation in order to release titles on Blu-ray. Most would agree that this move would effectively end the war, and no matter what side you support, a single HD format is the best long term solution

 

[Paul Arnette]

 

[Todd H]

You beat me to the popcorn eating smiley.

 

[Paul Arnette]

Well, there's always the trainwreck smiley, which will be equally appropriate I'm sure.

 

[Romar Armas]

Maybe it's because of the Delays from FOX and Disney. They need someone to actually release titles.

 

[Todd H]

LOL!!!!

 

[Paul Hillenbrand]

Over on AVS, Django has stated: “Don't be surprised if this rumor was released to curtail the effect of one of the BDA's studio who is about to announce neutrality...mark my words.” Link

He is being called a “troll” over there by several, but still, it will be interesting to see if anything develops.:rolleyes

Paul

 

[Cees Alons]

The format war will be at an end when all big studios go format neutral. I doubt if Universal going neutral alone would be in the consumer's interest at this very moment.

(And we will need to wait and see if it's true at all. It's a German article? The part about Universal allegedly receiving monetary compensation looks a bit ugly worded. If they have a contract with any party - about anything - it would be quite normal to have financial consequences agreed as well.)


Cees

 

[Rhoq]

It's been stated several times by Universal that have absolutely no plans of supporting BluRay. I think the article has confused Universal's Home Video division with Universal Music Europe, who from what I have read - is planning some BluRay releases.

 

[John Berggren]

I look forward to the day when this rumor becomes a reality. I'm a one-format believer.

 

[ppltd]

WoW!!!! By golly, it must be so. Especially from such an unbiased source as a Pioneer Rep. Guess I will have to see if I can dump my HD DVD's fast.

 

[MarekM]

come on Cees, if universal will turn neutral war is over...
you can talk about it from whatever point of view.......

and yes, it's best for customers, because there will be only one format....

Marek

 

[ppltd]

Sure. Then they can join Fox and Disney and cancel/delay all of there releases.

 

[MarekM]

:p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p

 

[ppltd]

 

[David Wilkins]

I dunno...I dunno...the Sony machinery has been fairly successful when in the spin-cycle; might be their only effective tool at the moment.

With the undeniable up-tick that HD has been in lately...the potential for a strong showing in the hardware department over at Wal-mart...the beginning of an actual marketing push from HD central. The timing doesn't seem right for Universal to take that step. Things are looking up for HD.

Seems peculiar that the rumor came from Europe. Maybe it's the kind of rumor they knew couldn't be gotten away with planting in this country, with its more contentious high-def marketplace.

I detect the sweet aroma of a rodent carcass, blooming under the springtime sun.

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

I think it will be quite the opposite. If every studio went format neutral the war would be on indefinitely and would then beg the question, "if all the studios are releasing on two formats, why not just release on one and be done with it?"

If you want to end the format war, all the studios should back one format. Universal going neutral would do just that. Or the other way would take Fox, Disney and Sony. Which do you think is most likely to happen?

Of course even though I would love for it to happen, I don't believe this rumor for a bit. I don't think it will happen until after the holiday season. But then again with all of the seemingly positive HD news, over the past couple weeks, the numbers still favored BD every single time and that 'since inception' percentage continues to grow in BD's favor.

 

[Grant H]

Fox and Disney haven't canceled all their releases. They've just delayed some so they'll actually play, unlike Univesal discs. And so they can mass-produce the biggies over the catalogs that will only sell a handful.

 

[John Berggren]

That's the thing, Sony WILL NOT go neutral. Also, Disney is providing better support to Blu than they did for DVD at this point in the cycle. All signs point to Universal being the first to blink.

 

[ppltd]

Actually, I think if you look at the numbers, the percentages differences has been closing as of late. Since the end of March there has been a striking increase in HD DVD sales, and the HD to BD ratio has not increased, but rather stated shifting, albeit in small numbers.

While it is way too soon to draw any conclusions, it is not in any since of the word a growth spurt in BD's favor. Seems like the numbers are currently looking to be 40% HD to 60% BD. This is much better than earlier in the year when the numbers reached as much as 20% HD to 80% BD.

On a weekly basis, it is more difficult to read the numbers, as there have been spurts on both sides, depending on what films are slated for release. The sudden pull back of releases from the BD camp is certainly not helping them.