HD Format War is OVER!

[Jedieb]

Don't know who cares, but if you've chosen sides in the HD-DVD v. Blu-Ray war I hope you chose Sony. Warner Brothers announced today that they're going exclusively with Blu-Ray and that's the final nail in the coffin for Toshiba and HD. Blu-Ray discs have been outselling HD for most of the year and they crushed them during the holiday season. That along with Blu-Ray selling more players with the help of the PS3 and WB finally decided to put an end to this nonsense. You can read a much better summary over at Digital Bits.

http://www.digitalbits.com/#itsover

[Mitch]

Thank goodness. Yeah, I've enjoyed our PS3, and I already have several movies on BR. Now if only they'd start selling BR movies at DVD prices. I hate having to spend more for the same license.

[Jedi Master Carr]

This is why I have been waiting. I knew once WB made a decision that would end the war.

[Zem-El Vymes]

As long as they're backward compatible to DVD format that is all I care about.

[Mu Satach]

Guess I know which Blade Runner set to buy now.

[Figrin D'an]

It'll take some time for HD-DVD to be phased out. But, this is at least a significant step in the right direction. I guess the third time was/will be the charm for Sony in winning a format war.

I think it bears pointing out, however... unless you have a 1080p HDTV, getting a player for either format is pretty much pointless. So, don't run out and drop $400 on a Blu-Ray player and $30 each for movies just because the market situation is more stable... you'll need a $3000+ TV to get the most out of it.

[Mitch]

It'll take some time for HD-DVD to be phased out. But, this is at least a significant step in the right direction. I guess the third time was/will be the charm for Sony in winning a format war.

I think it bears pointing out, however... unless you have a 1080p HDTV, getting a player for either format is pretty much pointless. So, don't run out and drop $400 on a Blu-Ray player and $30 each for movies just because the market situation is more stable... you'll need a $3000+ TV to get the most out of it.

Heh, got my TV for $1300, 61", Wheee! And I have no qualms about running a PS3 for a Blu-Ray player, and piping the audio via optical out into my sound system.

[Yog]

I always knew BR would win. Too much industry support, most of the major studios and even the customers prefering the format when the players are more expensive, and finally the amount of movies sold, + now the PS3 is cheaper so it was hard to beat. The winner is the consumer, since BR will always have more capacity with the blue laser. The only thing I don't like is the regional restrictions. Prices for players should fall rapidly enough.

The question is how relevant this war will be some years down the line, when everyone have 100mbits lines, TV / video on demand and streaming video services and IPTV get mainstream. Virtual media is the future.

[JMK]

This came about much sooner than expected, but I still don't think it's *quite* over. There's an X factor that nobody will want to acknowledge, and that's the fact that the adult movie industry has thrown their support behind HD-DVD. That's billions in movie sales right there. It's something that people won't acknowledge, but it's there. And if Microsoft and Intel is serious about the fact that they've supported HD-DVD, there are probably still things that they can do to keep the war going.

Personally, I don't really care who wins. I have my 46" 1080p LCD, and I just picked up an HD-DVD player for $99 (Toshiba's HD-A3...but I ended up paying $12 after I used my gift certificates). I still plan on getting a PS3, hence the reason why I don't really care who wins; eventually I'll have both.

[Yog]

You should not feel bad, $100 is cheap for a HD player. I would not mind getting one at that price, even knowing BR will win out in the end.

This was a huge blow for HD-DVD though, in an already losing battle. Warner Bros has 20% of the DVD market in the US. BR now got exclusivity for 70-80% of everything being released on HD. In addition, the daughter companies to Warner, HBO and New Line have also said they will support BR exclusively. It's only a matter of time before Universal supports both formats, and then it's only Paramount/Dreamworks left with HD-DVD exclusive releases. Their contract expires in december 2008..

Even the HD DVD groups sees the writing on the wall, and is cancelling the CES conference (http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/CES_2008/HD_DVD_Promo_Group_Cancels_CES_Press_Conference/1331). I can't resist posting this:

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/5048/bdfatalitymw8.png

As for the adult industry, the reason they have been slow adopting BR is because of production cost, and there was some confusion earlier last year about who will be licensed to replicate discs with adult content, but that is now sorted and costs are decreasing. Things are now changing in that area as well. Digital Playground, the company with 80% market share of the HD porn will now start releasing on Blue Ray:
http://www.cepro.com/article/porn_industry_warms_up_to_blu_ray/

If anything, I think the adult movie industry is faster to adapt non media solutions such as video on demand and streaming video services. There has also been some hesitation moving towards the next generation formats because imperfections such as skin moles, facial wrinkles etc are more easily seen in high definition. Some argue the video quality is so clear and detailed that it actually hurts, rather than enhances, the movies.

Microsoft, I feel will have little impact in this war. The price of writable HD media is outragous high on both sides. Heck even simple 9GB Dual Layer discs, they have been around for years, and at current GB per dollar, they are still not worth it. HD ROM writers are also insanely expensive. Dual format players are now coming down to acceptable levels though (but how does this help HD-DVD? You can currently get combined HD-DVD / Blue Ray drive for your PC at $300 mark:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136133&Tpk=LG%2bGGC-H20L

[Zem-El Vymes]

So will somebody answer my question and reassure my nervousness? Are blu-ray players backward-compatible?

[Figrin D'an]

I'm not really sure the adult film industry is going to have the impact on this that some think. In the VHS/Beta war, porn playing a big part in VHS winning because it became the first cheap, viable format for people to watch porn in their homes. This time around, the porn industry choosing HD-DVD early is more of a footnote than an actual trend indicator because, unlike in the late '70s/early 80's, the dominant source of adult material is not video tape or dvd from brick and motor stores... it's the internet.


Blu-ray is backwards compatable, yes. Most every Blu-ray player on the market will play standard DVDs as well as Blu-ray discs.

[Zem-El Vymes]

Thats really what I care about. I am not going to re-tool a DVD collection that is upwards of a few thousand dollars in value.

[JMK]

I'm not really sure the adult film industry is going to have the impact on this that some think. In the VHS/Beta war, porn playing a big part in VHS winning because it became the first cheap, viable format for people to watch porn in their homes. This time around, the porn industry choosing HD-DVD early is more of a footnote than an actual trend indicator because, unlike in the late '70s/early 80's, the dominant source of adult material is not video tape or dvd from brick and motor stores... it's the internet.

That's a fair point.

As far as my 200+ DVD collection, there's no chance in hell that I'll be upgrading every movie to BR (or HD-DVD for however much longer it lasts). I'll be very selective as to what movies I double-up on. Star Wars, LotR, and other big favorites will get upgraded - movies that really deserve HD treatment. Comedies and dramas don't always carry the WOW factor that action/adventure/sci-fi carries, so I don't believe I'll be spending hundreds upon hundreds of dollars buying movies in HD that I already own in standard definition...

[stevenvdb]

Not particularily excited about the fact the only really stable Blu Ray player (with future upgradeable profiles, thus far) is the PS3. Playstation fans may appreciate it, but I'm not a gamer and would prefer to pick a stand alone from a range of manufacturers and be able to use a programmable remote with. I'm holding out until at least a 1.2 (would love a 2.0 to update firmware online) reaches below the $400 mark.

I may actually be willing to plunk down a few hundred and pick up a Toshiba HD DVD player, however for some of those Warner catalog titles that have some special features the Blu Ray equivalents don't have ,yet(Warner seems to use the same encodes for both, so PQ AQ aren't much of a concern) and take advantage of those willing to jump ship early. Bound to see a major eBay panic within the coming weeks. Might mean double-dipping on the Harry Pottter box set, though...both have some unique features.

Then theres other exclusives from Universal and Paramount that might not make it to Blu Ray for some time, perhaps a few years before the catalog cycles through again. Enough to make the money invested worth it to me.

Then when a final spec Blu player drops in a year or so at my magic price mark, snap one of those. :)

May sound a bit expensive, but i'm an enthusiast, if on a budget. ;)

The problem of course for HD media to really take off the price has to come down well below that. The reason any CE manufacturers where eager to back either of the two new formats was the value of the DVD market has pretty much bottomed out. With lessened competition, now... it might actually take a little longer than it might have if Warner had swung for HD DVD (that is if the HD DVD group had paid more).


Competeing with DVD itself, Blu might remain niche for a good while. The jump from VHS to DVD was a far simpler one. People's TV's worked with the format from the start - from cheap B&W portables to large 50" tubes and projectors. In reality, for many people upscaled DVD will look about as good.

Though LD survived for quite some time and many adopters didn't exactly mind it being niche, as the studios used it as a prestige format, releasing more obscure titles, often with rathe nice supplemenatry material.

[Mitch]

I do have to laugh when I see older movies being released on Blu-Ray now, though. For some of them, the film quality is just so bad that even in hi-def, I won't notice a difference vs. VHS.

I mean, do I really need to go out and replace the copies of Blazing Saddles, the Fly, Mad Max, The Terminator, or Bullit that I already own on DVD? Hardly.

But, for new films with great visuals, yeah, I probably will be buying those on Blu-Ray. WHEN THEY GO ON SALE.

Sorry, movie companies, I don't want them bad enough to spend 30% more than I would for the same thing on a DVD I can upscale. The movies on the new formats need to come down to the same release prices as their DVD equivalents. If companies want the new formats to take off, they quite simply need to make the content the same price as what people are already used to paying.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

You don't have to replace the movies you already own on DVD because your Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player will upconvert your DVDs to near-HD quality.

[JMK]

You don't have to replace the movies you already own on DVD because your Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player will upconvert your DVDs to near-HD quality.

Yes, they say that, but the truth is the "upscaling" effect is so minimal, it is not even noticeable. I bought one of the better upscaling DVD players a couple months back (before I decided to get the HD-DVD player that I now own). I bought the upscaler comfortable with the knowledge that I would take it right back to the store if there was not a significant difference. There wasn't, so I brought it back a couple days later after testing a few movies. Upscaling is a whole lot of hyperbole, unfortunately.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Sorry I meant to add "if you have the proper HDMi cables" - the reason we didn't get the XBox 360 HD player is that it wouldn't upconvert DVDs.

[stevenvdb]

Been offered this deal... i'm so bloody tempted. I can see keeping about 75% of these titles... and coming out way ahead. Why any diehard collector would be so willing to give in this easily...

$700 though, a couple hundred more than i'm willing to pay right now.

:::bangs head on desk:::

Toshiba XA2

2001 - A Space Odyssey
Adventures of Robin Hood, The
Apollo 13
Army of Darkness
Batman Begins
Battlestar Galactica: Season One
Being John Malkovich
Big Lebowski, The
Blade Runner (Complete Collector's Ed.)
Blazing Saddles
Breakfast Club, The
The Bourne Trilogy
Casablanca
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Children of Men
Christmas Story, A
Corpse Bride
Dawn of the Dead
Departed, The
Dragonheart
Dune
Eastern Promises
Elephant Man, The
Enter the Dragon
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Excalibur
Forbidden Planet
Fountain, The
Freedom Vol. 1,2,3
GoodFellas
Graduate, The
Grand Prix
Harry Potter 1-5 Boxset
Heroes - Season 1
Jailhouse Rock
King Kong (2005)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Land of the Dead
Last Samurai, The
Last Starfighter, The
Lost in Translation
Mallrats
Midnight Run
Monty Python's Meaning of Life
National Lampoon's Animal House
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Pan's Labyrinth
Phantom of the Opera, The
Planet Earth: Complete Series, The
Polar Express, The
Reds
Road Warrior, The
Scanner Darkly, A
Scent of a Woman
Seabiscuit
Searchers, The
Serenity
Shaun of the Dead
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Sneakers
Star Trek Original Series - Complete First Season, The
Stardust
Superman II: Richard Donner Cut, The
Superman: Movie, The
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Thing, The
Transformers
Troy - Director's Cut
Ultimate Matrix Collection
Unforgiven
V for Vendetta
War, The
Warriors, The
Waterworld
What Dreams May Come
Wild Bunch, The
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

EDIT: Ah fudge it..you're only young once... Christmas is coming late this year.. i'm going for it. I'll sell off my SD copies of these title for $2-3 a pop to recoup some of the costs and hope my fiancee won't kill me.

Hopefully if i'm quick enough, if I find any that are on BR with better transfers, features I want, or just don't want I can sell them off or trade with someone.

EDIT 2: Now, i'm having cold feet. I'll sleep on it.

[Liam Jinn]

Been offered this deal... i'm so bloody tempted. I can see keeping about 75% of these titles... and coming out way ahead. Why any diehard collector would be so willing to give in this easily...

$700 though, a couple hundred more than i'm willing to pay right now.

:::bangs head on desk:::

Toshiba XA2

2001 - A Space Odyssey
Adventures of Robin Hood, The
Apollo 13
Army of Darkness
Batman Begins
Battlestar Galactica: Season One
Being John Malkovich
Big Lebowski, The
Blade Runner (Complete Collector's Ed.)
Blazing Saddles
Breakfast Club, The
The Bourne Trilogy
Casablanca
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Children of Men
Christmas Story, A
Corpse Bride
Dawn of the Dead
Departed, The
Dragonheart
Dune
Eastern Promises
Elephant Man, The
Enter the Dragon
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Excalibur
Forbidden Planet
Fountain, The
Freedom Vol. 1,2,3
GoodFellas
Graduate, The
Grand Prix
Harry Potter 1-5 Boxset
Heroes - Season 1
Jailhouse Rock
King Kong (2005)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Land of the Dead
Last Samurai, The
Last Starfighter, The
Lost in Translation
Mallrats
Midnight Run
Monty Python's Meaning of Life
National Lampoon's Animal House
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Pan's Labyrinth
Phantom of the Opera, The
Planet Earth: Complete Series, The
Polar Express, The
Reds
Road Warrior, The
Scanner Darkly, A
Scent of a Woman
Seabiscuit
Searchers, The
Serenity
Shaun of the Dead
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Sneakers
Star Trek Original Series - Complete First Season, The
Stardust
Superman II: Richard Donner Cut, The
Superman: Movie, The
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Thing, The
Transformers
Troy - Director's Cut
Ultimate Matrix Collection
Unforgiven
V for Vendetta
War, The
Warriors, The
Waterworld
What Dreams May Come
Wild Bunch, The
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

EDIT: Ah fudge it..you're only young once... Christmas is coming late this year.. i'm going for it. I'll sell off my SD copies of these title for $2-3 a pop to recoup some of the costs and hope my fiancee won't kill me.

Hopefully if i'm quick enough, if I find any that are on BR with better transfers, features I want, or just don't want I can sell them off or trade with someone.

EDIT 2: Now, i'm having cold feet. I'll sleep on it.


You sir are retarded.

[Yog]

You sir are retarded.

Actually, that's a very good deal.

[stevenvdb]

It would have been a good deal, but I didn't take it. A couple of those titles appear to be actually some sort of Windows Media Disc format I haven't heard of.

[Yog]

At CES today, MS talked all about downloadable and streaming video, not a word about HD DVD. In the meanwhile, the presentation by Jodi Sally, Toshiba’s vice president, sounded more like a funeral speech.

Michael Bay chimes in:

Well another studio down. Maybe I was right? Blu ray is just better. HD will die a slow death. It's what I predicted a year ago. Now with Warner's down for the count with Blu Ray. That makes it easier for Wal-Mart to push Blu Ray. And whatever Wal-Mart pushes - wins. Hd better start giving out those $120 million dollars checks to stay alive. Maybe they can give me some so I can give it to my Make-A-Wish charity, just to shut me up. Have faith people Transformers will come out in Blu-ray one day!
http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=842

Oh yeah, and according to Financial Times, Paramount has reserved the right to switch its backing to Blu-ray:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/8d56c2a8-bc89-11dc-bcf9-0000779fd2ac.html

[stevenvdb]

Looks like Funai and Phillips will be bringing out some lower-priced BR players at around the $300 mark. Just profile 1.1 of course and of unknown build quality. Still, if they're based off of a reference design, might be suitable for a more entry-level buyer willing to jump in soon, who don't care as much about p-i-p or other interactive features as the movies themselves.

I've made the plunge into HD media though (i'm about movies, not formats - must be getting stupider every day.)

Grabbed an XA2* and a few, choice titles:

Adventures of Robin Hood, The
Breakfast Club, The
Casablnaca
Corpse Bride
Forbidden Planet
Planet Earth
Road Warrior, The
Seabiscuit
Sky Captain and the World of Tommorrow
Superman I
Super Man II - The Richard Donner Cut
Thing, The
Unforgiven
Waterworld - any one want this? ;)
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Box Set:

Ultimate Matrix Collection

For about 320, not including shipping. Not so bad. Most are currently Warner HD exclusives and rather good transfers, so I think it is a good gamble. They are titles i want anyways and it's good to have them now, rather than wait. Movie savings alone, as used titles, seems to more than negate the price of the player as well. Was going to get another good upscaling player soon, anyways. Have several more single titles I'm negotiating and will be getting a little later in seperate lots.

I'll post pics when the goodies get here. :)

Now, to see if there are any sales on Blu Ray titles. Any BOGO's going on currently? :D


*Seems to be Toshiba's flagship player - and pretty good for a company that makes generally mid-range CE. Seems to be able to force some SD DVD's that are flagged properly to play at 24fps, if set correctly. If the upscaling is as good as I hear, I might be willing to grab a cheaper Blu-Ray player, earlier rather than later.

Are here they are. Somehow got Serenity thrown into the lot as well, but i'm not complaining. ;):

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e352/svdberg/HDDVDFirstBatch.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e352/svdberg/HDDVDPlayerTop.jpg

[Jedieb]

I'm more than satisfied with my PS3 for now. I won't be buying another Blu-ray player for at least a year and by then they'll be that more reasonable. I also won't be repurchasing any titles in HD with the exception of Star and LOTR. Everything else I have is fine in DVD format.

And like others have said, Porn was never going to decide this format war like it did VHS v. Beta. The 'internets' significantly reduced its influence.

[stevenvdb]

If I had a PS3, i wouldn't budge, either - looks to be the cat's meow for the money for at least the upcoming year. Also the upscaling seems to kick the butt of the SA BR players.

[Morgan Evanar]

Waiting until the players are sanely priced. Honestly, this is good news just because they only have one encryption scheme to focus on now.

[Jedieb]

Actually, now that I think about it, my next blu-ray player will probably be on the next laptop I buy. I watch a lot of movies on my laptop and I almost pulled the trigger on a Sony Vaio over X-Mas, but $1,600 was a bit too much. I'll probably get one next Christmas.

[Mitch]

Actually, now that I think about it, my next blu-ray player will probably be on the next laptop I buy. I watch a lot of movies on my laptop and I almost pulled the trigger on a Sony Vaio over X-Mas, but $1,600 was a bit too much. I'll probably get one next Christmas.

Please, for the love of all that is good, do NOT buy a Sony laptop.

Unless, of course, you LIKE throwing your money away and can't wait for severe hardware failures...

[Jedieb]

That bad huh? The thing is, I really like watching movies on my laptop and I figured who would have a better BR player on their laptop than Sony? But if I can find another model with a BR player for the right price next winter I'll get that one. I'll probably start a thread and ask for some advice. Thanks for the warning Mitch.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I'm just not a system junkie yet to be honest. I'll need to make the plunge into flat screens first before I can think about up-ending my eyecandy films.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

We just got a Toshiba 65" DLP bunchaotherinitialsandnumbers for less than $1000, and then used a christmas day gift card for an HD DVD player.

The hardest part, to be honest, is trying to figure out if its worth it to fork over $300 to LEASE an HD DVR from DirecTV. Seems like such a rip off - but with such a big screen we really 'need' the HD goodness. Comcast is much cheaper, but has hardly any HD channels. And we already have DirecTV. Oh yeah, $300 to lease the HD DVR and that's even if you're simply upgrading an existing account. :\

[Byl Laprovik]

geez its that much for DVR?

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Well, $299. :rolleyes

Not for a regular DVR, mind you. And if we just wanted an HD receiver its less as well. But for the HD DVR set up it is that expensive.

With Comcast you get the HD DVR just for the cost of your monthly payments (you don't have to pay an extra one time leasing fee for it), but it has like 20 HD channels while DirecTV has like 80.

[Yog]

Some updates from The Digital Bits (http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents), indicating Paramount could follow soon, and maybe even Universal:


Well... we've had SOME confirmation this morning of the details of the Financial Times story from last night. While the studio isn't yet commenting, reliable industry sources are telling us that Paramount is indeed preparing to end their HD-DVD support and announce a return to the Blu-ray fold. Details are currently being finalized, and an announcement is expected as soon as they're complete. Paramount's first new Blu-rays will almost certainly include many of those titles that were cancelled last year, but that were already packaged and ready for shipping, so you could see them in stores very quickly once the studio announces.

Meanwhile, sources are telling us that Universal has also been talking with the BDA, and is looking to follow Paramount and Warner's lead as soon as possible.



Just a quick update... the L.A. Times is now reporting that Warner's switch did in fact trigger Paramount's out clause with HD-DVD. Here's the relevant text from the story:

"Warner Bros.' decision last week to start making movies exclusively for Blu-ray players, rather than HD DVD, triggered an "out" clause in Paramount Pictures' contract with the HD DVD camp. An industry source said there was a significant possibility that Paramount would exercise that clause. It plans to decide within a month.

Paramount officials said they would continue to support HD DVD, a format for displaying videos in higher quality whose backers include Toshiba Corp. and Microsoft Corp. Universal Pictures, which has been a strong supporter from the beginning, issued no public statement on the matter here."

Meanwhile, the same story reveals that Toshiba has been in meetings with its retail partners about their continued support of HD-DVD:

"Toshiba said Tuesday that retailers have expressed their commitment to HD DVD during private meetings at the show, which is the world's largest consumer tech gathering."

As to whether or not retailers would abandon HD-DVD immediately, the story offer this comment:

"Industry executives said it would be unusual for retailers to abandon any format so soon after Christmas, for fear of sparking a flood of returns."

The plot thickens. The key thing to note is that it seems as if the remaining HD-DVD supporting studios plan to take their time making any major decisions, which is smart. It gives them time to develop their own plans, to see what the fall out from CES is, etc. So don't expect any more major announcements in the next couple of weeks at least. As we said earlier, everyone take a deep breath, and let's just have patience while we all wait to see how things play out in the next month or two.



"We remain convinced that both Paramount and Universal are moving towards announcing Blu-ray Disc support soon, and we have real reason for that belief, not the least of which is that our sources in this situation are second to none - a fact which should be readily obvious by now. Announcements could happen tomorrow, they could happen next week, they could happen next month. We'd be surprised if it took longer than a month or two.

We're hearing that Universal may not announce until February at the earliest, as we're given to understand that their contract period with the HD-DVD camp expires at the end of January. So everyone needs to just take a deep breath and relax. We know that's hard, given how fast things have been moving this past week.

Rest assured, Paramount and Universal are going Blu, but sorting out all the legal details and organizing the logistics takes time. The Warner move was apparently well planned, but Paramount and Universal have only just started that process. They may or may not continue releasing HD-DVDs for a time - we'll have to wait and see. But retailers are now seriously pressuring these studios to go Blu, and we'd be surprised if many mainstream stores still have HD-DVD hardware and software on their shelves come next Christmas.

I suspect that Paramount especially wants to be able to announce a few actual titles when they announce their Blu-ray support, and it takes time to get all that ready. Keep in mind that things have been extremely chaotic within the home video industry this week. So everyone just take a deep breath and try to calm down, while we wait for things to play out."

... and some rumours putting some light on what led to this latest development with Warner:



I've received second hand information from someone who met with a studio head recently about the whole WB side change. I wasn't there, so I can't verify it, so take it with a grain of salt -

Essentially no money changed hands. The switch was apparently due to the following:

1) Sony, Fox, Disney were not even considering changing sides, regardless of 'payouts' being discussed;

2) All the studios, especially a couple were putting pressure on WB to make a choice to help end the stale mate so everyone (studios) could benefit;

3) The revenue from the BD sales far outweighed the HD-DVD sales for WB contrary to sales charts;

4) BD is seen as the revolutionary format with HD being seen as just an evolution with a shorter lifespan in the eyes of the BD studios;

5) consumers aren't buying into either format due to confusion;

6) the big one I'm told, because of #5, DVD sales as a result of #5 PLUS the recent 6 month trend of video games eating into DVD sales (and growing game sales, declining DVD sales) contributed to the decision to establish one format that consumers could graduate into rather than leave the studio with declining DVD sales, and no big next-gen (BD, HD) sales because of the consumer confusion and statemate of 'which one will win'.


http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/ht-software-high-definition/267064-breaking-news-warner-soon-blu-ray-exclusive-29.html#post3302056

[Cat X]

And like others have said, Porn was never going to decide this format war like it did VHS v. Beta. The 'internets' significantly reduced its influence.



Why are people persisting in repeating this? Porn is and was and will continue to be only a minor slice of the market for video. It did not decide anything - Beta did itself in by beign a limited format, despite it's better qaulity. 60 minutes tapes, harder to use, waaaaaaaay more expensive.

Yeah, VHS looks prettygood with those problems.

[Yog]

Some good news for us computer geeks. Massive price cut on Blu-ray recordable media anticipated. Currently, a 25GB disc goes for 499 yen in Japan. That is $4.61 using current exchange values. They are now rapidly approaching the price per GB of regular DVD-R media. I expect this to become a mainstream backup solution within a year.

Netflix has now gone BR exclusive for HD. Best Buy also select BR as the HD format of choice, although they will keep both formats in stock for now. Blu-ray player sales recorded an 82 percent share of the HD player market in january.

In Europe, BR titles now have 79% of the HD movie market, and crossed the 2 million titles sold milestone, only two months after 1 million:


Just two months after reaching the 1 million-unit mark, Blu-ray disc movie sales across Europe have smashed through the 2 million-barrier, the Blu-ray Disc Association European Promotions Committee said Wednesday.

The latest figures from Media Control Gfk International show Blu-ray movie sales totaling 2.4 million, or 79% of the high-definition movie discs bought by consumers in the year-to-date across Europe.

Sales leading up Christmas were strong, with more than half a million Blu-ray movie discs sold in December, outselling HD-DVD by 3-to-1 margin and capturing a 75% market share.

[Jedieb]

And like others have said, Porn was never going to decide this format war like it did VHS v. Beta. The 'internets' significantly reduced its influence.



Why are people persisting in repeating this? Porn is and was and will continue to be only a minor slice of the market for video. It did not decide anything - Beta did itself in by beign a limited format, despite it's better qaulity. 60 minutes tapes, harder to use, waaaaaaaay more expensive.

Yeah, VHS looks prettygood with those problems.

I've always heard that it was one of the things that tipped the battle in VHS's favor. Maybe it really is just a video urban legend. I remember both of those formats battling it out when I was a kid. To be honest, as a kid I never heard anyone say that porn decided that format war. It's one of those things I read and heard when I was much older.

Yet another nail in the coffin, WalMart announced today that it's going blu-ray only. They're phasing out HD players this month and by June they'll only be selling blu-ray discs. Buh-bye HD.

[JMK]

Rumor has it that Toshiba is about to officially take themselves off life support: http://www.sync-blog.com/sync/2008/02/hd-dvd-its-all.html


According to EngadgetHD, quoting an article from Reuters, insiders at Toshiba have confirmed that the company intends to formally announce their withdrawal from the HD format war. This news paves the way for Sony's Blu-ray format to become the standard in what has been a long battle between the two rival factions.

[Yog]

It is now official. HD-DVD is dead. Toshiba is giving up the format:
http://www.news.com/Toshiba-says-to-quit-HD-DVD/2100-1041_3-6231027.html

May it rest in peace:
http://www1.vg.no/uploaded/image/bilderigg/2008/02/19/1203410891061_943.jpg

[Crusader]

Luckily I did not buy the X360 HD-Drive during the Xmas season. This must be a horrible news for the ones who did buy it.

[JMK]

I'm sad to see it go, but I still don't regret buying mine after Christmas...

[Yog]

Today Universal made this announcement:


Universal Studios Home Entertainment President Craig Kornblau offered the following statement today, "The path for widespread adoption of the next-generation platform has finally become clear. The emergence of a single, high-definition format is cause for consumers, as well as the entire entertainment industry, to celebrate. While Universal values the close partnership we have shared with Toshiba, it is time to turn our focus to releasing new and catalog titles on Blu-ray."

Now that all the studios are going BR, maybe we can get Transformers, Star Wars and Indy movies in that format.. :)

[stevenvdb]

The studios will certainly want to cash in on some of the higher-selling titles. I believe Transformers and Balls of Fury have already been tentatively confirmed, but without a firm release date.

The problem of course is some of the older classic catalog titles which didn't sell that well on HD DVD to begin with may not make it until the Blu-Ray base is much larger and trickles down into the more mainstream and mom and pop demographics, which might take a while. Until then, i'm going to be...blah. I will admit i'm a bit of a classic cine ho'. :/


At least I'll have Sweeny to keep me company..

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I don't regret being able to snatch up HD DVDs for cheap when morons dump their collections in favor of Blu-Ray. :p C'mon prices, come down! :D

[JMK]

Yeah, I'll be snapping up some HD-DVDs at blowout sales prices if I can as well.