HD DVD players

rudyusmc1980

content? doesn't someone pay to have a license to release on a disc that says DVD? I'm pretty sure it's some sort of royalty agreement. so whenever that agreement is up for renewal, the dvd forum simply says, combo discs or you go back to VHS. and if that studio says we're going bluray, that's fine cuz they will hurt soo bad from lost DVD sales they'll come crawling back after a month.

stopping dvd player sales and forcing combo discs won't put a HDDVD player in every home this year, but it would go the distance in putting HDDVD discs in everyones home.

rudyusmc1980

from the dvd forum site:

What does the Forum do?

Defines DVD Format specifications (see DVD Format & Logo Licensing)
Publishes reference materials and newsletters for members
Creates DVD Format Books (published by the DVD Format/Logo Licensing Corporation)
Licenses DVD Format/Logo (through the DVD Format/Logo Licensing Corporation)
Administers DVD Verification Laboratories
Holds worldwide DVD Conferences and promotes information about DVD, including the DVD Forum web site.


so, we define the dvd format as including HDDVD on the other side, and only License DVD to companies who play along. It's hardball, but I'm cut throat. Still want to fire me as your CEO?

winpitt

Can't do that.

The format is already a standard that they approved. Besides them not being crazy enough to try, they'd be sued into non-existence for monopolistic practice by every government in existence if they tried.

I agree with your sentiments about trying to get adoption faster, but just can't see any way other than having a single solitary standard to do it.

Yup. I'd still fire you. But I'd still drink with you.

rudyusmc1980

cool

BobY

[Understand I'm speaking hypothetically, no one expects the companies to do what we are talking about here]

It's not a monopoly issue, as the DVD forum is made up of dozens of companies. The real difficulty would be getting the companies involved to agree to do this. If the members agreed it was the right thing to do for the future of DVD, you couldn't stop them (note that, for example, DVD+R and DVD+RW formats are not approved by the DVD Forum and are not permitted to use the DVD logo and no one is forcing the DVD Forum to change their position even though one could argue it's bad for the business of some companies and possibly for consumers).

If the member companies felt that building conventional DVD players was not sufficiently profitable and that changing over to only HD players would increase their profitability, I don't think anyone could stop them from "outlawing" conventional DVD only discs by not renewing licenses to companies that wouldn't support hybrid SD/HD DVD discs.

Bearing in mind that a large number of DVD Forum members are in the Blu-Ray camp should give you an idea of how likely they are to vote for such a change

rudyusmc1980

i read the dvdforum charter today. it was a ten year commitment, as an organization, and it expires next year. it sounded like it was organised like the UN, with some companies having more power. and alot of the document read like my condo assoc agreement.

annual membership was 1 million yen for top level, and had to be approved.

another thing of note, the official language of the dvdforum is english!

winpitt

That's the other side of the coin. The issue is not whether or not they would voluntarily do it, but rather whether the consortium could FORCE everyone to do it. No argument about the fact that they could all move off of DVD if they chose (though there is no commercial reason for them all to do it). Just an argument that they could not all be FORCED to do it.