"the rumor is" WB is going Blu?

Chris Gerhard

HD DVD supporters would be singing the praises of the XBox add-on if the player was any good and actually sold very well. I am with you, I can't imagine that Warner hasn't had a PS3 in house to determine that it is an outstanding player for HD disc. If Warner knows the rumors regarding the PS3 being firmware upgradeable to current Blu-ray profiles are true, then Warner knows the PS3 is the only chance to get software in consumer's hands. I sure hope that the PS3 can be upgraded to all that is being claimed.

Chris

Liquidx

What garbage that is. Not sure of the current figures, but last I checked it sold 175,000 units a few months ago. The add on has sold very well in a niche market.

In fact, it's probably outsold every damn BD standalone to date.

Warner has said that they are looking at standalone sales and that relying on a game console is dangerous... Why the hell would they care about people being able to upgrade the PS3?

What is 2.0 the saving grace for the PS3 in Warner's eyes now?

God I'm so glad I didn't bite into the Sony hype being first and foremost a gamer. Last thing I'd need is to be boasting about my cool ass video game player thats the center piece of all these elitists home theaters.

Nikopol

Good question. Is there any data/article available, in what way the "PS" has influenced the SD DVD market? Did it help and drive the success of SD DVD in a significant way?

(not trying to taunt, i really don´t know)

Liquidx

LMAO, it surprises me how many actually think Microsoft is responsible for this war.

Off topic, but I read this on another site and found it amusing.

Apparently he's never heard of Toshiba... Purely the end result of a format war that's spilled over to video game consoles owned by teenagers where BD is Sony and HD is Microsoft.

pearl-drum-man

At this point I'll just consider this the WB rumor of the week. I don't believe anything said by either side when obviously both have a vested interest, like the guy from Lions Gate. If Warner waited this long, I fully expect them to do what they've said all along and take a wait and see approach. If it does turn out to be true, doesn't really effect me as I had intended to buy a PS3 eventually, but not until it drops significantly more in price.

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Stew4HD

More silly Chris logic.. blech! BD rumor good, HD DVD rumor, bad Now he is touting the wonders of the PS3?

Why do I keep seeing the BS that the PS made it possible for homes to have an SD player??? Yeah, for kids to have one in their rooms, for college students to have one in their dorms. I didn't know one single household that bough a PS and put in their living room as their main DVD player... not one. OMG, all praise to the almighty Sony.

The new Sony prayer:

"Sony is our master, we must to want. Let us not be swayed by the lower prices of others. Let be led blindly to the checkout counter, Sony only products in hand. Let us not be tempted by lower prices on other electronic items. Sony is our master, our wallets are open to you."

I am like PFC5, if WB goes BD, they won't get my BD business. If they release something and I want it, I'll buy it on SD.

If that were to actually happen, HD DVD would NOT die right away, as many BD fanboys and others think. IMO, it would still exist and movies would continue to be released on that format. Uni and Paramount will still release HD DVDs.

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brianh

Hd dvd would die tho. A format CANNOT continue without WB.
No way no how.

Now, as far as sticking with SD DVD for movies? Come on. I don't hate Sony. Obviously blu-ray has problems but I don't have that much hatred for them.
Honestly, I truly believe that blu-ray is the worst format ever to be put into the hands of the public.
It's supporters saying it's short-comings "don't matter". That's crazy talk.
"i paid 1 thousand dollars and I can't get extra features, but I DON'T CARE!" Riiiiighht. If you don't care about getting the full benefit of something you paid a grand for, you are an idiot! I don't care who you are, or what you bought.

Stew4HD

Call it a personal choice regarding SDs, if you will. I do have a strong dislike for Sony in this format war. I do not like them having their hands in the entire format chain, from the top down.

Again, the format WILL NOT die if WB goes BD. What makes you think Uni is going to jump on the BD bandwagon? Sure it will lower the sales of BDs. Personally, I cannot see how WB would be foolish enough to do it. HD DVD hardware sales have grown tremendously lately and continue to do so.

As to the rest of your post, I agree

__________________
___________________________________
For PFC5 I miss ya, buddy WB L2W!
Living Room:
*JVC DLA-RS40 3D projector
Da-Lite wall mounted screen 110" diag.
DirecTV DVR
Sony PlayStation 3 60GB (first gen)
Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD
*Denon AVR-A100
Magnepan MMGW L/R
Magnepan MMGC center
Aperion 5DB surrounds
Aperion 10D sub
Oppo BDP-83SE
*Panny DMP-BDT100
XBOX 360 (first gen)
HTPC
WII
*special thanks to Robert at valueelectronics.com, you are great to work with!

Nikopol

Though i would agree that at that point it would not make much sense to hope for HD DVD to become the dominant HDM format, it doesn´t by all means force HD DVD to die (= to vanish).

The market is ridiculously microscopic right now. There are imo no strong indications, that HDM as a concept is going to be a huge success, comparable to DVD or CD even if Blu-ray was the only format. It may stay a small niche for enthusiasts at the side of SD DVD and all the HD alternatives (cable, ota, sat, downloads, streaming) forever.

In this small market, HD DVD could be"kept" alive with a small software selection by Universal et al. until both formats fade away like SACD/DVD-A.

It´s the fate of many early adopters. Most buy that stuff, knowing full well these things can (and probably will) happen. No need to insult them (as a group).

MikeRox

In Japan yes, where stand alone DVD players costed more than a PS3 console, but in the west DVD players were cheaper than PS2 consoles so it had relatively little effect.

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brianh

Well if WB went blu the same dynamics would take place regarding hd dvd that would take place if WB went hd dvd exclusive.

The studios would be forced to go with it. They weren't back a couple years ago, but now is a different time.

I think HD movies will catch on more then people seem to think.
HDTV's are sellling like crazy. The demand is there for discs and players prices are just too GD high.
People want this stuff.

And where WB goes, there goes the war. We've already seen massive up ticks in sales b/c of Paramounts move.
You think WB moving would be LESS of an impact?

I agree that Sony being in control of the HD media world is scary.
Why people want so badly for them to be the dominant company only God knows that answer.
But theres comes a moment where you sh** or get off the pot.
I can't see Uni staying away from blu-ray a year or so from now with sales going up the ps3 price coming down and demand growing higher.

When this all started, yeah I understand what they were doing, but a year or 2 from now? Would be time to cut your losses. IMO.

Same with Sony if WB goes hd dvd. Either way, that's it. Not immediately of course, but get the fork ready.

MikeRox

Agreed, whichever side they pick, the opponent is finished. 50/50 if Warner goes Red is nonsense, the lack of faith in BD as a result of 2 major studios dropping it on the trot would kill it just like Warner pulling out of HD DVD would reduce the release schedule so much it wouldn't have many discs to try compete with anyway.

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brianh

So, what would Paramount do to spin WB going blu exclusive?

I realize this is speculation about speculation, but indulge.
They just ditched blu-ray. So now the biggest studio on the planet ditches hd dvd. I mean am I wrong in saying Paramount would be royally screwed then? lol

Not to mention about oh, 800k new owners.
Man, the sh** storm would be MASSIVE!

Add to that the players without updated profiles. The red screen of deaths.
The mind boggles

Chris Gerhard

What? The XBox add-on is a big success at those numbers and the PS3 at over 7,000,000 by the end of this year is not doing a lot better? What kind of dreamland do you guys exist in? Why would you compare a game console with HD DVD capability against standalone players? Consumers want value, consumers want a powerful home entertainment media center that does a lot. Consumers don't want HD DVD and have never wanted HD DVD despite giveaway prices. Check every market in the world where both products are being sold, Europe, Japan, Australia, Canada, and the US. What will you find? That Blu-ray leads and this is despite the fact it costs much more. If any of things you guys claim are true, why is that always the result, week after week, month after month?

Chris

Chris Gerhard

No, Paramount is not screwed, Paramount will come out smelling like a rose. They will have received a huge payment to have avoided losses from selling Blu-ray during a period where profits were not possible and will re-enter the Blu-ray market at a time when the hardware base will be well over 20,000,000 players worldwide and then have a chance at profits from selling software. Paramount will only need to release a simple statement regarding the fact Blu-ray players are now affordable and accepted by the market worldwide and the profile is finalized and congratulate all of the Blu-ray manufacturers and everything will be fine again. I am sure there will still be some resentment since the format war that Paramount/Dreamworks prolonged would have cost several companies a lot of money, but all will be forgiven and things can start moving forward finally.

I sure hope Warner makes the right decision.

Chris