IMO Warner made the right decision.

Stunningamer

I for one am happy Warner decided to go Blu. I don't have a lot of money to throw around since I'm in college so I've been sitting back watching this war go on waiting for a winner. My primary reason for Blu-Ray preferernce was because I felt like I was gonna pick up a PS3 eventually, so it would've been like an added bonus alongside the video games.

They did what was right for the consumer at least this consumer. They probably did take a bribe as well but I doubt it's 500 million like the rumors seem to suggest. Oh well I'm just happy they made a decision this war needed to end and the longer they took the longer it would have been.

Superman

Someone is going to have to pay for all the money being thrown around at studios, free movies, etc. You think the corporations are going to eat that?

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mshulman

I think they made a poor decision.

Blu-ray and HD DVD both look and sound great. I own both. So for me, it's not a huge deal.

I can think beyond my needs though and thinking about what the average buyer may want, I don't think blu-ray has it. At the right price, the average buyer would want a disc that will work in High Def Players AND DVD players. Without something like this, I just don't see blu-ray ever over-taking DVD - At least not before we move on to the next thing - blu-ray will just be like Laserdisc.

The average buyer also doesn't want to know about profiles. They want to buy a player and have it work with all the features on all the discs. Afterall, were there different profiles with DVD? If a format is going to strive to replace DVD, it damn well better be as easy to buy and use.

Finally - Price. Blu-ray is too expensive for the typical consumers to go out and buy and start replacing any DVD's they have. DVD looks good to them, so they are going to wait.

WB didn't do this for the good of the consumer. Whatever their reasons were, I'm sure that wasn't it.

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Super XP

You are telling me you can't afford a $99 HD DVD player that can do a lot more than the expensive profile plagued Blu-Ray players cannot do?

Clearly HD DVD was the better format, and it’s too bad Warner had to make the wrong decision. They’ve sold us all out with 500+ million Blu money.

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mshulman

Let's be realistic. HD DVD players are at least $180. We haven't seen any $99 players since November and they were hard to get at that time. Saying $99 is as bad as Chris G saying there are 9 million blu-ray players.

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Lee Stewart

If the decision was the right decision it was definitely the wrong time to make and announce it.

El Despairado

But he is a gamer you see. He is just happy that when he actually gets his game machine, he will be able to play Blu-ray discs on it. He isn't thinking of and doesn't care about the fact that the decision could possibly ensure that HDM remains "niche". He doesn't care that many A/V enthusiasts are not interested in a gaming machine as a standalone player, and how ridiculous it is for a toy to control the fate of HDM. You can't argue with people who really don't actually care more about HDM then they do gaming and the survival of their prefered game console.

People who wanted the most functional and best quality pieces of HD viewing equipment at the most reasonable prices have been dealt a HUGE blow. It's beyond bizarre for me to think that anyone who was "truly" interested in High Def movies, and nothing else, would be happy about the Warner Decision. HD DVD was clearly the better choice for people only interested in High Definition media.

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daiello

Their decision was based on $$, HD-DVD was the smarter choice based on mshulman's reasons above.

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GLOW

Why?

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Voyeur

Well it's obvious Warners made the right decision. What's most important is that gamers can satisfy their video game fixation and occasionally pop in their disc of 300!

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El Despairado

I agree with all your points, but especially this one. It is completely obvious to me that Warner made this decision for the good of themselves. The more I have thought about it, the more angry I have become at Warner. First of all, they knew there was higher attach rates for HD DVD, and that in actuality Blu-ray only had the tiniest of leads in the format war, despite the overwhelming numbers of the PS3 trojan horse, Blu-ray having more exclusive studios, and Blu-ray having more CE support. That alone is proof enough for anyone with half a brain that HD DVD has more potential for mass success.

But besides the decision itself, I am angry that Warner so blatently lied to consumers in the months leading up to this announcement. As little as a couple weeks ago they were putting out press releases saying that there would be no Exclusivity Deals of any kind at CES or any other forseeable time. I really think they chose this tactic to cash in one last time on the HD DVD crowd, during the holiday season. I also think they chose the timing of this decision in order to maximize the blow to HD DVD in general

I am positive that Warner Bros. made this decision moreso to help boost the sales of SD DVD, by insuring that HDM stay's niche. There is no way they are interested in Blu-ray being a successful heir to SD DVD. However, maybe they didn't think HD DVD would be able to do that either, so they just had a "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" attitude? I really think that this decision illustrates that HDM was not a successful proposition for studio's at the end of the day.

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Lee Stewart

You are a smart man GLOW. I am SURE you know why.

HINT: 2 days before CES . . . less than 2 weeks after Xmas

pearl-drum-man

Because they should have done it three months ago if they were even going to consider it right now.

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BiggNewt

They said they wouldn't make a decision until after the holiday season, they might not have waited too long after, but they kept their word

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Stew4HD

Sadly, some people don't see the BIG picture and it shows in many of the blu fan boys posts. AKA, "too bad, so sad, we win, you lose". We all knew that supporters (the fanboys from both sides) wanted nothing more than total defeat of the other side, no matter the cost.

I put up with the HD DVD fanboys because I honestly felt HD DVD has more going for it and has better mass adoption appeal. Now it is just time to sit back and watch what unfolds. A huge part of me wants to see HD DVD group come out swinging and swing the BIG bucks in front of Disney's face. Another part just wants something new and truly improved to appear ASAP..... boink~!

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