'Don't fall for the BD hype,' says the HD DVD front man

zombi3 · 02-12-2008, 06:09 PM

Quote:

"Don't fall for the BD hype," says Olivier Van Wynendaele, the HD DVD Promotion Group Europe's front man, in the group's weekly Industry Bulletin.

With recent developments in Hollywood, there have been claims made that the format war is over and that consumers have made their choice. While HD DVD supporters like Toshiba have always believed that the consumer will decide who wins the format war, in reality when the total high definition optical business represents less than one percent of total DVD sales, it really is far too early to declare a winner.

In fact, the reality is a little more complex. Our own research and analysis confirms that the average consumer on the street is pretty happy with the quality of their DVDs and the ability of HDTVs to ‘upscale’ a standard definition image. When they visit their retailer, they opt for up-scaling players rather than going with full HD. There is also considerable misunderstanding when it comes to how the two formats are performing.

On the Blu-ray side, the PS3 has been marketed as the principal playback device for Blu-ray movies, which appears to give Blu-ray a considerable advantage, but look closer. If you move away from the overhyped claims and closely examine the ‘attach rates’ – which is the information that the studios really track – Blu-ray still cannot achieve one software unit per player sold. This low attach rate does appear to challenge the Blu-ray claim that the PS3 is a primary movie playback device.

In contrast, HD DVD has enjoyed a consistent tie rate of movies to players of 3.5 movies to one player.

Despite the early stage of HD DVD adoption, we have also seen significant success for the format across Europe. By the end of 2007, HD DVD’s accumulated share of the high definition standalone player market exceeded 60 per cent of the overall market. In the fourth quarter of 2007 alone, HD DVD doubled its European installed base of players. Since the recent price repositioning, Toshiba has also seen a resurgence in its European sales and we believe that the value offered by HD DVD will continue to attract consumers despite recent Hollywood events.

Consumers are purchasing HD DVD players in increasing numbers, and local and Hollywood studios are producing new titles to support the additional hardware sales momentum. To illustrate, there will be around 100 new HD DVD titles released in Europe this year from a range of content providers and given the absence of region encoding restrictions, consumers will be able to enjoy this content wherever they are.

There is another interesting dimension to the HD DVD story that plays uniquely in Europe – the reliance on local content and it is here where HD DVD maintains a considerable advantage across the production value chain.

In countries like France, over half of all the content produced is for the local markets. Local studios and content providers are looking for the format that best suits the local environment. HD DVD has over 20 authoring labs in Europe, which have produced over 150 local titles so far. Compared to Blu-ray’s ten authoring labs and less than 80 local titles, HD DVD offers the industry the best route into to producing content on HD DVD.

With mandatory features that were agreed back in July 2005, consumers are assured of certain features in every player – permanent connection to the internet, onboard storage and picture in picture in-movie experiences. This gives the consumer confidence that whichever player they choose, they are assured of a consistent, positive experience. HD DVD also delivers the web-enabled features that the competition can still not offer.

HD DVD is still standing, and the format war is not over yet. HD DVD continues to see strong support in the European market, increasing sales of HD DVD players and continued interest in the format from the industry and consumers. HD DVD will continue to market and produce the format as long as there is a demand in the marketplace.

Olivier Van Wynendaele, is Assistant General Manager, Consumer Products Division, Toshiba UK.

Story filed 11 February 2008

Well if HD DVD does in fact show a continued presence in the European market in light of all the bad news it has suffered here in the good old US of A, then I will look forward to importing some cool stuff in the coming months. Region-free is a great thing.

http://www.dvd-intelligence.com/main.../2_olivier.htm

kamspy · 02-12-2008, 06:17 PM

I called it on another thread!

I called it, called it, called it!

zombi3 · 02-12-2008, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kamspy

I called it on another thread!

I called it, called it, called it!

Oh yeah, I thought some of that sounded a little familiar.

tomes · 02-12-2008, 07:05 PM

Wow some interesting news from the HDDVD camp there...NOT....

Super XP · 02-12-2008, 07:11 PM

Finally some positive info for HD DVD. Maybe Toshiba USA needs a lesson from Toshiba UK

But it's obviously not positive when you lose industry support by the day in North America. Toshiba better have something good this Thursday.

zombi3 · 02-12-2008, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomes

Wow some interesting news from the HDDVD camp there...NOT....

It was interesting enough for you to crap on this thread.

tomes · 02-12-2008, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zombi3

It was interesting enough for you to crap on this thread.

I read pretty much every thread (unfortunately I'm on the internet way too much these days..) I was just expecting some more, that's all.

Super is right though, at least HDDVD Europe is trying something (not much) but better than the pathetic response of Toshiba USA...

Zombi3, You're a bit pissy after the last couple of day's bad news I see. I'm really not the person you need to go after if you are angry.

zombi3 · 02-12-2008, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Super XP

Finally some positive info for HD DVD. Maybe Toshiba USA needs a lesson from Toshiba UK

But it's obviously not positive when you lose industry support by the day in North America. Toshiba better have something good this Thursday.

Well the other forums are buzzing with Blu folks saying there may be some big news for BD around Valentine's Day, so Toshiba might want to spill the beans tomorrow instead.

...unless of course they plan to wave the white flag, then Thursday would make sense.

zombi3 · 02-12-2008, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomes

Zombi3, You're a bit pissy after the last couple of day's bad news I see. I'm really not the person you need to go after if you are angry.

Overreacted...sorry.

tomes · 02-12-2008, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zombi3

Overreacted...sorry.

sorry, my response wasn't appropriate either, plus I didn't realize you created the thread..

h0mi · 02-12-2008, 08:35 PM

Dear Mr. Van Wynendaele,

Attach rates only matter when sales figures are close between 2 competing formats. All HD-DVD players combined have been outsold by all blu-ray players combined by a very significant margin. The fact that attach rates show a 3.5 to under 1.0 rate for HD-DVD has not been sufficient to compensate for the huge # of players sold. The result is that software sales are still much better on blu-ray than HD-DVD and this will worsen as studios drop the HD-DVD format.

This mantra has been chanted repeatedly by HD-DVD evangelicals and it did nothing to prevent the slew of bad news we've heard since January 4th, and this attach rate discrepancy will worsen as HD-DVD owners buy fewer & fewer titles (but more players).

Super XP · 02-12-2008, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zombi3

Well the other forums are buzzing with Blu folks saying there may be some big news for BD around Valentine's Day, so Toshiba might want to spill the beans tomorrow instead.

...unless of course they plan to wave the white flag, then Thursday would make sense.

All I've been hearing is good news for HD DVD is coming soon. But does this latest news about Best Buy pushing BD over HD DVD changes that news? Well, we all know that BB always endorsed Blu-Ray from the start. So IMO it really is nothing new.

The 3 Best Buys in my area are pathetic, they consistently tell people that HD DVD is 1080i and Blu-Ray is 1080p. Talk about False Advertisement & misleading the public. If they choose to push Blu-Ray over HD DVD, fine by me, but at least tell the truth because in the end the consumer loses.

Super XP · 02-12-2008, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by h0mi

Dear Mr. Van Wynendaele,

Attach rates only matter when sales figures are close between 2 competing formats. All HD-DVD players combined have been outsold by all blu-ray players combined by a very significant margin. The fact that attach rates show a 3.5 to under 1.0 rate for HD-DVD has not been sufficient to compensate for the huge # of players sold. The result is that software sales are still much better on blu-ray than HD-DVD and this will worsen as studios drop the HD-DVD format.

This mantra has been chanted repeatedly by HD-DVD evangelicals and it did nothing to prevent the slew of bad news we've heard since January 4th, and this attach rate discrepancy will worsen as HD-DVD owners buy fewer & fewer titles (but more players).

Is it far for the BDA to buy Blu-Ray movies to sway the true numbers? I call that fraud IMO, I really hope an insider can open the door on this dark secret so that the BDA can get hammered for lying through there teeth

ssjLancer · 02-13-2008, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Super XP

Is it far for the BDA to buy Blu-Ray movies to sway the true numbers? I call that fraud IMO, I really hope an insider can open the door on this dark secret so that the BDA can get hammered for lying through there teeth

...seriously.

02-13-2008, 01:42 AM

Well, at least someone still believes in HD DVD in a PR note.

02-12-2008, 07:05 PM	#4
tomes High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 1,416	Wow some interesting news from the HDDVD camp there...NOT.... __________________ The War is OVER!!!!!

02-12-2008, 07:11 PM	#5
Super XP Tom Baker (1974-1981) Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Toronto, ON. Canada Posts: 5,983	Finally some positive info for HD DVD. Maybe Toshiba USA needs a lesson from Toshiba UK But it's obviously not positive when you lose industry support by the day in North America. Toshiba better have something good this Thursday. __________________ Toshiba REGZA 46" 1080p LCD HDTV (46RF350U) - (Living Room) Toshiba REGZA 47" 1080p 240Hz LCD HDTV (47ZV650U) - (Theatre Room) Toshiba HD-A35 / HD-A3 Patriot PBO CORE 1080p HD Media Player Panasonic DMP-BDT210(3D) w/ Wifi LG BD570C Blu-Ray Player w/ Wifi Bell HD Satellite Receiver (6131) x 2 Onkyo TX-SR605 7.1 TrueHD/DTS HD MA Precision Acoustics™ 8Ch. Hi Def Speakers DVD's = 129+ = 124+ = 59+ Last edited by Super XP; 02-12-2008 at 07:16 PM.

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02-12-2008, 06:17 PM	#2
kamspy Brewers lol Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 21,932	I called it on another thread! I called it, called it, called it!

02-12-2008, 08:35 PM	#11
h0mi High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 348	Dear Mr. Van Wynendaele, Attach rates only matter when sales figures are close between 2 competing formats. All HD-DVD players combined have been outsold by all blu-ray players combined by a very significant margin. The fact that attach rates show a 3.5 to under 1.0 rate for HD-DVD has not been sufficient to compensate for the huge # of players sold. The result is that software sales are still much better on blu-ray than HD-DVD and this will worsen as studios drop the HD-DVD format. This mantra has been chanted repeatedly by HD-DVD evangelicals and it did nothing to prevent the slew of bad news we've heard since January 4th, and this attach rate discrepancy will worsen as HD-DVD owners buy fewer & fewer titles (but more players).

02-13-2008, 01:42 AM	#15
Nikopol Guest Posts: n/a	Well, at least someone still believes in HD DVD in a PR note.