HDDVD group cancel CES press conference in wake of Warner announcement

[Ayepecks]

The only reason why I think the situation has more than what's being told is because HD DVD had a huge presentation coming, with Warner being a main focus, and Sony didn't even have Warner listed. I think that's somewhat odd -- makes me thing HD DVD was sure they were going to get Warner, and Sony was trying to hide their dealings, and it helped them out. That's just my guess, and I don't blame either side for their moves -- just smart business.

[Brandon]

where can you buy this $100 hd-dvd player?

There were a few past deals where you could get a Toshiba A2 or A3 for $100 or so

[Mathachew Veteran]

The only thing that can save HD DVD is to bundle it in the 360 and the Wii. Imagine all those millions... had they done it from the get go. Ah well, a useless war. Hopefully we can finally have a settled winner and I can begin my HD collection.

[blackhorse]

The only thing that can save HD DVD is to bundle it in the 360 and the Wii. Imagine all those millions... had they done it from the get go. Ah well, a useless war. Hopefully we can finally have a settled winner and I can begin my HD collection.

Wii hardware is not powerful enough to decode HD video. If Toshiba+Microsoft can bring down the price of the drive to below 100, there might be some chance.

[AlphaPrime]

Moneyhats or not (and there probably were, just like the Paramount deal), Blu-ray won every week of 2007, worldwide. It's not hard to see why a studio might prefer it.

[goji]

Wii hardware is not powerful enough to decode HD video. If Toshiba+Microsoft can bring down the price of the drive to below 100, there might be some chance.

Would that be considered wise or a desperation tactic on the part of the HD-DVD group? Dunno about you guys, but if I were to see this after the news we've received in the last 48 hours, I'd shy away from it fast.

[XIII]

I knew this.. this whole thing reeks of dirty plays and payoffs. Major Warner executive switch over to top Sony position recently as well.

Consumer lost that's all there is.

Of course they'll cancel the press conference as they were stabbed in the back with backroom deals. But this doesn't mean the end for HD DVD yet. I was hasty in assumng that..

There's still hands to be played. Catalog advantage is now 60:40 for Blu-Ray, tough but still things could happen. But Universal and Paramount have a ton of blockbusters this year.

Money could be paid to Disney or Fox, deals can be made, HD DVD can swing back from it, the only thing is whether or not HD DVD Group wants to. They clearly have hardware advantage and mass appeal.

We'll see in the upcoming days what the answer will be, then we can definitely say if it's over or not.

Btw, have you heard, new Blu-Ray players are already getting announced. Pioneer says they'll be around $900 for the latest model with prices going up from there. Wonderful.

Only Sony only gains from HD-DVD loss, not the consumer. Those who support either Blue-Ray or HD-DVD should sit back and rethink what they actually gain from this. The answer is no. Lack of competition can really drive prices.

All that aside, it is really only a format to display HD content, no need to get so worked up over it.

[Boz]

Wii hardware is not powerful enough to decode HD video. If Toshiba+Microsoft can bring down the price of the drive to below 100, there might be some chance.

A few things that can indeed bring HD DVD back to the masses:

- everyday price of $99

- $20-$25 dollar twin-discs replacing Universal and Paramount day and date releases

- Xbox 360 with integrated HD DVD drive

- A purchase of Fox's and Disney's neutrality

There's still quite a bit of cash in HD DVD Group, they saved on marketing, they saved on payoffs and they have not had Sony's $7 billion loss so far if not more.

They can easily pay $1 billion if need be, but again, it's a matter of if they want to continue fighting .

[ctebah]

I knew this.. this whole thing reeks of dirty plays and payoffs. Major Warner executive switch over to top Sony position recently as well.

Consumer lost that's all there is.

Of course they'll cancel the press conference as they were stabbed in the back with backroom deals. But this doesn't mean the end for HD DVD yet. I was hasty in assumng that..

There's still hands to be played. Catalog advantage is now 60:40 for Blu-Ray, tough but still things could happen. But Universal and Paramount have a ton of blockbusters this year.

Money could be paid to Disney or Fox, deals can be made, HD DVD can swing back from it, the only thing is whether or not HD DVD Group wants to. They clearly have hardware advantage and mass appeal.

We'll see in the upcoming days what the answer will be, then we can definitely say if it's over or not.

Btw, have you heard, new Blu-Ray players are already getting announced. Pioneer says they'll be around $900 for the latest model with prices going up from there. Wonderful.

the war isn't over yet?

like you yourself said in this quote:

well it's definitely over.. I don't see HD DVD coming back from this.. a true shocker no doubt.. their decision is hardly fueled by business sense..

As I said, they wouldn't stay neutral for long.. I was pretty sure they would go HD DVD

THE WAR IS OVER!

now, as far as hd-dvd group cancelling their press conference because they got stabbed in the back? you serious :blink: ?

if they were backing their product like some fanboys do, they would have came out at CES and said "yes, we got hit hard but we didn't fall down", not cancel like some sorry loosers would do.

[Mathachew Veteran]

Wii hardware is not powerful enough to decode HD video. If Toshiba+Microsoft can bring down the price of the drive to below 100, there might be some chance.

It was more of a rhetorical statement than a serious one ;)

[Tech Star]

Guys, who won in the Betamax vs. VHS? The crappier one right? Now, I am not trying to say VHS was crappy, but it won. Blu-ray is not at all crappy, but it has some features missing that HD-DVD has, like Special Features from the movie. That does not make Blu-Ray crappy, if you guys are just mad if it is more expensive then wait for a cheaper version, if you are mad it has more DRM, well you are out of luck then the movie studios want more DRM for less copying and that is why Blu-Ray has had the edge.

[kak]

The quote in your signature has come full circle :p

[Joel]

Moneyhats or not (and there probably were, just like the Paramount deal), Blu-ray won every week of 2007, worldwide. It's not hard to see why a studio might prefer it.

Studios had already made their choices by going exclusive. This is the point I've been trying to get you to understand. If, for example, I buy only Disney and Fox titles, I'm buying only BD. If I like Spider-Man, I'm buying BD. That's my choice of films, not format, that is deciding which format I buy. I'll agree with anyone that the BD releases were, to me, the more current releases and there are a ton of titles that I would have loved to buy that were not available on HD-DVD. But I couldn't, because the studios locked themselves in to a format early on.

[DrCheese]

oh you've got to be kidding, HD-DVD can't come back from this at all. Warner investigated taking fox with them to the HD-DVD camp but they declined. Warner wanted the war to end, not to continue for another year. If they had gone to HD-DVD themselves the market would be split 50:50 which would be madness.

Also Fox/Disney and other studios support BD for the copy protection and region protection. Now that the marketplace is like a 70/30 split there is no way in hell they would see the point in jumping, unless they want to prolong the battle and annoy even more customers long term.

It would have been a loss for both sides if the war continued.

And no for the last time its NOT bad for the consumer. The war is nearly over which means people who sat on the fence can finally buy a player. Now retail stores can feel confident in pushing a single format. I expect them over here at least to start bundling BD players with new HDTV's.

The players won't be expensive forever. Now all the CE companies have to compete with each other more direct which means prices will fall and all will be well again. HD-DVD supporters have serious issues if they think prices will stay high during the year. It only took around 5/6 months for HD-DVD players to drop the price.

as they were stabbed in the back

Didn't you just say recently it was "just business"? I think the supposed payoffs are lame as well but to call them "Stabs in the back" is pretty funny. If it was the HD-DVD group that had won with warner I highly doubt you'd be calling it that. At the end of the day its the way things work. Its not just the AV market that has deals like this.

[blackhorse]

Would that be considered wise or a desperation tactic on the part of the HD-DVD group? Dunno about you guys, but if I were to see this after the news we've received in the last 48 hours, I'd shy away from it fast.

An intelligent consumer, who knows what he is getting into, will snap the drive and vote for a format that is more consumer friendly.

A few things that can indeed bring HD DVD back to the masses:

- everyday price of $99

- $20-$25 dollar twin-discs replacing Universal and Paramount day and date releases

- Xbox 360 with integrated HD DVD drive

- A purchase of Fox's and Disney's neutrality

There's still quite a bit of cash in HD DVD Group, they saved on marketing, they saved on payoffs and they have not had Sony's $7 billion loss so far if not more.

They can easily pay $1 billion if need be, but again, it's a matter of if they want to continue fighting .

Looks like greedy media companies will be the only ones making all the money with paybacks and bribes. What a sad day.

[Joel]

now, as far as hd-dvd group cancelling their press conference because they got stabbed in the back? you serious :blink: ?

if they were backing their product like some fanboys do, they would have came out at CES and said "yes, we got hit hard but we didn't fall down", not cancel like some sorry loosers would do.

So, their planned conference acclaiming Warner should have gone ahead? Oh wait, that means weeks of planning went down the tubes. I'm sure they could have scratched up a new plan in a matter of minutes on a cocktail napkin. :rolleyes: Silly Toshiba.

[ctebah]

So, their planned conference acclaiming Warner should have gone ahead? Oh wait, that means weeks of planning went down the tubes. I'm sure they could have scratched up a new plan in a matter of minutes on a cocktail napkin. :rolleyes: Silly Toshiba.

is there a proof was warner was going to go hd-dvd and that hd-dvd group was going to announce that? weeks of planning did go down the tube, probably, and they did get a hard blow dealt to them, but what shows more strenght, a company that can come out on top of it or the one that backs down?

can you seriously tell me that toshiba and hd-dvd group had nothing, absolutely nothing to announce or showcase in their booth? is hd-dvd that bad?

[goji]

An intelligent consumer, who knows what he is getting into, will snap the drive and vote for a format that is more consumer friendly.

At this point in the game, dont be so naive. Consumers don't have a vote or say in the matter. They didn't with VHS or DVD and they most certainly do not today.

Looks like greedy media companies will be the only ones making all the money with paybacks and bribes. What a sad day.

Haven't you heard? Thats what propelled the creation of the HD formats, for greed. The studios were tired of losing funds to pirating, and the HD formats were to be a result of their efforts to thwart file sharers.

[DrCheese]

- everyday price of $99

Yeah, great you've got a cheap player but its no good with nothing to watch on it. The average joe would be unlikely to buy it if he couldn't watch 80% of movies on it, regardless of the cost.

- Xbox 360 with integrated HD DVD drive

I doubt it given that the 360 has already sold to a lot of its target market. It'd take a while for that model to be released and only the die hards would rebuy a system. Its also pretty funny that the thing that HD-DVD supporters had against the PS3 is apparently one of the ways to help save HD-DVD

- A purchase of Fox's and Disney's neutrality

Yeah that'll be real great, make the war last longer, hurting the market more longterm. This is the worst possible case and this is why Warner went BD instead of going to HD-DVD alone.

Oh wait, that means weeks of planning went down the tubes.

Its hardly weeks when both sides were still at the bargaining table as late as last week (Apparently) Its pretty shocking if they was planning the whole event on an unfinished deal.

[blackhorse]

Guys, who won in the Betamax vs. VHS? The crappier one right? Now, I am not trying to say VHS was crappy, but it won. Blu-ray is not at all crappy, but it has some features missing that HD-DVD has, like Special Features from the movie. That does not make Blu-Ray crappy, if you guys are just mad if it is more expensive then wait for a cheaper version, if you are mad it has more DRM, well you are out of luck then the movie studios want more DRM for less copying and that is why Blu-Ray has had the edge.

VHS was a lot cheaper than Betamax and so it won. Its a different story here as HDDVD is also a lot cheaper than Bluray and is yet losing. Well all the DRM haters are going to go a *different* way than give their money for overpriced bluray. :p

[blackhorse]

At this point in the game, dont be so naive. Consumers don't have a vote or say in the matter. They didn't with VHS or DVD and they most certainly do not today.

Its a bit different this time around. All the information is freely available thanks to the tubes. But I agree, most people are so stupid that they don't know what they are getting into.

Haven't you heard? Thats what propelled the creation of the HD formats, for greed. The studios were tired of losing funds to pirating, and the HD formats were to be a result of their efforts to thwart file sharers.

If that is what the studios thought, then they are SOL as encryption has already been cracked. :laugh:

[+StevoFC MVC]

Yeah, great you've got a cheap player but its no good with nothing to watch on it. The average joe would be unlikely to buy it if he couldn't watch 80% of movies on it, regardless of the cost.

wtf are you talking about? seriously...it's not like that at all.

[Boz]

Yeah, great you've got a cheap player but its no good with nothing to watch on it. The average joe would be unlikely to buy it if he couldn't watch 80% of movies on it, regardless of the cost.

What the hell are you talking about. There's still 40% of movie catalog available for HD DVD. Please stop spreading completely incorrect information. I understand you are excited but it won't magically change the reality. HD DVD was dealt a big blow, but it is not necessarily over just because you are jumping around wanting it to be over cause you love Blu-Ray. I said it's over when I heard about the announcement but I have to say that I will wait to see the official response before I say anything anymore.

There's too much money play, backroom deals going on in this war to discuss anything with logic. This thing is fueled with money.

Yeah that'll be real great, make the war last longer, hurting the market more longterm. This is the worst possible case and this is why Warner went BD instead of going to HD-DVD alone.

No, the best case scenario, you will see more BOGOs, $99 hi-def players you can watch hi-def movies on, forcing Blu-Ray players down and make them increase the speed of Profile 2.0 players for cheap.

If HD DVD indeed folds, no more BOGOs, $300+ players with no need for Sony to do Blu-Ray updates to the PS3 anymore as often as before. Pioneer already announced $900+ Blu-Ray players with more coming up at even higher prices. Panasonic $500 only Profile 1.1 is the only one of the market with 2 more models coming at higher prices then that one, not cheaper.

If Blu-Ray indeed wins now, you'll understand what we got. Instead of $99 within months, BOGOs and other stuff, now you have no reason for them to go cheaper then $300. If you think that BD CE companies will compete, my guess is that they will agree that noone goes below $300 and keep it there.

Let's see if by end of this year, you can get sub $200 fully spec-ed Profile 2.0 Blu-Ray player. I'll be amazed if they make Profile 1.1 at this price.

[DrCheese]

It is now, Do you seriously think that people will buy something that hardly any films will be released on? Uni and paramount aren't THAT big

[Boz]

It is now, Do you seriously think that people will buy something that hardly any films will be released on? Uni and paramount aren't THAT big

Please, stop talking ridiculous. The 2 studios hold 40% market share, wtf are you talking about.