HDDVD group cancel CES press conference in wake of Warner announcement

[ShaneSparky_YYZ]

So much for all those people who bought a HD DVD player for $99 during Black Friday ;) lol

[sn00pie]

I don't get what the bickering is about, HD DVD was the superior format, but here we are today with Blu-ray benig the winner, what you say and do now will not have any effect what so ever.

I feel for the people who ended up spending money on buying HD DVD players because of there low prices, and low movie prices. It's sad to see all these people left in the dust, so quick. Some will capitalize on this opportunity and purchase even cheaper HD DVD movies like Boz, and some will try to sell everything they can.

[b@nned]

Zack has nailed what appears to be the real story and I'm sure that Ron can verify (or not). Several industry insiders are revealed:

1) The studios (all of them) were not happy with the relatively slow growth of both formats. While, at the same time, standard def DVD sales were declining.

2) Warner preferred to go HD DVD exclusive but didn't want to do it by themselves. They felt they needed one more studio from the Blu-ray camp to Why is the story behind the deal suchgo HD DVD exclusive.

3) Warner and Fox had worked out a deal where both of them would announce going HD DVD exclusive at CES' HD DVD press conference. That was what the big news was going to be.

4) At the last minute, Fox got a better offer from the Blu camp and backed out of the deal.

5) Warner, feeling that the format war needed to end sooner rather than later (see #1), threw in the towel and accepted the fat offer that the Blu camp had been dangling in front of them.

[ShaneSparky_YYZ]

I feel for the people who ended up spending money on buying HD DVD players because of there low prices, and low movie prices.

The movie 300 is on HD DVD and Blu-Ray, the cost is actually $5 higher on the HD DVD version according to Best Buy.com

As for the players HD DVD is a cheaper when on SALE only. Aside from that reg price it's the same starting point for both.

I think both formats are good, but Blu-Ray can hold more storage for data backups :)

[AlphaPrime]

why is it "buying neutrality" when it comes to HD-DVD but it's "dirty payoffs" when it comes to BD-ROM? Both camps are camps are playing by the same rules. Sony came out of the gates with more support and continued to expand that support. Not to mention that Sony's marketing has been impressive and their inclusion of the blu-ray in the PS3 was nothing short of genius. I believe that it doesn't actually matter to the consumer which formats win, except to those who already invested in one of them. Most just want the confusion to end and I can't blame them. You say that competition drives prices and that the presence of hd-dvd is that necessary competition? What about other manufactures of blu-ray players? Sony isn't the only one. They will all have to compete with against one another for market share.

I gotta agree there.

So much for all those people who bought a HD DVD player for $99 during Black Friday

Well it wasn't that much, plus didn't people get free HD-DVD movies with it as well? If anything, it'd still make a nice upscaling DVD player.

[Joel]

As for the players HD DVD is a cheaper when on SALE only. Aside from that reg price it's the same starting point for both.

Um, no.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7942216

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1186003898783

why is it "buying neutrality" when it comes to HD-DVD but it's "dirty payoffs" when it comes to BD-ROM? Both camps are camps are playing by the same rules. Sony came out of the gates with more support and continued to expand that support. Not to mention that Sony's marketing has been impressive and their inclusion of the blu-ray in the PS3 was nothing short of genius. I believe that it doesn't actually matter to the consumer which formats win, except to those who already invested in one of them. Most just want the confusion to end and I can't blame them. You say that competition drives prices and that the presence of hd-dvd is that necessary competition? What about other manufactures of blu-ray players? Sony isn't the only one. They will all have to compete with against one another for market share. We've been seeing an avalache of bad news for the hd-dvd camp and i think it's going to only increase. It's my personal belief that hd-dvd will concede defeat by the end of june or july.

You've missed something. "Buying neutrality" would mean at least the studio would release on both formats. It's not the same thing as a payoff for Paramount or Warner to be exclusive.

[Julius Caro]

At launch, BD cheapest players were twice the price of the cheapest HD-DVD players. It took the PS3 to bring a cheaper BD player to the market.

When I bought the PS3 in March 2007, its price was the same (or with a 100 euro different at most) as the cheapest priced HD-DVD player. Buying a standalone (of either format) at that price would have been stupid considering what the PS3 offered and what it cost in comparison to the former.

Had I been living in the US, I would have chosen, no doubt, hd-dvd. But in Europe, it was a different story.

THe only movies I buy are imported from the US, I only get those I know are region free. Even the few titles I've bought here in Spain happened to be region free too. Dollar-euro exchange rate + bogos = movies for 10 euros.

HD-DVD didnt have as many bogos as bluray neither does it offer many titles that I find attractive.

[Echilon]

The best format won in the end regardless of what things were done for it to happen.

Exactly. It's better for everyone if there's just one high definition DVD format.

I'm surprised it took this long to find a winner.

[Joel]

When I bought the PS3 in March 2007, its price was the same (or with a 100 euro different at most) as the cheapest priced HD-DVD player.

So, USD$150 is the same price? Anyway, the way you guys get screwed in Europe is another story; the price HERE is the one that matters for these press-releases.

[CloudEngineer]

guess buying my ps3 was the right choice :)

[TDQuiksilver]

guess buying my ps3 was the right choice :)

Yep, looks like it. And it looks like Sony made a smart move by including a drive right there within their own gaming console.

[Boz]

Elaborate.

There's nothing to elaborate.. the HD DVD superiority in many aspects has been listed gazillion times. Why don't you participate in those threads where we talk about technical aspects.

- Cheaper

- SD/HD DVD combo/twin capability

- interactivity and online access

- all players unified and decoding advanced audio codecs in the player not requiring an advanced and more expensive AV receiver

- economically more viable for replicators bringing allowing lower prices faster

- 2-3x CHEAPER

- triple layer discs capability that has been officially approved 51gb and higher bit rate outmatching Blu-Ray

- region free

- using regular DVD discs to burn HD content (up to 45 mins) and watch it on your HD DVD player

- no profiles and need to repurchase the player to view new content being released

Do you have any questions? We can get into any one individually.

In addition to that, mainstream consumer HAVE indeed chosen HD DVD. There's no doubt about that. 43% mainstream consumers with HDTV said they favored HD DVD, 27% favored Blu-RAy and 30% was undecided according the study done by the TDG.

Edited January 10, 2008 by Boz

[Dogan]

There's nothing to elaborate.. the HD DVD superiority in many aspects has been listed gazillion times. Why don't you participate in those threads where we talk about technical aspects.

- Cheaper

False

- SD/HD DVD combo/twin capability

DVD/Blu-ray capability

- interactivity and online access

Profile 1.1 for Blu-ray

- all players unified and decoding advanced audio codecs in the player not requiring an advanced and more expensive AV receiver

Same for Blu-ray

- economically more viable for replicators bringing allowing lower prices faster

Same as Blu-ray

- triple layer discs capability that has been officially approved 51gb and higher bit rate outmatching Blu-Ray

Approved, but where?

- region free

Blu-ray is also region free. Only a small fraction of movies who use region coding. And it depends on studio.

- using regular DVD discs to burn HD content (up to 45 mins) and watch it on your HD DVD player.

Burned HD content on DVDs can be watched on Blu-ray players aswell

- no profiles and need to repurchase the player to view new content being released

Firmware upgrades for current and new players will allow this for Blu-ray players.

In addition to that, mainstream consumer HAVE indeed chosen HD DVD. There's no doubt about that. 43% mainstream consumers with HDTV said they favored HD DVD, 27% favored Blu-RAy and 30% was undecided according the study done by the TDG.

If what you say is correct, how come Blu-ray is absolutely crushing hd dvd on both software and hardware sales?

The only thing theres no doubt about, is the fact that the majority of consumers have chosen Blu-ray. Thanks to the consumers constantly chosing Blu-ray content, the studios prefered Blu-ray which ultimately made Blu-ray the winning format.

[ctebah]

In addition to that, mainstream consumer HAVE indeed chosen HD DVD. There's no doubt about that. 43% mainstream consumers with HDTV said they favored HD DVD, 27% favored Blu-RAy and 30% was undecided according the study done by the TDG.

that's ridiculous. to state that is just funny. wasn't it a study done in the US, as I pointed out in the thread you started about the study?

to state that 43% of mainstream customers favor HD-DVD is ridiculous. to state that 43% of US HDTV customers want HD-DVD would be correct. there is a BIG difference boz, but you apparently fail to see that.

though I am not denying the accuracy of the study, as Dogan pointed out:

The only thing theres no doubt about, is the fact that the majority of consumers have chosen Blu-ray. Thanks to the consumers constantly chosing Blu-ray content, the studios prefered Blu-ray which ultimately made Blu-ray the winning format.

Edited January 10, 2008 by stevan

[TruckWEB]

1) DVD/Blu-ray capability

2) Profile 1.1 for Blu-ray

3) Same for Blu-ray

4) Same as Blu-ray

5) Approved, but where?

6) Blu-ray is also region free. Only a small fraction of movies who use region coding. And it depends on studio.

7) Burned HD content on DVDs can be watched on Blu-ray players aswell

8) Firmware upgrades for current and new players will allow this for Blu-ray players.

Okay, a good read here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc

1) Show me a Blu-Ray movie that also have a DVD side on it?

2) Read the Wiki above, On-Line Interactive content is only mandatory for Profile 2.0 player. Current Profile 1.1 don't need Internet connection.

3) You're right, Blu-Ray can decode in the player, same as HD-DVD. BOZ : Link for that info??

4) http://wesleytech.com/blu-ray-vs-hd-dvd-re...s-revealed/111/

HD-DVD disc and replication is cheaper than Blu-Ray, always was. Part of the huge money deal with studios is to cover that higher cost.

5) http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/15127/DVD-Fo...r-51GB-HD-DVDs/

The 3 layers 51Gb HD-DVD is approved by the DVD Forum. But NO MOVIES are out on this new 3-layers format.

6) See the Wiki link, REGION CODING is mandatory for Blu-Ray. That's even a big reason for New Line to move to Blu-Ray.... Sony is also keeping a close eye on China, because they where the one putting out region free DVD player and they don't want that to happen with Blu-Ray.

7) Everything that you write on a DVD will be playable on HD-DVD or Blu-Ray.... BOZ : Clean this one out, I'm not following you.

8) Firmware update can't bring you new hardware required to follow the Profile update... Again, see the Wiki. If the player can't do it, a Firmware update can't help.

All in all, the only true thing is that for all the Positive thing about HD-DVD, one can't help to notice that during 2007, week after week, Blu-Ray sold more movies than HD-DVD.

If I had a Studio, movies sales would be a strong factor in selecting my format of choice. It would have to be, Blu-Ray.

[Coldgunner]

3) You're right, Blu-Ray can decode in the player, same as HD-DVD. BOZ : Link for that info??

6) See the Wiki link, REGION CODING is mandatory for Blu-Ray. That's even a big reason for New Line to move to Blu-Ray.... Sony is also keeping a close eye on China, because they where the one putting out region free DVD player and they don't want that to happen with Blu-Ray.

8) Firmware update can't bring you new hardware required to follow the Profile update... Again, see the Wiki. If the player can't do it, a Firmware update can't help.

All in all, the only true thing is that for all the Positive thing about HD-DVD, one can't help to notice that during 2007, week after week, Blu-Ray sold more movies than HD-DVD.

If I had a Studio, movies sales would be a strong factor in selecting my format of choice. It would have to be, Blu-Ray.

3)Correct, the player don't say to itself that its got a BD-ROM media, it just detects a disc with files, so you could put the same content onto dvd's as long as its encoded the same

6) http://bluray.liesinc.net/

its not mandatory, its an optional extra

8)only player so far that can upgrade the profile via firmware so far is the PS3, depends heavily on the player, there may be a standalone released with features available that are not available till a future profile and all it'd need is a firmware update.

[Ji@nBing]

6) See the Wiki link, REGION CODING is mandatory for Blu-Ray. That's even a big reason for New Line to move to Blu-Ray.... Sony is also keeping a close eye on China, because they where the one putting out region free DVD player and they don't want that to happen with Blu-Ray.

:laugh: Good luck to Sony on that one. The Chinese always get around any anti-piracy techniques. Guaranteed within a year you will see a region free Blu-Ray player from a Chinese company. Not only that, but one that gets past all the DRM.

[Coldgunner]

:laugh: Good luck to Sony on that one. The Chinese always get around any anti-piracy techniques. Guaranteed within a year you will see a region free Blu-Ray player from a Chinese company. Not only that, but one that gets past all the DRM.

once ps3 firmware is exploited too, much the same as to how the custom firmware psp's are now region free on UMD movies