Note that the article you posted was from 11/13/2006 and note the date regarding the M55 with a HD DVD burner. That's 3/1/2007...which one do you think has the fresher content?
I do think HD DVD will deliver 2 million players. If true the Universal list is 60 titles strong out of the 100 exclusives they promised thus far. Warner and Paramount should be kicking in soon and Dreamworks looks ready to drop some movies. It really is going well for both formats. I think the studios will eventually realize that they have to mitigate their risks and find a way to deliver to both formats with one SKU. Warners Total HD is the first foray into this area.
Yes, I think the studios will eventually realize that they have to mitigate thier risks and find a way to deliver to both formats all on account of one CE manufacturer in Toshiba. Suuuure. Reality will be the butcher of this logic, as Toshiba does not have such clout. The only one your kidding with this nonsense is yourself...and maybe some other Microsoft sheeple.
Isn't that a total non sequitur, going from talking about HD players to talking about gaming consoles?
It's not a non sequitur, it's just nonsense
Non sequitur means "does not follow." For example, while Apple's stock dropped after the Apple TV delay, it does not follow that the drop is because of the Apple TV delay. AppleInsider's article on that was a non sequitur.
Murch talking about consoles was just him rambling. It's irrelevant.
Quote:
Flood the market with mediocre movies and hope they can collectively bring up sales figures for the format? Heck, I've never even heard of some of these titles, much less want to buy them. Hot Fuzz, a film that according to IMDb is direct-to-video in the US market? Alpha Dog, a title that made all of $15 million at the theaters last year? And Legend, Tom Cruise's legendarily panned flop? Bwahahahah! People must be beating down the doors for those. These are incredible exclusives all right. I don't know why anyone would possibly want a Blu-ray player which can't play these titles.
In all fairness, a lot of these are pretty good. The Big Lebowski, Eternal Sunshine, 40 YO Virgin, Mallrats. You're just picking out the duds
In all fairness, a lot of these are pretty good. The Big Lebowski, Eternal Sunshine, 40 YO Virgin, Mallrats. You're just picking out the duds
There are some movies that I'm waiting for HD. There are others that DVD is good enough...even the good ones there if I don't already have on DVD I'm not likely to buy in HD either.
Hmmm...what am I waiting for...the Pixar movies, Potter (which is coming), LOTR, and a few others. Disney classics like Lion King, etc. Stuff I want the theater experience with...not titles I really don't care if it comes cropped into full-screen.
i seem to remember PRE BD launch when the HD-DVD was selling and people were buying discs how BD fans were "getting their noses rubbed" with people like murch saying and im paraphrasing here "BD is full of PROMISES and ARNT actually shipping... its vaporware.. who in their right mind needs 50GB?" etc. etc.
NOW of course its different, BD IS SHIPPING and in number and selling MORE (50GB) discs.. actual COLD HARD FACT....
so what are people like much saying now??
"well HD-DVD WILL HAVE this title out, and that title out... and a bigger capacity (50GB) triple layer disc format...eventually"
funny, isnt it.... theres the writing, its on the wall for all to read...
murch is also claiming 2 million HD-DVD players by the end of the year.. like thats a GOOD thing... {and 2 mil aint to be sniffed at}
and then saying ONLY 6 million BD players... {but still somehow managing to SINFF AT that figure}
erm... isnt that an admission of defeat in all but actually saying "guys, you were right BD is winning and has indeed WON"
but i do admire someone who sticks to their guns... deluded though i think they are..
but i do admire someone who sticks to their guns... deluded though i think they are..
But they're sticking to their guns for entirely the wrong reason....that they don't want to admit the format "they" chose is losing the format war. You're right...BD is outselling HD-DVD. Right now it certainly seems that Blu-Ray is going to win the war. Of course, that could change. I know I'm not buying a standalone player until the war is totally settled. My PS3 will do the trick until then.
. . . I know I'm not buying a standalone player until the war is totally settled. My PS3 will do the trick until then.
I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but our family used a PS2 to play DVDs for three, maybe four, years. Even then, no one felt a need for a stand alone player, but I bought one a year or two ago because they were so cheap.
I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but our family used a PS2 to play DVDs for three, maybe four, years. Even then, no one felt a need for a stand alone player, but I bought one a year or two ago because they were so cheap.
Why would you want to buy another when the first one works fine? Just cos its not standalone...
Why would you want to buy another when the first one works fine? Just cos its not standalone. . .
Impulse purchase.
Actually, the PS2 had to sit on the coffee table so the controllers would reach it for games. We could have lived that way longer, but having the DVD player with other audio/video gear was better. No cables across the floor to the TV set.
When we get a PS3, it might last even longer if it is not too noisy. The controllers are Bluetooth from what I hear.
and then saying ONLY 6 million BD players... {but still somehow managing to SINFF AT that figure}
The problem is that of those 6 million, something like 80% will be PS3s (someone posted an article awhile back that showed that of the current number of Blu-ray players, only 25,000 were set-tops, the rest being PS3s). And there is no information about how many PS3s are being used as Blu-Ray players. That is the difference.
So it is really hard, and why I think you need to look at title sales. If both formats are selling equally in terms of titles, then there is no winner yet. If over the next year, HD DVD or Blu-ray is selling many more titles than the other, a winner can be called.
murch is also claiming 2 million HD-DVD players by the end of the year.. like thats a GOOD thing... {and 2 mil aint to be sniffed at}
and then saying ONLY 6 million BD players... {but still somehow managing to SINFF AT that figure}
erm... isnt that an admission of defeat in all but actually saying "guys, you were right BD is winning and has indeed WON"
but i do admire someone who sticks to their guns... deluded though i think they are..
Buying an HD DVD player is a choice to play movies. That means a %100 attachrate. The PS3 is now 3rd and dwindling in console sales because Sony forced you fools to eat the extra costs of a Blu-ray player when it wasn't needed. Yes there will be 6 million Blu-ray players by years end but the problem is that they will be playing Playstation games as opposed to 2 million HD DVD players purchased "expressly" for watching movies. It's not rocket science here folks...that's why attachrate is important.
The problem is that of those 6 million, something like 80% will be PS3s (someone posted an article awhile back that showed that of the current number of Blu-ray players, only 25,000 were set-tops, the rest being PS3s). And there is no information about how many PS3s are being used as Blu-Ray players. That is the difference.
Again, who cares how many PS3s are used? All that matters to a studio is how many discs are sold, and Blu-ray disc sales figures are higher than HD DVD's, regardless of how many or few PS3s are used. If I were a studio, I wouldn't care if somebody was buying my discs to use as coasters on the coffee table, just as long as they're buying my discs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kupan787
So it is really hard, and why I think you need to look at title sales. If both formats are selling equally in terms of titles, then there is no winner yet. If over the next year, HD DVD or Blu-ray is selling many more titles than the other, a winner can be called.
But they're not selling "equally well." Blu-ray recently passed HD DVD in total disc sales, and that was given HD DVD's six month headstart. Since the beginning of the year, Blu-ray disc sales have been trouncing HD DVD by better than a 2:1 ratio. There's no reason to expect that will suddenly drop back to 1:1, Universal or no Universal.
"We believe by the end of the year, we will see one format start to dominate. At the moment all the cards are stacked in favor of Blu-ray coming out on top. In reality, the only companies holding on to HD DVD are Toshiba and Universal and, yes, it will be a difficult pill for them to swallow to switch to Blu-ray. But it was a difficult pill for Sony to swallow when they had to start making VHS machines [after Betamax failed]. It will probably be easier for Universal because they don’t have any real financial incentive to keep HD DVD going. Toshiba has got a strong vested interest in prolonging the life of the DVD format, and that’s what HD DVD is all about. It’s basically extending the DVD format as long as you can take it."
He's absolutely right. What exactly would Universal have to gain by continuing to shun Blu-ray? What terrible fate would befall them if they embraced Blu-ray or at least went neutral? I honestly can't see a downside to them abandoning their HD DVD-only stance, especially since all the gloom and doom last year about Blu-ray discs not being able to match HD DVD costs have proven to be FUD with many Blu-ray editions being cheaper than their HD DVD counterparts. And in fact, Universal already distributes a few Blu-ray titles overseas, just none in the US.
The studios care because information is important. Total disc sales are nice but you want to know where those disc sales are emanating from and what players are the "hot" players. You seem to wish that studios become willfully ignorant about their content which is asinine.
Wow ...HD DVD shipped a whopping 9 weeks before Blu-ray. If you couldn't get this basic information straight then how are we to believe the rest of your post which could be wrought with misinformation as well?
With the studio advantage that Blu-ray has I think it would be silly to think that HD DVD would keep the lead forever. My hope was that the sales were good enough to even things out but when they announced 175k players in North America at CES 2007 I knew that wasn't enough. I was expecting/hoping for 400k.
Then no one thought there'd be a drought of movies come January for HD DVD. My thoughts are the piracy issues are a severe concern for all studios and you see them moving ship dates back on important titles. The consortium behind AACS has their work cut out for themselves.
We can talk all day about what good/bad comes from Universal staying exclusive to HD DVD. Why are people looking at Universal as the company that has to "do the right thing" while giving Fox/Disney/Columbia a pass? They all could deliver content to both platforms without incurring that much of a hit.
The author doesn't know what kind of financial incentive that Universal has nor does he know the financial incentives for Fox/Disney/Columbia but there are incentives.
You can't see the downsides because you've been slanted towards Blu-ray. What are we really supposed to believe that Kolchak has weighed the pros/cons of both formats and articulated these to people?
"When all you have is a hammer all your problems tend to look like nails"
What titles are Universal distributing over seas? Here goes another screw up by you that will quickly be fixed by me.
You can't see the downsides because you've been slanted towards Blu-ray. What are we really supposed to believe that Kolchak has weighed the pros/cons of both formats and articulated these to people?
Please enlighten us poor rubes, o omniscient one. What are the downsides?
Quote:
Originally Posted by hmurchison
What titles are Universal distributing over seas? Here goes another screw up by you that will quickly be fixed by me.
Note that many of these discs have Universal listed as distributor in their descriptions. To wit: Big Fish, Casino Royale, Hitch, Kung Fu Hustle, Layer Cake, Marie Antoinette, Monster House, Resident Evil, SWAT, Stealth, Talladega Nights, Ultraviolet and Underworld Evolution. Universal will also be distributing Casino Royale for Sony in Norway and Denmark.
Here's another list covering Universal distributing BR discs in a few other EU countries.
Meanwhile, while you were gleefully quoting one retailer as hoping HD DVD players would drop to $299 by fall (which Toshiba refused to comment on), here's an official comment from the president of Sony (not some anonymous retailer or even spokesman for Sony) reported yesterday:
"On Monday, Sony Electronics President and Chief Operating Officer Stan Glasgow said the company will drop prices on its Blu-ray players significantly this year, possibly as low as $299, which could give Sony an even greater edge in the format war. Currently Blu-ray players retail for $999, compared with HD-DVD players, which retail for $499. "
The studios care because information is important. Total disc sales are nice but you want to know where those disc sales are emanating from and what players are the "hot" players. You seem to wish that studios become willfully ignorant about their content which is asinine.
Wow ...HD DVD shipped a whopping 9 weeks before Blu-ray. If you couldn't get this basic information straight then how are we to believe the rest of your post which could be wrought with misinformation as well?
Please. Blu-ray didn't really launch until the PS3. The launch with Samsung was horrid and before the PS3 Blu-ray had zero momentum and it was HD-DVD all the way.
Quote:
With the studio advantage that Blu-ray has I think it would be silly to think that HD DVD would keep the lead forever. My hope was that the sales were good enough to even things out but when they announced 175k players in North America at CES 2007 I knew that wasn't enough. I was expecting/hoping for 400k.
Why do you want a format war? That's just stupid. You wanted HD-DVD to do well enough to survive if it couldn't win? Someone here is married to their hardware and it's not the Blu-ray folks.
Frankly, if the PS3 hadn't got Blu-ray any momentum the best for everyone is if it just outright failed and became yet another proprietary Sony format.
Quote:
You can't see the downsides because you've been slanted towards Blu-ray. What are we really supposed to believe that Kolchak has weighed the pros/cons of both formats and articulated these to people?
What downsides to the consumer? Zero zip nada. Superior tech with more movies at the same price.
Quote:
"When all you have is a hammer all your problems tend to look like nails"
And when your pet technology is losing everything looks like excuses.
Please. Blu-ray didn't really launch until the PS3. The launch with Samsung was horrid and before the PS3 Blu-ray had zero momentum and it was HD-DVD all the way.
Why do you want a format war? That's just stupid. You wanted HD-DVD to do well enough to survive if it couldn't win? Someone here is married to their hardware and it's not the Blu-ray folks.
Frankly, if the PS3 hadn't got Blu-ray any momentum the best for everyone is if it just outright failed and became yet another proprietary Sony format.
What downsides to the consumer? Zero zip nada. Superior tech with more movies at the same price.
And when your pet technology is losing everything looks like excuses.
Vinea
It's still a fact that Blu-ray launched on June 25th no matter how many excuses we attempt to apply. What you're pointing out is that consumers don't really "buy" into a format until it becomes affordable. The PS3 was the first affordable Blu-ray player.
HD DVD will win/lose depending on the content. It's not Blu-ray that will win outright but win by proxy. I find that to be most interesting about the battle. If the content was exactly the same across platforms who would be winning this battle?
"Wah, wah, wah. It's all the studios' fault! They didn't pick the format I desperately wanted! If only they'd followed me, we'd win!"
Still waiting for you to "quickly fix my screwup."
What are the odds Sony can meet that $299 target? Pretty good, considering the costs of the mechanisms are now being amortized over many millions of PS3s.
It's still a fact that Blu-ray launched on June 25th no matter how many excuses we attempt to apply. What you're pointing out is that consumers don't really "buy" into a format until it becomes affordable. The PS3 was the first affordable Blu-ray player.
HD DVD will win/lose depending on the content. It's not Blu-ray that will win outright but win by proxy. I find that to be most interesting about the battle. If the content was exactly the same across platforms who would be winning this battle?
Guessing by the numbers of titles out for both, Blu-ray by a long shot
So Kolchak ..what's your price. What's it going to take to get you to buy a HD DVD player?
Hey I fully realize that I bought into the format that has the least amount of studios. I'm not whining about it I'm trying to change this. I think there are a lot of people who have chosen HD DVD because they didn't want to be told to buy a more expensive player that really didn't give them anything. History has shown with DVD vs Divx that studios like Fox and Disney will often make the wrong choice out of the gate. Will history repeat? We will see.
Hey I fully realize that I bought into the format that has the least amount of studios. I'm not whining about it I'm trying to change this. I think there are a lot of people who have chosen HD DVD because they didn't want to be told to buy a more expensive player that really didn't give them anything.
For those who wanted an early start on HD movies, HD-DVD was fine. Both my older sons have an Xbox and got the cheap HD-DVD player. They are happy with it. I don't think they have any delusions that it is the winning format, but it was first with movie titles. I think they even got a free King Kong with their purchase. Both have Netflix and now get all the titles in HD-DVD when available. Who can argue with that. In a couple years they will have their money's worth, and more.
My youngest son lives at home and wants a PS3. I am delighted with that because it means a Blu-ray player, which I am partial to because it will be the surviving format over time, IMHO. I'm not in as much of a hurry to see HD movies as my older sons. I'm still pleased with the 'great' improvement in DVDs and the improved sound from the Yamaha sound projector. Also, we just got our Dish HD satellite receiver a couple weeks ago and can watch HDTV shows.
I will be ready for Blu-ray in a couple month. Don't want too much, too soon.
Comments
Note that the article you posted was from 11/13/2006 and note the date regarding the M55 with a HD DVD burner. That's 3/1/2007...which one do you think has the fresher content?
I do think HD DVD will deliver 2 million players. If true the Universal list is 60 titles strong out of the 100 exclusives they promised thus far. Warner and Paramount should be kicking in soon and Dreamworks looks ready to drop some movies. It really is going well for both formats. I think the studios will eventually realize that they have to mitigate their risks and find a way to deliver to both formats with one SKU. Warners Total HD is the first foray into this area.
Yes, I think the studios will eventually realize that they have to mitigate thier risks and find a way to deliver to both formats all on account of one CE manufacturer in Toshiba. Suuuure. Reality will be the butcher of this logic, as Toshiba does not have such clout. The only one your kidding with this nonsense is yourself...and maybe some other Microsoft sheeple.
Isn't that a total non sequitur, going from talking about HD players to talking about gaming consoles?
It's not a non sequitur, it's just nonsense
Non sequitur means "does not follow." For example, while Apple's stock dropped after the Apple TV delay, it does not follow that the drop is because of the Apple TV delay. AppleInsider's article on that was a non sequitur.
Murch talking about consoles was just him rambling. It's irrelevant.
Flood the market with mediocre movies and hope they can collectively bring up sales figures for the format? Heck, I've never even heard of some of these titles, much less want to buy them. Hot Fuzz, a film that according to IMDb is direct-to-video in the US market? Alpha Dog, a title that made all of $15 million at the theaters last year? And Legend, Tom Cruise's legendarily panned flop? Bwahahahah! People must be beating down the doors for those. These are incredible exclusives all right. I don't know why anyone would possibly want a Blu-ray player which can't play these titles.
In all fairness, a lot of these are pretty good. The Big Lebowski, Eternal Sunshine, 40 YO Virgin, Mallrats. You're just picking out the duds
In all fairness, a lot of these are pretty good. The Big Lebowski, Eternal Sunshine, 40 YO Virgin, Mallrats. You're just picking out the duds
There are some movies that I'm waiting for HD. There are others that DVD is good enough...even the good ones there if I don't already have on DVD I'm not likely to buy in HD either.
Hmmm...what am I waiting for...the Pixar movies, Potter (which is coming), LOTR, and a few others. Disney classics like Lion King, etc. Stuff I want the theater experience with...not titles I really don't care if it comes cropped into full-screen.
Vinea
i seem to remember PRE BD launch when the HD-DVD was selling and people were buying discs how BD fans were "getting their noses rubbed" with people like murch saying and im paraphrasing here
NOW of course its different, BD IS SHIPPING and in number and selling MORE (50GB) discs.. actual COLD HARD FACT....
so what are people like much saying now??
"well HD-DVD WILL HAVE this title out, and that title out... and a bigger capacity (50GB) triple layer disc format...eventually"
funny, isnt it.... theres the writing, its on the wall for all to read...
murch is also claiming 2 million HD-DVD players by the end of the year.. like thats a GOOD thing... {and 2 mil aint to be sniffed at}
and then saying ONLY 6 million BD players... {but still somehow managing to SINFF AT that figure}
erm... isnt that an admission of defeat in all but actually saying "guys, you were right BD is winning and has indeed WON"
but i do admire someone who sticks to their guns... deluded though i think they are..
but i do admire someone who sticks to their guns... deluded though i think they are..
But they're sticking to their guns for entirely the wrong reason....that they don't want to admit the format "they" chose is losing the format war. You're right...BD is outselling HD-DVD. Right now it certainly seems that Blu-Ray is going to win the war. Of course, that could change. I know I'm not buying a standalone player until the war is totally settled. My PS3 will do the trick until then.
. . . I know I'm not buying a standalone player until the war is totally settled. My PS3 will do the trick until then.
I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but our family used a PS2 to play DVDs for three, maybe four, years. Even then, no one felt a need for a stand alone player, but I bought one a year or two ago because they were so cheap.
I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but our family used a PS2 to play DVDs for three, maybe four, years. Even then, no one felt a need for a stand alone player, but I bought one a year or two ago because they were so cheap.
Why would you want to buy another when the first one works fine? Just cos its not standalone...
Why would you want to buy another when the first one works fine? Just cos its not standalone. . .
Impulse purchase.
Actually, the PS2 had to sit on the coffee table so the controllers would reach it for games. We could have lived that way longer, but having the DVD player with other audio/video gear was better. No cables across the floor to the TV set.
When we get a PS3, it might last even longer if it is not too noisy. The controllers are Bluetooth from what I hear.
and then saying ONLY 6 million BD players... {but still somehow managing to SINFF AT that figure}
The problem is that of those 6 million, something like 80% will be PS3s (someone posted an article awhile back that showed that of the current number of Blu-ray players, only 25,000 were set-tops, the rest being PS3s). And there is no information about how many PS3s are being used as Blu-Ray players. That is the difference.
So it is really hard, and why I think you need to look at title sales. If both formats are selling equally in terms of titles, then there is no winner yet. If over the next year, HD DVD or Blu-ray is selling many more titles than the other, a winner can be called.
murch is also claiming 2 million HD-DVD players by the end of the year.. like thats a GOOD thing... {and 2 mil aint to be sniffed at}
and then saying ONLY 6 million BD players... {but still somehow managing to SINFF AT that figure}
erm... isnt that an admission of defeat in all but actually saying "guys, you were right BD is winning and has indeed WON"
but i do admire someone who sticks to their guns... deluded though i think they are..
Buying an HD DVD player is a choice to play movies. That means a %100 attachrate. The PS3 is now 3rd and dwindling in console sales because Sony forced you fools to eat the extra costs of a Blu-ray player when it wasn't needed. Yes there will be 6 million Blu-ray players by years end but the problem is that they will be playing Playstation games as opposed to 2 million HD DVD players purchased "expressly" for watching movies. It's not rocket science here folks...that's why attachrate is important.
The problem is that of those 6 million, something like 80% will be PS3s (someone posted an article awhile back that showed that of the current number of Blu-ray players, only 25,000 were set-tops, the rest being PS3s). And there is no information about how many PS3s are being used as Blu-Ray players. That is the difference.
Again, who cares how many PS3s are used? All that matters to a studio is how many discs are sold, and Blu-ray disc sales figures are higher than HD DVD's, regardless of how many or few PS3s are used. If I were a studio, I wouldn't care if somebody was buying my discs to use as coasters on the coffee table, just as long as they're buying my discs.
So it is really hard, and why I think you need to look at title sales. If both formats are selling equally in terms of titles, then there is no winner yet. If over the next year, HD DVD or Blu-ray is selling many more titles than the other, a winner can be called.
But they're not selling "equally well." Blu-ray recently passed HD DVD in total disc sales, and that was given HD DVD's six month headstart. Since the beginning of the year, Blu-ray disc sales have been trouncing HD DVD by better than a 2:1 ratio. There's no reason to expect that will suddenly drop back to 1:1, Universal or no Universal.
Interesting read at Home Media Magazine
"We believe by the end of the year, we will see one format start to dominate. At the moment all the cards are stacked in favor of Blu-ray coming out on top. In reality, the only companies holding on to HD DVD are Toshiba and Universal and, yes, it will be a difficult pill for them to swallow to switch to Blu-ray. But it was a difficult pill for Sony to swallow when they had to start making VHS machines [after Betamax failed]. It will probably be easier for Universal because they don’t have any real financial incentive to keep HD DVD going. Toshiba has got a strong vested interest in prolonging the life of the DVD format, and that’s what HD DVD is all about. It’s basically extending the DVD format as long as you can take it."
He's absolutely right. What exactly would Universal have to gain by continuing to shun Blu-ray? What terrible fate would befall them if they embraced Blu-ray or at least went neutral? I honestly can't see a downside to them abandoning their HD DVD-only stance, especially since all the gloom and doom last year about Blu-ray discs not being able to match HD DVD costs have proven to be FUD with many Blu-ray editions being cheaper than their HD DVD counterparts. And in fact, Universal already distributes a few Blu-ray titles overseas, just none in the US.
HD DVD didn't have a 6th month head start.
Samsung ships Blu-ray player June 25th
Toshiba ships first HD DVD April 12
Wow ...HD DVD shipped a whopping 9 weeks before Blu-ray. If you couldn't get this basic information straight then how are we to believe the rest of your post which could be wrought with misinformation as well?
With the studio advantage that Blu-ray has I think it would be silly to think that HD DVD would keep the lead forever. My hope was that the sales were good enough to even things out but when they announced 175k players in North America at CES 2007 I knew that wasn't enough. I was expecting/hoping for 400k.
Then no one thought there'd be a drought of movies come January for HD DVD. My thoughts are the piracy issues are a severe concern for all studios and you see them moving ship dates back on important titles. The consortium behind AACS has their work cut out for themselves.
We can talk all day about what good/bad comes from Universal staying exclusive to HD DVD. Why are people looking at Universal as the company that has to "do the right thing" while giving Fox/Disney/Columbia a pass? They all could deliver content to both platforms without incurring that much of a hit.
The author doesn't know what kind of financial incentive that Universal has nor does he know the financial incentives for Fox/Disney/Columbia but there are incentives.
You can't see the downsides because you've been slanted towards Blu-ray. What are we really supposed to believe that Kolchak has weighed the pros/cons of both formats and articulated these to people?
"When all you have is a hammer all your problems tend to look like nails"
What titles are Universal distributing over seas? Here goes another screw up by you that will quickly be fixed by me.
You can't see the downsides because you've been slanted towards Blu-ray. What are we really supposed to believe that Kolchak has weighed the pros/cons of both formats and articulated these to people?
Please enlighten us poor rubes, o omniscient one. What are the downsides?
What titles are Universal distributing over seas? Here goes another screw up by you that will quickly be fixed by me.
Blu-ray releases in Sweden
Note that many of these discs have Universal listed as distributor in their descriptions. To wit: Big Fish, Casino Royale, Hitch, Kung Fu Hustle, Layer Cake, Marie Antoinette, Monster House, Resident Evil, SWAT, Stealth, Talladega Nights, Ultraviolet and Underworld Evolution. Universal will also be distributing Casino Royale for Sony in Norway and Denmark.
Here's another list covering Universal distributing BR discs in a few other EU countries.
Meanwhile, while you were gleefully quoting one retailer as hoping HD DVD players would drop to $299 by fall (which Toshiba refused to comment on), here's an official comment from the president of Sony (not some anonymous retailer or even spokesman for Sony) reported yesterday:
"On Monday, Sony Electronics President and Chief Operating Officer Stan Glasgow said the company will drop prices on its Blu-ray players significantly this year, possibly as low as $299, which could give Sony an even greater edge in the format war. Currently Blu-ray players retail for $999, compared with HD-DVD players, which retail for $499. "
The studios care because information is important. Total disc sales are nice but you want to know where those disc sales are emanating from and what players are the "hot" players. You seem to wish that studios become willfully ignorant about their content which is asinine.
HD DVD didn't have a 6th month head start.
Samsung ships Blu-ray player June 25th
Toshiba ships first HD DVD April 12
Wow ...HD DVD shipped a whopping 9 weeks before Blu-ray. If you couldn't get this basic information straight then how are we to believe the rest of your post which could be wrought with misinformation as well?
Please. Blu-ray didn't really launch until the PS3. The launch with Samsung was horrid and before the PS3 Blu-ray had zero momentum and it was HD-DVD all the way.
With the studio advantage that Blu-ray has I think it would be silly to think that HD DVD would keep the lead forever. My hope was that the sales were good enough to even things out but when they announced 175k players in North America at CES 2007 I knew that wasn't enough. I was expecting/hoping for 400k.
Why do you want a format war? That's just stupid. You wanted HD-DVD to do well enough to survive if it couldn't win? Someone here is married to their hardware and it's not the Blu-ray folks.
Frankly, if the PS3 hadn't got Blu-ray any momentum the best for everyone is if it just outright failed and became yet another proprietary Sony format.
You can't see the downsides because you've been slanted towards Blu-ray. What are we really supposed to believe that Kolchak has weighed the pros/cons of both formats and articulated these to people?
What downsides to the consumer? Zero zip nada. Superior tech with more movies at the same price.
"When all you have is a hammer all your problems tend to look like nails"
And when your pet technology is losing everything looks like excuses.
Vinea
Please. Blu-ray didn't really launch until the PS3. The launch with Samsung was horrid and before the PS3 Blu-ray had zero momentum and it was HD-DVD all the way.
Why do you want a format war? That's just stupid. You wanted HD-DVD to do well enough to survive if it couldn't win? Someone here is married to their hardware and it's not the Blu-ray folks.
Frankly, if the PS3 hadn't got Blu-ray any momentum the best for everyone is if it just outright failed and became yet another proprietary Sony format.
What downsides to the consumer? Zero zip nada. Superior tech with more movies at the same price.
And when your pet technology is losing everything looks like excuses.
Vinea
It's still a fact that Blu-ray launched on June 25th no matter how many excuses we attempt to apply. What you're pointing out is that consumers don't really "buy" into a format until it becomes affordable. The PS3 was the first affordable Blu-ray player.
HD DVD will win/lose depending on the content. It's not Blu-ray that will win outright but win by proxy. I find that to be most interesting about the battle. If the content was exactly the same across platforms who would be winning this battle?
Still waiting for you to "quickly fix my screwup."
What are the odds Sony can meet that $299 target? Pretty good, considering the costs of the mechanisms are now being amortized over many millions of PS3s.
It's still a fact that Blu-ray launched on June 25th no matter how many excuses we attempt to apply. What you're pointing out is that consumers don't really "buy" into a format until it becomes affordable. The PS3 was the first affordable Blu-ray player.
HD DVD will win/lose depending on the content. It's not Blu-ray that will win outright but win by proxy. I find that to be most interesting about the battle. If the content was exactly the same across platforms who would be winning this battle?
Guessing by the numbers of titles out for both, Blu-ray by a long shot
Hey I fully realize that I bought into the format that has the least amount of studios. I'm not whining about it I'm trying to change this. I think there are a lot of people who have chosen HD DVD because they didn't want to be told to buy a more expensive player that really didn't give them anything. History has shown with DVD vs Divx that studios like Fox and Disney will often make the wrong choice out of the gate. Will history repeat? We will see.
Hey I fully realize that I bought into the format that has the least amount of studios. I'm not whining about it I'm trying to change this. I think there are a lot of people who have chosen HD DVD because they didn't want to be told to buy a more expensive player that really didn't give them anything.
For those who wanted an early start on HD movies, HD-DVD was fine. Both my older sons have an Xbox and got the cheap HD-DVD player. They are happy with it. I don't think they have any delusions that it is the winning format, but it was first with movie titles. I think they even got a free King Kong with their purchase. Both have Netflix and now get all the titles in HD-DVD when available. Who can argue with that. In a couple years they will have their money's worth, and more.
My youngest son lives at home and wants a PS3. I am delighted with that because it means a Blu-ray player, which I am partial to because it will be the surviving format over time, IMHO. I'm not in as much of a hurry to see HD movies as my older sons. I'm still pleased with the 'great' improvement in DVDs and the improved sound from the Yamaha sound projector. Also, we just got our Dish HD satellite receiver a couple weeks ago and can watch HDTV shows.
I will be ready for Blu-ray in a couple month. Don't want too much, too soon.