http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080104005575&newsLang=en

Warner Bros. goes exclusively blu-ray. BR is already winning and this doesn't help HD-DVD's position any. Seems like we almost have a clear winner.

Yeah, HD-DVD is pretty much doomed now, the only question is when the format war will be over. IMO, when Paramount's exclusivity contract ends the HD-DVD will die. Luckily, I held off on buying the HD-DVD add-on for my 360.

So DVD is going the way of the Betamax tapes?

As much as CDs have, anyway.

A quick wiki shows that Blu-Ray has more storage capacity.

That's the only difference I can see.

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080104005575&newsLang=en

Warner Bros. goes exclusively blu-ray. BR is already winning and this doesn't help HD-DVD's position any. Seems like we almost have a clear winner.


:( Sony and it's proprietary blu ray winning would not help HD go mainstream. With the Sony CEO saying Blu-ray players aren't going to drop much below $400. Who but aficionado's would pay that much? :(
So DVD is going the way of the Betamax tapes?


Not yet anyways. Be several more years before any sort of death for DVD would begin to happen. Besides. For the average comsumer HD dvds don't hold much of an a difference over a DVD to switch over. The leap isn't as large as it was for VHS to DVD; digital to digital rather then analog to digital. Regardless of who wins this war they aren't going to take over DVD that easily.

:( Sony and it's proprietary blu ray winning would not help HD go mainstream. With the Sony CEO saying Blu-ray players aren't going to drop much below $400. Who but aficionado's would pay that much? :(

Sony isn't the only backer or maker of blu-ray.

Sony isn't the only backer or maker of blu-ray.

No. But it does own it and is the primary backer of it.

No. But it does own it and is the primary backer of it.
Yes, but Sony doesn't tell other manufacturers how much to sell their Blu-Ray players for.

True. They just collect royalties on every player. For DVD's it's about $20 in royalties per player, even if Sony charges double that the price will eventually come down to a reasonable level. It just might take awhile.

It'll be awhile before Blu-Ray (or HD-DVD if something remarkable happens) becomes dominant, though. DVD's pretty good already, so there's not much point in upgrading unless your player breaks or it's time for Christmas (which isn't for quite awhile now). VHS didn't disappear overnight, and DVD's won't either. But in 15 years, DVD's may well have gone the way of the Laser Disc.

It'll be awhile before Blu-Ray (or HD-DVD if something remarkable happens) becomes dominant, though. DVD's pretty good already, so there's not much point in upgrading unless your player breaks or it's time for Christmas (which isn't for quite awhile now). VHS didn't disappear overnight, and DVD's won't either. But in 15 years, DVD's may well have gone the way of the Laser Disc.

50inch+ displays & hd projectors are getting more popular; that's what might do it.

You can really tell you're watching a blue-ray instead of a plain 'ol dvd on one of those things, especially the hd projectors.

Looks like Paramount is about to jump ship on the HD-DVD, leaving only Universal left treading water.

Paramount in HD DVD blow
By Matthew Garrahan and Mariko Sanchanta in Las Vegas

Published: January 8 2008 02:49

Paramount is poised to drop its support of HD DVD after Warner Brothers’ recent backing of Sony’s Blu-ray technology, in a move that will sound the death knell of HD DVD and bring the home entertainment format war to a definitive end.

Paramount and DreamWorks Animation, which makes the Shrek films, came out in support of HD DVD last summer, joining General Electric’s Universal Studios as the main backers of the Toshiba format.

However, Paramount, which is owned by Viacom, is understood to have a clause in its contract with the HD DVD camp that would allow it to switch sides in the event of Warner Bros backing Blu-ray, according to people familiar with the situation.

Paramount is set to have a bumper 2008 with several likely blockbusters, including the latest instalment in the Indiana Jones franchise.

Paramount joining the Blu-ray camp would leave HD DVD likely to suffer the same fate as Sony’s now obsolete Betamax video technology, which lost out to VHS in a similar format war in the 1980s.

Warners decision last week to throw its weight behind Blu-ray saw it join Walt Disney, 20th Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as backers of the Sony format.

The Warners move gives Blu-ray about 70 per cent of Hollywood’s output, although the format’s grip on film content will increase further when Paramount comes aboard.

It is unclear whether DreamWorks Animation has the same get-out clause in its contract with the HD DVD camp.

However, Paramount and DreamWorks have a close relationship, with Paramount distributing DreamWorks Animation films. The two companies also signed their HD DVD contracts at the same time. Meanwhile, Universal has declined to comment on its next-generation DVD plans since the Warners move.

Sir Howard Stringer, chief executive of Sony, on Monday held out an olive branch, saying the company would be “open to dialogue” with the HD DVD camp to “grow the market”. The move came as new figures showed that Blu-ray had opened up a decisive lead over the rival home entertainment format.

Sir Howard said: “We are not going to push people around. We’ll talk to anyone ... we have a lot of work to do to grow the market. We’ll be systematic and open to dialogue at all times.”

He added that Sony still had “a lot of work” to do to get Blu-ray “widely accepted” among American consumers.

“With Warner’s support you saw billboards going up in different places and you saw television commercials getting more and more sophisticated and that’s what we’ll continue doing,” said Sir Howard.


Linky (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/dc409afa-bd75-11dc-b7e6-0000779fd2ac.html)

I think I'm going to die now.

Goddaammnit!!!!

Looks like Paramount is about to jump ship on the HD-DVD, leaving only Universal left treading water.

That's interesting, I did not know that Paramount could do that. If Paramount goes Blu Ray I can't see Universal staying HD DVD by itself.

I haven't heard anything from HD DVD since they canceled their CES press conference. That lack of news is bad for HD DVD, IMHO.

That's interesting, I did not know that Paramount could do that. If Paramount goes Blu Ray I can't see Universal staying HD DVD by itself.

I haven't heard anything from HD DVD since they canceled their CES press conference. That lack of news is bad for HD DVD, IMHO.

Well, I have the HD DVD add on for Xbox 360 with 5 free HD DVD's. At least I wasn't an early adopter. I'll probably be getting a PS3 eventually anyway.

Feels like a n00by console war coming on. :run:

Universal has stopped supporting HD-DVD exclusively (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117978760.html?categoryid=20&cs=1)

As I said...

Feels like a n00by console war coming on. :run:

Universal has stopped supporting HD-DVD exclusively (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117978760.html?categoryid=20&cs=1)
I was looking on Ars and found this article (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080111-universal-paramount-deny-move-to-blu-ray-imminent.html) that contradicts your article, so I'm not sure what to think yet.

I don't really care who wins, as long as that'll finally settle the whole 'hd-war' crap. The sooner one of the two standards succeeds, the better.

hopefully they will just merge like the competing CD writing formats - no one seems to remember CD-R and CD+R and always refer back to Betamax.

Stop living in the past sheeple! ;)

hopefully they will just merge like the competing CD writing formats - no one seems to remember CD-R and CD+R and always refer back to Betamax.

Stop living in the past sheeple! ;)

Nope, IIRC, they had a meeting to do that quite a while ago, but it didn't work out. They do have combo players, but those are really expensive. However, LG does have a combo disk drive as cheap as the cheapest HD DVD player ($299) you need a good comp to play them at a good speed and your stuck with a smaller screen.

:bump:
Just read this (http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9849870-7.html) interesting article. If players drop down to $99 I might buy one.

Not a bad price, but it's purely out of desperation for sales. However, I don't have any interest in buying any HD-DVD/Blu-Ray players anytime in the near future, I'm quite happy with good ol' fashioned DVDs.

Not a bad price, but it's purely out of desperation for sales. However, I don't have any interest in buying any HD-DVD/Blu-Ray players anytime in the near future, I'm quite happy with good ol' fashioned DVDs.

You might not be for long though. The problem with DVD's is that they are just too small (storage wise). How many times have you bought a new movie that comes packaged with two DVD's or even more? It won't be more than another year before it'll be cheaper to buy one blu-ray (or HD-DVD) than it is to buy 2 DVD's. Both with the exact same things on them.

Regardless, DVD's are to small. They need replacing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=friS4OOcdgQ

AAahahaaa!

My god that scene from Downfall has been ruined so many times.

To pitch into the actual topic at hand: I don't care much for either format as DVD's are fine for now, for another year as you yourself have said Strider. Until the price of the players drops down to the 100$ range, most people wont be able to justify spending 200-300$ on a player where the discs are just a couple of dollars cheaper. It just doesnt make sense in the long run.

For example, say I have a SDTV ( 480 or 720 ) and I have a choice between a blu-ray player and a DVD player. If I spend 250$ on the blu-ray player, it will cost me ~200$ more than a DVD player. Now if I buy a single dvd once per week ( highly unlikely ) and the blu-ray discs cost 1$ less than dvd's do. In a year I will save 52$, which means it would take 4 years to justify the cost. On the other hand, I could wait for a year, until the price difference between blu-ray and dvd grows bigger, and blu-ray players drop into the 100$ range. Then, if I buy a single movie per week, it would come out to about half a year to justify the cost.

In other words, its not worth it now, not until one format wins or prices drop majorly.

My god that scene from Downfall has been ruined so many times.

To pitch into the actual topic at hand: I don't care much for either format as DVD's are fine for now, for another year as you yourself have said Strider. Until the price of the players drops down to the 100$ range, most people wont be able to justify spending 200-300$ on a player where the discs are just a couple of dollars cheaper. It just doesnt make sense in the long run.

For example, say I have a SDTV ( 480 or 720 ) and I have a choice between a blu-ray player and a DVD player. If I spend 250$ on the blu-ray player, it will cost me ~200$ more than a DVD player. Now if I buy a single dvd once per week ( highly unlikely ) and the blu-ray discs cost 1$ less than dvd's do. In a year I will save 52$, which means it would take 4 years to justify the cost. On the other hand, I could wait for a year, until the price difference between blu-ray and dvd grows bigger, and blu-ray players drop into the 100$ range. Then, if I buy a single movie per week, it would come out to about half a year to justify the cost.

In other words, its not worth it now, not until one format wins or prices drop majorly.
Interesting, but Blu Rays cost more that DVDs and, 720p is hi def and DVD display in 480p (thus if you have a SDTV you gain nothing from having a Blu Ray player).

Interesting, but Blu Rays cost more that DVDs and, 720p is hi def and DVD display in 480p (thus if you have a SDTV you gain nothing from having a Blu Ray player).

I was going on the assumption Strider made that blu-ray discs will be cheaper. Hi-def is 1080p, while 720p is what I consider enchanced-def. Its not the best out there, but its pretty damned good. I've begun to see some over the air 720p transmissions, so one could by now call it SDTV.

Thus, you also reinforced my point. There is no use in getting blu-ray, be it monetary or picture quality.

I think Blu-Ray and HD DVD are going to be short lived as more and more people begin to get their content online, and the technology and ability to make streaming content higher and higher quality gets better.

Streaming content will never replace hard copies.

I think Blu-Ray and HD DVD are going to be short lived as more and more people begin to get their content online, and the technology and ability to make streaming content higher and higher quality gets better.

Streaming content will never replace hard copies.

As Fetus said, if streaming content ever replaces hard copies it won't be for a long time.

Streaming anything takes a massive amount of bandwidth. Even if it's introduced any time soon.. it will still be cheaper just to go buy it. That and it's always nice to have solid physical proof you own something.

Streaming content will also not be fully embraced by the industry. At least if the current track record is any measure.

All this means is blu-ray is going to be like hd-dvd used to be and hd-dvd will be the norm dvd this means the end of regular dvds not hd-dvds.

no it doesnt. DVD's will go the way of CD's which too will stick around. DVD's will be useful for software distribution for a few more years at minimum as they have a greater exposure at the moment, as well as being cheaper. CD's are still fine for music as I dont see the size of albums ballooning into the DVD-size range

All this means is blu-ray is going to be like hd-dvd used to be and hd-dvd will be the norm dvd this means the end of regular dvds not hd-dvds.
Not in the slightest. HD DVDs are more expensive and require a special player. DVDs still sell better due to the slow adoption rate of HD Video formats and cost, and Blu Ray players can play DVDs, but not HD DVDs. When Blu Ray wins the format war the only use would be to play Hi Def exclusives not yet re-released for Blu Ray.

EDIT: X-post

Not in the slightest. HD DVDs are more expensive and require a special player. DVDs still sell better due to the slow adoption rate of HD Video formats and cost, and Blu Ray players can play DVDs, but not HD DVDs. When Blu Ray wins the format war the only use would be to play Hi Def exclusives not yet re-released for Blu Ray.

EDIT: X-post

Strange what your telling me must be what they were telling bill gates about a-track?

Strange what your telling me must be what they were telling bill gates about a-track?
What's an a-track? Or do you mean 8-track? And what do you mean anyway?

Streaming content will also not be fully embraced by the industry. At least if the current track record is any measure.

I think that the more our hardware and software become capable of enforcing DRM together, the industry may begin to embrace streaming content more. (Assuming they have any writers...:lol: ) Apple and Netflix are already streaming lower quality on-demand content (I haven't used Apple's service, don't know how good it is), and I believe the industry may eventually become more comfortable with the impermanence of streaming content and the ability to control it, then with selling hard copies which can be burned.

Then again, you guys obviously have a good point that many users won't appreciate not having the hard copy or only "buying" a movie for 30 days. I think that's something that can only change over time, (if at all) and perhaps only if people become more used to having movies on their computer and not on disc. Perhaps as our TVs and our computers become more and more intertwined over the next 5-10 years, or if DVRs become more popular, people may become more used to on-demand content rather than going to the store and renting or buying the DVD? Or even having the DVD? I don't know. I think it's certainly something to watch, and I'm interested in seeing how the industry approaches it and how the melding of our computers and our entertainment centers plays out in the future.

(I also have a vested interest because I forego cable for internet and get all my TV online! :scan: )

I would still buy the hard copy. Sure it may be drm-laden, but its a hrd copy that I can watch anywhere. Not on the single computer where I downloaded it. I just dont see streaming content ever replacing a hard copy.

:bump:

Not very surprising news (http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/22/blu-ray-players-grab-93-percent-of-market-after-warner-went-blu/)

well i never payed attention to the HD vs Blu Ray thing until now (i always thought HD was dominant cuz i heard it more often). But i went into my local Video rental store and they had a giant wall of Blu ray dvds and none HD. Then i saw this article on wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_high_definition_optical_disc_formats
And wow is Blu ray dominating lol

If Blu-Ray wins, it also loses because it has no competition, no reason to lower prices, which means it won't become mainstream. People are already preferring to download lower quality content through questionable methods, why are people going to buy something more expensive than DVDs if they aren't going to even buy the DVD anyway?

I would still buy the hard copy. Sure it may be drm-laden, but its a hrd copy that I can watch anywhere. Not on the single computer where I downloaded it. I just dont see streaming content ever replacing a hard copy.

Agreed.

Whether it be a shorter episode of a series, through to a movie, I prefer the hard copy.

Also, working in the music and DVD entertainment industry, I often find that so much work goes into creating that one DVD slipcase you might get for a movie or series. I have designed one from scratch, and hell, there is so much detail that a manufacturer needs, right down to the folds on the inside that no one sees that help to glue the thing together.

That's why I buy the real thing, it keeps me in a job!

If Blu-Ray wins, it also loses because it has no competition, no reason to lower prices, which means it won't become mainstream. People are already preferring to download lower quality content through questionable methods, why are people going to buy something more expensive than DVDs if they aren't going to even buy the DVD anyway?
Blu Ray will keep getting cheaper. IIRC, Sony has begun making smaller, cheaper Blue laser diodes for the PS3 and other companies will take advantage of that tech. The reason to lower prices is in your post, so players will become mainstream. Also, Blu Rays can store Hi Def video, which DVD cannot do. By your logic DVD players would still be as expensive as they were when they came out.

Hypothetically, they should do that but I doubt that.

Hypothetically, they should do that but I doubt that.

Your idea makes very little sense. Sony wants Blu-ray to go mainstream. They are not going to shoot themselves in the foot to get it there. Their continue to drop the price down as it becomes feasible.

HD-DVDs are for fart-hoffers and Blu-Ray gets you laid. :D

:joke:

Seriously though, I'm glad Blu-Ray is winning. All the more reason to convince my parents later that I need a PS3. :D

I think we will move to streaming content a lot closer than many are predicting.

Your idea makes very little sense. Sony wants Blu-ray to go mainstream. They are not going to shoot themselves in the foot to get it there. Their continue to drop the price down as it becomes feasible.

PS3. .

PS3

Will be profitable. Remember that it is only on the first year of a projected 6-8 year lifecycle.

A projected lifecycle won't mean a thing when 3rd party developers stop making games for it because there are 10x as many Wii's and 360's.

A projected lifecycle won't mean a thing when 3rd party developers stop making games for it because there are 10x as many Wii's and 360's.

Which is unlikely to happen.

A projected lifecycle won't mean a thing when 3rd party developers stop making games for it because there are 10x as many Wii's and 360's.
Won't happen. The PS2 dominated the Gamecube and Xbox (and Dreamcast), but 3rd parties still made games for those systems.

I think this is rther stupid, aren't we going ot end up with movies stuck in HD-DVD only and then not watched much because few people can play them?

I think most studios would re-release the movie in Blu-ray if they see it winning.

:bump:
Wal Mart drops HD DVD (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/16/technology/16toshiba.html?ref=technology)
Major bump, but I'm just wondering when HD-DVD is going to die.

:bump:
Wal Mart drops HD DVD (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/16/technology/16toshiba.html?ref=technology)
Major bump, but I'm just wondering when HD-DVD is going to die.

The war is, for all intents and purposes, decided. Blu-Ray has won. We are now just waiting on the last few battles to take place.

The war is, for all intents and purposes, decided. Blu-Ray has won. We are now just waiting on the last few battles to take place.
Oh, I know that, it's just that HD DVD is taking its time dieing.

Just like the Republican primary...

I've never seen a HD-DVD on sale. Blu-ray disks are in the shops though.

The PlayStation 3 was clearly made as a Blu-ray player, not as a games console.

Now I've just got to find the post from several months back when it was neck-and-neck where I predicted Blu-Ray would win...

I've seen both players for sale in the store, only Blu-Ray in Blockbuster but it's been that way awhile. Probably won't jump on ship for a few years, though, just because DVD is doing well enough for me. About the only thing that could convince me to go HD would be someone giving away, or for a very low price, an HD-DVD player they didn't want anymore. Watched a DVD movie on a friend's 17-inch laptop last night and a bit higher resolution just isn't noticeable on that size screen when watching in a group setting.

Now I've just got to find the post from several months back when it was neck-and-neck where I predicted Blu-Ray would win...

Better yet you can find older posts by people who thought HD-DVD was going to dominate Blu-Ray, then proceed to point and laugh. ;)

How many people actually did that... man I am laughing so hard at the bozos complaining that they bought a now useless HD-DvD player... idiots..

Yeah, because predicting that Blue Ray was going to win makes you some sort of a prophet.

I could have flipped a coin and have had a 50% chance of being right.

Yeah, because predicting that Blue Ray was going to win makes you some sort of a prophet.

I could have flipped a coin and have had a 50% chance of being right.

Another fine reason to not be among the early adopters of any new technology, no?

Exactly, I waited to see what was going to happen. Look before you leap?

Yeah, because predicting that Blue Ray was going to win makes you some sort of a prophet.

I could have flipped a coin and have had a 50% chance of being right.
Precisely my point, You basically had people saying that one of formats was going to win and the other was going to fail when the battle was still at a stalemate.

I think this is rther stupid, aren't we going ot end up with movies stuck in HD-DVD only and then not watched much because few people can play them?
Thats why I am hoping that future DVD players (and CD-DVD drives) will have some sort of backwards capability to be able to play both HD-DVD, Blueray along side with the Standard DVD.