Blue-Ray or HD DVD

[IrishJedi]

Technically, that's not right. The HD DVD will be delayed until April 8, to allow "exclusive" time for the Blu-ray on store shelves.

Seriously? That's God, this whole thing is getting even more lame. It was never a format war so much as a catfight.

 

[King Darkness]

Watching Shoot Em Up on BD now, this movie is crazy as hell

Looks great too.

 

[bagelsncheesey]

Watching Shoot Em Up on BD now, this movie is crazy as hell

Looks great too.

Good to hear that it looks great. Worth a buy?

 

[tomandshell]

Unlike Warner, New Line and HBO, BBC Home Video has announced that they will remain format neutral and plan to continue releasing titles on both HD DVD and Blu-ray. Apparently, their Planet Earth boxed set sold more copies on HD DVD than Blu-ray, so for the time being they aren't going to abandon the format.

 

[RoboDad]

Yep, that's part of Warner's phase-out plan for HD DVD. All HD DVD releases until May will be delayed 2-3 weeks after their Blu-ray/DVD counterparts.

 

[King Darkness]

Good to hear that it looks great. Worth a buy?

I'm only about 15 minutes into it, but I like what I see so far. Its SUPER over the top, reminds me of Crank. Insane hyper unrealistic action and cheesy dialog. Its my kind of movie, I think if you liked Crank or that type of movie you should like Shoot Em Up.

 

[bagelsncheesey]

Unlike Warner, New Line and HBO, BBC Home Video has announced that they will remain format neutral and plan to continue releasing titles on both HD DVD and Blu-ray. Apparently, their Planet Earth boxed set sold more copies on HD DVD than Blu-ray, so for the time being they aren't going to abandon the format.

Just give me Paramount, and this war will be over. Come on Optimus, work your robo-magic.

 

[bagelsncheesey]

I'm only about 15 minutes into it, but I like what I see so far. Its SUPER over the top, reminds me of Crank. Insane hyper unrealistic action and cheesy dialog. Its my kind of movie, I think if you liked Crank or that type of movie you should like Shoot Em Up.

Oh I loved the movie, just glad to hear it looks good before I buy it on Blu.

 

[King Darkness]

Unlike Warner, New Line and HBO, BBC Home Video has announced that they will remain format neutral and plan to continue releasing titles on both HD DVD and Blu-ray.

When did they announce this Tom? I thought last week New Line and HBO announced they were going BD exclusive too

 

[bagelsncheesey]

When did they announce this Tom? I thought last week New Line and HBO announced they were going BD exclusive too

They did. He's just saying that BBC is remaining neutral.

 

[King Darkness]

They did. He's just saying that BBC is remaining neutral.

Oh, I see. I read the sentence all wrong

 

[bagelsncheesey]

Oh, I see. I read the sentence all wrong

yeah, i got nervous until i re-read it myself

 

[tomandshell]

I didn't write it very clearly, now that I look at it.

I meant that while Warner, New Line and HBO are now BR exclusive, BBC will hold out and remain neutral for the time being. It's odd that BBC will be the only ones still supporting both formats.

 

[bagelsncheesey]

I didn't write it very clearly, now that I look at it.

I meant that while Warner, New Line and HBO are now BR exclusive, BBC will hold out and remain neutral for the time being. It's odd that BBC will be the only ones still supporting both formats.

Well them, Paramount, and Universal for the time being. I'm sure things will be different by summer.

 

[darth dypshyt]

In the end, it will come down to sheer numbers, in sales of titles, not players...and more importantly $$$$. And it would seem that the Blu-Ray camp will have that. Because no matter what player you have...if you have a HD-DVD player and no studio supports it with software...what's the point in having it??

And the no. of studios supporting that format is dwindling, which obviously, is NOT a good sign.

I have waited to purchase anything in the Hi-Def format until I thought this "war" was sorted. I can tell you now, I am buying a Blu-Ray player..

 

[The ill Jedi]

Things are not looking good for HD-DVD, folks. Based on the reports we're getting from sources at the studios and in the retail industry, this format war is all but over. Frankly, we'd be surprised if HD-DVD still a viable commercial home video format much past the end of the year.

Word is that Best Buy has already decided not only to heavily favor Blu-ray in their stores, but they're actually planning the phase out of HD-DVD by the end of the 2nd quarter of 2008, so they can focus entirely on selling Blu-ray to their customers in the 2008 holiday season with a clear message. These sales you're seeing on HD-DVD hardware are - from the retailer's perspective - about clearing them off the shelves. Don't look for them to restocked. The exact timing of this will depend on sales, and HD-DVD software may be stocked for a while longer to service those customers who have already purchased players. But despite the retailer's public statements, which help Toshiba save face, privately they know which way the wind is blowing.

So too do Universal and Paramount. Paramount is expected to announce a return to Blu-ray Disc by mid-year, if not sooner. They reportedly want to give Toshiba some time to sell out current inventory, and to make their own preparations. Paramount at least has done all the ramp-up work needed to release on Blu-ray, as they've already done so as recently as last year.

Universal's position is a little more perilous, on the other hand, as they're more than two years behind all the other major studios in terms of Blu-ray development. Word is their HD-DVD video encodes can't simply all be ported over to Blu-ray, as some of them "aren't good enough." So some of the digital film masters have to be re-encoded, which is a lot of work. Sources are telling us that one of the things Universal is hoping to negotiate with the BDA is help doing just that. Nevertheless, expect Universal to have at least announced a decision to support Blu-ray going forward by mid-2008.

As for Toshiba's statements that they haven't yet lost the format war, again this is all about saving face. Yes, Toshiba hasn't officially waved the white flag... but it seems as if the rest of the industry is waving it for them. So while the fat lady may not quite be singing yet, let's put it this way: She's already standing out there on stage, all gussied up nice, with the band warming up, the spotlights lit and the curtains about to rise.

Frankly, Toshiba is going to have to create their own branded Blu-ray Disc player/recorder for the Japanese market or risk being left completely in the dust in its home territory, which is now 90% dominated by Blu-ray (and recorders are the preferred device in that market). So Toshiba's smartest move, at least in our opinion, would not only be to quickly embrace Blu-ray... but to move fast to create the best and most affordable Blu-ray/HD-DVD Combo player to sell here in the States. Right now, the available Combo players tend to be buggy and cost over $700. If Toshiba were to make a truly reliable one available for less than $500 in time for the holidays... they MIGHT actually move some units to early adopters and enthusiasts that have already purchased a lot of HD-DVD titles, but who will be looking to get into Blu-ray later this year. Guess we'll see.

Stay tuned...

From Bill Hunt at the highly credible Digital Bits.

 

[darthviper107]

I thought The Digital Bits was Blu-Ray biased?


It doesn't really matter though, this is a rumor. I had also heard that Paramount was remaining HD-DVD exclusive and Universal had renewed their contract, so there isn't really much concrete evidence on anything.

 

[EVILFACE]

From Bill Hunt, the biggest Blu-Ray nut swinger on earth, at the highly credible Digital Bits.

Fixed

 

[The ill Jedi]

It doesn't really matter though, this is a rumor. I had also heard that Paramount was remaining HD-DVD exclusive and Universal had renewed their contract, so there isn't really much concrete evidence on anything.

Once again, Warner Bros. was saying the exact same thing and a couple of months later here they are Blu-Ray Exclusive. Expect the same from the remaining HD Exclusive studios soon.

 

[bagelsncheesey]

Once again, Warner Bros. was saying the exact same thing and a couple of months later here they are Blu-Ray Exclusive. Expect the same from the remaining HD Exclusive studios soon.

Exactly.