Could Warner Bros. Abandon HD DVD in 2008?

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by Lotus

Care to back up your information?

I can point to link after link of people in the industry discussing those numbers as recently as AUGUST. I find no information about this changing. So I asked for some information about it.

No you cannot find any links from the people involved with Cinram, Technicolor, SonyDADC or PDMC.
You can find one person spreading misinformation about yields on BD50's who claims to have "several inside sources"

I've been involved with Panasonic since 1999 and I can tell you that those low yield numbers are an utter fabrication.

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by Lotus

The replication yield numbers can be found in post after post over at AVS by industry insiders talking about the 10% and near 40% yields. This goes back to August. I can't find a link saying those numbers have changed to the point that Panasonic or others are now replicating DL discs.

I can find links to Industry Insiders mentioning that only THREE replication lines were currently in use, and those from SEPTEMBER.

I don't think it's impossible, I've heard through the hardware side of things that discs with 40GB of data or so were able to replicate at close to 60%. I heard that back in June. Perhaps they've given FOX and DISNEY a limit to what can be put on the discs and with improvements have hit 85%.

No you can find HD DVD industry insiders spreading misinformation and propaganda about the format they are in a war with. You cannot find industry insiders from any of the BD replication factories, and as such the information should be discarded like any propaganda.

49,898,065,940 Crank
49,862,064,796 Ghost Rider: Extended Cut
49,442,625,586 Hellboy (EU)
48,634,586,972 Flags of Our Fathers (Japan edition)
48,372,904,400 The Descent: Original Unrated Cut
47,568,993,406 Pearl Harbor
47,306,624,902 Casino Royale (2006)
47,301,592,485 J Iblard Jikan
46,305,735,140 Rocky Balboa
45,638,838,470 Black Hawk Down
45,488,139,747 Pirates of the Caribbean: TCotBP
44,426,311,738 J Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
44,355,645,106 Kingdom of Heaven: Director's Cut
43,129,174,968 Donnie Brasco: Extended Cut
42,818,592,246 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Ch
42,048,800,960 The Host
41,520,048,585 Ultimate Avengers Collection
40,962,814,968 Click

I think you can find some of the best selling HDM discs amongst those titles. Casino Royale has moved over 610,000 copies (107,000 in NA as of 10.21.07, 500,000 with PS3 in EU), the two Pirates movies are both approaching 100,000 copies each.

All these things you've "heard" hold no basis in reality.

I also read on AVS from "industry insiders" that Blu-ray 50GB discs were "science fiction" and wouldn't ever see the light of day.
I also read on AVS from "industry insiders" that Blu-ray discs would never stop using MPEG-2 encodes, so HD DVD was better.

You can do a lot more than put faith in much of the tripe that's been posted in that insiders thread.

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by Lotus

Bottomline seems to be that the ever changing BD Standards are pushing Warners away. This past weekend did make an impression and supposedly Warners wasn't the only one interested. While Warners is thinking of picking a side, Lions Gate is considering neutrality again. They've been on the fence before.

Paramount's CTO still claims that the main reason for leaving was BD's changing standards and that it wasn't treating "early adopters," right.

1) Paramount's CEO used to work for Warner developing HD DVD
2) Warner have not batted an eyelid at last weekend's firesale. I talk to their HD team often and they recognize it for what it is. It is NOT pushing Warner away from choosing a side which is why they're starting to announce catch-up titles.
3) Lions Gate is not about to change sides, nor have they EVER been considering neutrality - they are aware that one format is the only solution and it's not HD DVD. they have some of the most interesting and envelope-pushing interactive titles coming out in January along with Fox, including 3:10 to Yuma and War and you will NOT see them releasing on HD DVD.
4) Toshiba has priced all hardware CE's out of the market, including the Chinese.

I'm going to say this - I think you're paid to be posting mis-information here and I'll promise you that at CES 2008 you're going to have a lot of egg on your face.

[dobyblue]

Take a look at this full page ad:
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ques...hp?startpage=8

Does that look like Lions Gate doesn't know what they're doing? Large Blu-ray featurette, whereas most just have the tiniest "also available on Blu-ray"

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

I'm going to say this - I think you're paid to be posting mis-information here and I'll promise you that at CES 2008 you're going to have a lot of egg on your face.

Dude, as politely as I can say this: Get a Life.

This isn't the AVS forum where you can get away with saying such nonsense. I could go over all your posts, but it's obvious YOU ARE in the BD camp.

I'm in neither. Quit attacking people and get your paranoia under control. I could attack the "data," you've posted for it's inaccuracies and I'll just point to THREE:

Casino Royale has sold 107,000 units in NA to date according to you. Well it did that opening week. It didn't sell any after that? Remarkable!

According to Panasonics' Toshihiro Sakamoto BD DL yields are not nearly as good as BD camp people are claiming and nor are they as bad as HD DVD camp people are claiming. I couldn't get exact numbers from him, but he was willing to state that.

Warner Brothers.... they ousted Steve Nickerson for thinking that way. Anyone who knows Mark Horak knows they're VERY SERIOUS about picking a side, and yes Mark was impressed with last weekend.

I know how you people at AVS work, and I won't get involved with an online bitchfest with you. You're attacking a small part of the truth:

HD DVD is less expensive in all areas than BD: manufacturing and replication. Which should lead to consumers spending less.

That was the basis of my point about why WB would make a choice for HD DVD. You can pick at parts of it, but the bottomline is still true which is why you pick at parts.

I'm not going to do that here. Just as I refused to post at AVS.

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

this is not confirmed. When Bill Hunt spoke with members of the DVD forum, they said just the opposite, that early players would likely *not* play 51GB discs even with firmware updates.

Bill Hunt is not someone anyone should be listening to when it comes to this "War," he's on a side and will say just about anything to back up his opinion. He helped start the "MS wants both to fail!" nonsense.

I can say that it's my understanding from TOSHIBA that it will be a firmware update, and my understanding of the product makes me believe that is the case too. When the DVD Forum approved it they were told that it SHOULD work fine with all players after a firmware update.

For someone who targets one of BDs primary weaknesses as the necessity for firmware updates (a weakness I happen to agree with, as I find it a nuisance), it's ironic to list it as an advantage with HD DVD (proprting 51GB), considering that Blu-ray hardware have played 50GB from day one.

The DISC is an advantage, the firmware update is 100% not an advantage. The disc itself is though. Bandwidth is not the issue many claim it is. Storage is however. I can think of multiple movies they wanted to put DOLBY True HD on that couldn't due to space not bandwidth limitations.