Could Warner Bros. Abandon HD DVD in 2008?

[PRO-630HD]

http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6515097.html

Some proof to our supposed insider Lotus's claim. When his predictions become fact I am sure it is only a matter of time before he is exposed!!! LOL!!!

[1more4HDDVD]

+1

I was just coming on to post the same thing! Nice job Lotus.

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by PRO-630HD

http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6515097.html

Some proof to our supposed insider Lotus's claim. When his predictions become fact I am sure it is only a matter of time before he is exposed!!! LOL!!!

This is actually huge news. There is a lot to be read there between the lines. Warners won't be making an official statement about their future until CES. They have made their decision (unless Sony cash falls from the sky they won't be BD exclusive). Warners also knows that a certain article said they were looking at sales, etc. They know that certain "insiders," posting on BD forums were making statements about software sales.

So Warners isn't going to make any public statements until CES. So Universal makes it for them. They let the cat out of the bag that Harry Potter sold more on HD DVD. They also make a strong statement about how software sales are finally showing signs of the new players (which are growing). They don't however make the mistake that the BDA made and say anything stupid like Warners is leaving BD. They don't really say that Warners is staying. They just drop the Harry Potter information. They say how the growing player numbers are finally showing an effect on the software sales.

They do mention the massive BD BOGO sales of the past week+ too. I like how the BD fanatics immediately post strange rebuttals filled with lies (After calling Universal a liar). I got a kick out of the guy who claimed to own 3 stores which according to him have sold over 1.5% of all the standalones sold so far. Wow. That is impressive! He obviously had no idea the total was so low and thought he could say over 4500 players and no one would think twice but believe him. Then there was the guy saying that HD DVD had more BOGO sales going on. Where? Because there are still a couple days left of shopping and I've been buying a lot of BD (28 added to my library from the BOGO sale). If there is a major retail outlet matching the BOGO of Best Buy but on HD DVD someone should post about it.

Universal was considering going neutral and following Warners. This is definately a sign that they are sticking to HD DVD and they believe in it.

So people "worried," that Warners or Universal might be jumping ship because of insiders on other forums can quit being worried. Those insiders said buy Harry Potter. You didn't buy enough.

As for me being an "Insider," I don't like that label. It refers to "Insider Trading," and I don't post non-public harmful information. I don't have an agenda. I don't have an ego that needs to be labeled as "special" or anything either. I'm just a guy who hears some things that I thought might stop some un-needed panic by HD DVD owners.

I want the format war over with. I don't care which side wins. That is the truth. I won't however sit on the sideline and let people think something huge is happening when I know it might not be. If it was the HD DVD side saying something similar I'd be posting and looking like a BD fan. The big difference is the HD DVD side is being quiet. Just like they were before the Paramount/Dreamworks deal. They didn't start a rumor about it first.

[PRO-630HD]

Lotus, playing Devil's advocate here. If Disney really wants to sell a good number of titles on HDDVD wouldn't it be to there benefit if Warner went exclusive? Say for example IF Warner, New Line, HBO, Paramount, Dreamworks and Universal were exclusive it isn't hard to imagine hddvd player and software sales will pick up. The more players out there regardless of format Disney sells more titles. I have long said on another forum the only way Disney would go neutral is if Warner went exclusive. We have seen some of the trouble Warner is having with bluray discs as I stated a few posts below partly because bluray specs weren't finalized out the gate.

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by PRO-630HD

Lotus, playing Devil's advocate here. If Disney really wants to sell a good number of titles on HDDVD wouldn't it be to there benefit if Warner went exclusive? Say for example IF Warner, New Line, HBO, Paramount, Dreamworks and Universal were exclusive it isn't hard to imagine hddvd player and software sales will pick up. The more players out there regardless of format Disney sells more titles. I have long said on another forum the only way Disney would go neutral is if Warner went exclusive. We have seen some of the trouble Warner is having with bluray discs as I stated a few posts below partly because bluray specs weren't finalized out the gate.

I don't think Warner being exclusive matters to people who buy the product.

In other words all they care about is amount of titles available. Also Disney is interested as all Studios are in creating a replacement for lost DVD revenue. The best way to do that is have HD take off. Currently the HD market is a small niche market and not showing real signs of growth.

The best way for either BD or HD DVD to grow market share is to have as much content available as possible. So Disney would like Warners to remain neutral. This would allow BD a chance for growth.

Disney and Warner as neutral studios would be setting an example. Theoretically Disney would want everyone to go neutral to provide both formats the assurance that customers want before they invest.

Disney making a switch to neutral likely would increase the market share of HD DVD dramatically. They would be the first Studio to switch that never released on the opposing format. Consumers would take this as a positive sign of assurance that their money would be well invested.

HD DVD is doing fine now, but a switch by Disney, Fox, MGM, or Lions Gate would definately spark market growth. Just as if Universal had jumped to neutral that would spark BD growth.

[DaViD Boulet]

Additionally, notes Universal research, Warner Home Video’s HD DVD release of Order of the Phoenix is edging out the titles’ BD version by a 55-to-45 ratio. Order of the Phoenix also streeted Dec. 11. That claim matches information gathered from Amazon.com sales rankings in recent weeks.

Hmmm. That article linked from 630 seems pretty specious to me...

Universal studios, who doesn't even sell Harry Potter and has a vested interest in HD DVD exclusivity, is stepping in, in place of WB, to tell us that the HP HD DVD is outselling the BD version? They can't even track that sales data!



Is this the best our stealth Toshiba reps can do... link to stats provided by Universal Studios making claims about another studio's HD DVD/BD sales ratios? Now, it's quite possible that the HD DVD, at least at walmart, has outpaced the BD by a small margin. But whether that's even true is hardly confirmed by Universal Studios' conjecture, and it doesn't mean that the total would necessarily offset the BD's lead in the other sources tracked by Nielson where the BD clearly outsold the HD DVD version.

The best way for either BD or HD DVD to grow market share is to have as much content available as possible. So Disney would like Warners to remain neutral. This would allow BD a chance for growth.

Disney and Warner as neutral studios would be setting an example. Theoretically Disney would want everyone to go neutral to provide both formats the assurance that customers want before they invest.

This is so far askew of Disney's approach to HD media it's not even remotely accurate, no matter how declaratively you phrase it. Disney wants one format, and they want Blu-ray. and they believe with all conviction that one format would engender the consumer confidence to encourage adoption and software investment: precisely the opposite of what you suggest.

HD DVD is going down very fast and very soon. Toshiba and Microsoft can circulate whatever rumors they'd like about Disney going neutral or in some way favoring neutrality by other studios, but that doesn't change reality. This agenda is 100% transparent to anyone connected to Disney and what's really going on.