Could Warner Bros. Abandon HD DVD in 2008?

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by Lotus

What info are you talking about exactly?

That Paramount were dropping Blu-ray.
Before any press release or other source mentioned it, Penton did in his usual cryptic way (on AVS)

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

That Paramount were dropping Blu-ray.
Before any press release or other source mentioned it, Penton did in his usual cryptic way (on AVS)

Ok so again how would that not be information at or through Sony?

I mean come on you're saying my experience with how deals are done in Hollywood don't matter here.

Are you implying that Toshiba made a back alley deal with Paramount and it was entirely hush hush and Sony was entirely clueless and never even made an offer of their own?

That's absurd. Paramount traded deals back and forth. Sony made an offer. It was declined.

He was a Blu-Ray insider at AVS tied to a BD company. What other BD company would he be at that would get that kind of information?

It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure it out.

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by Lotus

Ok so again how would that not be information at or through Sony?

Oh yes I forgot that everything in Hollywood gets mentioned to Sony Pictures in real time and/or that all things to do with media distribution as pertains to HD DVD or Blu-ray are mentioned to Sony Pictures before the BDA, Sony Corp., Viacom's press agents, etc.

Silly me.

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

Oh yes I forgot that everything in Hollywood gets mentioned to Sony Pictures in real time and/or that all things to do with media distribution as pertains to HD DVD or Blu-ray are mentioned to Sony Pictures before the BDA, Sony Corp., Viacom's press agents, etc.

Silly me.

If you don't think that people directly tied with BD at Sony don't get information about Paramount declining their offer you're sadly mistaken.

And now you're back to implying that Pentonman is Sir Howard Stringer.

No longer is he the first online person to post about it, he's now the first person to know about it again.

This is too funny.

[Bob Black]

Originally Posted by TheMoose

Well I hate this format war!
I hate that people will have bought hardware & software that will be made obsolete.

That said I have decided on my format, I have a Playstation 3 & over 60 Blu-Ray movies so I want HD-DVD to die a quick painless death so I can have any movie I want in Blu-Ray, unless HD-DVD decides to hold out to the bitter end, then I hope they bleed cash in a long & agonizing death for making the consumers go through this damn format war (that they could have stopped before it began) in the first place.

So if your listening WB, Go Blu!!
I'll be first in line to buy Batman returns & Grand Prix in Blu-Ray.

Well I hate it too. And I have 256 movies on HD DVD and 2 players, the A1 and A2, so I hope if Warner makes a change they drop Blu-Ray! They already have a clear preference for HD DVD with the title disparity and the royalties with DVD & HD DVD, so they may as well make the move sooner rather than later. Especially considering their latest blockbuster (Harry Potter) seems to be their first dual release of a mega-hit to seemingly show equal (or perhaps better) sales for HD DVD than Blu-Ray!

Why would anyone think they would drop HD DVD at CES? They just ran a huge BOGO promotion with their HD titles at Best Buy, the first of its kind on HD DVD, which included Order of the Phoenix! They next offered a similar BOGO sale at amazon which included all the other Potter films (which, incidentally, rose to the number 1, 2, 3, and 4 spots on amazon's DVD bestsellers list - a first for HDM). If Harry Potter's sales or 4th quarter movement of stand-alone players is any indication, Warner will certainly not be straying from HD DVD!

It's funny to check out threads on bluray.com sometimes when I can afford to lose a few brain cells...speculation that WB's recent BOGO's on HD DVD are signs of "dumping" inventory before they drop the format! What a load of garbage! Blu-Ray started the BOGO strategy back in January of last year, and have sponsored OVER TWENTY such events at every major retailer over and over again! Forums actually have Blu-Ray BOGO sticky threads since they are so commonplace with that format. Yet we hear nothing of these discounts when the BDA thumps its collective chest with press releases boasting about disc sales. HD DVD just sponsored its very first true BOGO (Buy 1, Get 1 Free) beginning this month at Best Buy followed by the amazon sale. And look at the effects! Seems the format nearing 1 million players can more than hold its own against the juggernaut that is the BDA!

BTW Doby, I find it hilarious that you have the gaul to call anyone a "shill"! You are the biggest shill I've seen on every imaginable HT/tech site on the net, and that's saying something. Just like your infamous "tier" list that shows Disney and Sony with the highest marks for PQ yet refuses to mention the fact that Disney has released virtually NO back-catalog films save for maybe GI Jane and Dinosaur (both of which have very mediocre PQ), and Fox and Sony haven't released many more themselves. Universal has pumped out over 40 titles fom the 70's, 80's and 90's, but somehow you lost this data. In fact, when I checked this data a couple of months ago, Universal had released MORE catalog titles from this era than Sony, Disney, FOX, and LionsGate COMBINED!

[JerryDelColliano]

Welcome to the forum Bob.

Doby and Lotus are pretty fired up about their "inside sources". I have a few inside sources myself and I don't see the format war ending at CES like some have suggested.

I agree with the poster who suggested some large titles will be released at the show or at least announced. That will help keep the enthusiasm high for both formats.

If Intel can solve the HDCP issues - Costco can start selling players as attach sales with the MILLIONS of HDTVs they sell.

The fact that today's 1080p players don't come with HDMI cables - tells you EVERYTHING you need to know about how confident electronics companies are about this wonderful protocol. But the reality remains - 1080p ain't coming by component cable and Hollywood isn't giving up on copy protection thus the pressure should be to get HDCP RIGHT!!!!