HD DVD Players Sold Out Nationwide This Weekend - Blu-ray In Trouble?

[prerich]

Originally Posted by Robinson_A

I second that notion about Disney, on one condition: they back off the stupid menu programming that causes 20 minute load times. Oh, and please allow me to just skip the previews. When I hit menu, take me there.

But Disney on HD DVD would be AWESOME!

Agreed!

[deacongreg]

Originally Posted by kennyt

prerich,

Great moniker BTW! Welcome to the forum!

What part of Florida are you in?

I agree with you to a degree, but only time will tell. I have many friends who have bought into one of the formats, and many have chosen Blu-ray, even without my advice. These folks are buying software. I am a from the start Blu-ray guy, maybe the only one ion the magazines staff that is, but lately that loyalty has been waning. I am now neutral as my HD DVD players WORK!

Andrew Robinson has said it to me many times, and I sort of dismissed it. He just wants it to work! You know, I grow to respect him more and more the better I get to know him, and he's right again on this one. My HD DVD players WORK. No need for firmware updates to play the latest releases, and when you put the two side by side, often it comes down to software, and frankly many HD DVD's are done better than Blu-ray.

Take the included Fifth Element, the original transfer was so poor Sony rereleased it and GAVE it to all prior owners! This has never happened before......

I don't know how or if this 'war' will end, but like Iraq, I am tired of the fighting. I just want it to be over and move on.....

And you know kennyt, that is all I`ve been saying all the while. The notion that because we are high end audio/videophiles and we should come to expect firmware updates and the like, is crazy.

Lets hit the power button, put in your HD DVD disc because the player works, and hit play. Grab your drink and snacks, and lets get it on.

[oscar_in_fw]

Originally Posted by prerich

In the case of HD-DVD and Blu-ray I believe the Hardware will sell the software. It's been over a week since the "dumping" sale and HD-DVD titles are clearing the racks at Walmart - even the higher priced ones. The Blu-ray titles are still on the shelves not even touched. When you get to the 200.00 price point, people don't care about paying 30.00 for a movie. This is one of the reasons Wii is doing so well. My son bought a Wii for 248.00 and buys 40.00 games without winking. Hardware can sell software. My video card made me purchase Vista (as soon as Nvidia came out with purevideo HD for XP I reverted back - and won't go back to Vista until SP1).

Once the hardware is in the homes the software will sell. The Blu-ray stalemate is as good as saying lets call a truce so the massive bleeding can stop (on both sides). I listened to a podcast from one of Sony's reps and they said that its possible to sell blu-ray hardware at the same low prices as HD-DVD but they just won't do it. They admit that the building cost of both units are almost identical - Blu-ray uses a better more complex optical device but they also admit that HD-DVD contains a better high-end processor for video, so prices wash out. They just refuse to sell them at a low price. I'm purchasing more HD-DVD titles than ever now (once I saw Happy Feet - which is 1080p capable I was hooked - but I view in 720p - I can do 1080p via my computer). Warner or Disney could end this war by going exlusive HD-DVD or if Disney goes neutral - that would end the war.

I'll agree Warner going exclusive would end this war; provided that format is Blu-Ray. Both I expect Sony/Fox/Disney are staunch Blu-ray supporters and won't go down easily. All three of these major studios are producing Blu-rays which cannot be easily transferred to HD DVD because of the storage/bandwidth limitations; said limitations being the public reason why Disney selected Blu-ray. Plus Region coding/BD+ are pluses for these studios.

Also, it would be premature to judge a probable HD-A2 closeout sale as a turning point in the format war. It could simply be a desperate move or a let's dump all the HD DVD players before Toshiba gives up the fight after Christmas. How many A2s/A3s are available for sale and at what price ? Can they duplicate this sale on Black Friday or other weekends the rest of the year ? Or will the $98 HD DVD player owner be shy about buying $30 HD DVDs ? or will he/she be upset when they find out it won't play the Sony/Fox/Disney Blu-rays ?

[prerich]

Originally Posted by oscar_in_fw

I'll agree Warner going exclusive would end this war; provided that format is Blu-Ray. Both I expect Sony/Fox/Disney are staunch Blu-ray supporters and won't go down easily. All three of these major studios are producing Blu-rays which cannot be easily transferred to HD DVD because of the storage/bandwidth limitations; said limitations being the public reason why Disney selected Blu-ray. Plus Region coding/BD+ are pluses for these studios.

Also, it would be premature to judge a probable HD-A2 closeout sale as a turning point in the format war. It could simply be a desperate move or a let's dump all the HD DVD players before Toshiba gives up the fight after Christmas. How many A2s/A3s are available for sale and at what price ? Can they duplicate this sale on Black Friday or other weekends the rest of the year ? Or will the $98 HD DVD player owner be shy about buying $30 HD DVDs ? or will he/she be upset when they find out it won't play the Sony/Fox/Disney Blu-rays ?

A person that bought a 98.00 HD DVD player is the same person buying $40.00 (sometimes $50) Wii Games (My son is already reserving his copy of Super Mario Galaxy) - they won't be shy about a $30 Hd-DVD. Most people buying HD-DVD's know that they will not play Sony/Fox/Disney Blu-rays (that's why they're called HD-DVD and Blu-rays are call Blu-... aw you get the picture LOL). But seriously, I've lived on both sides of the fence - the high-end audio/videophile with 3000.00 speakers and such and I've been in the depths of consumer depression. I'm now at a mid-point - I go for the best bang for the buck and look at the point of diminishing returns. If I could find a $200 or $150 blu-ray player would I buy it - in a heartbeat. I can't see spending $400 (that would be for the PS3 - we are Wii fans and Xbox 360 fans in my house). A ps3 just for blu-ray uhhh - no. The price of the PS3 lets me know that blu-ray is well over priced. So I will enjoy the available HD-DVD titles and just upscale titles like Cars and Ratatouille from regular DVD - we htpc freaks have been doing this for years, but with the A2, I don't have to even go through my PC at all. I'm satisfied.

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by oscar_in_fw

I'll agree Warner going exclusive would end this war; provided that format is Blu-Ray. Both I expect Sony/Fox/Disney are staunch Blu-ray supporters and won't go down easily. All three of these major studios are producing Blu-rays which cannot be easily transferred to HD DVD because of the storage/bandwidth limitations; said limitations being the public reason why Disney selected Blu-ray. Plus Region coding/BD+ are pluses for these studios.

Also, it would be premature to judge a probable HD-A2 closeout sale as a turning point in the format war. It could simply be a desperate move or a let's dump all the HD DVD players before Toshiba gives up the fight after Christmas. How many A2s/A3s are available for sale and at what price ? Can they duplicate this sale on Black Friday or other weekends the rest of the year ? Or will the $98 HD DVD player owner be shy about buying $30 HD DVDs ? or will he/she be upset when they find out it won't play the Sony/Fox/Disney Blu-rays ?

Oscar the war is officially a "Stalemate," and the size limitations are about to be obsolete. The 51GB discs on HD DVD are in the works. Universal has some titles that will be the first to test the 51GB limits.

HD DVD software sales were really strong after the weekend (and during it) so it's simple to say that they new owners had no problem buying the $30 HD DVDs. Wal-Mart and Best Buy are having trouble stocking the more popular titles in some areas.

If Warner goes exclusive to HD DVD it would end this war. It would be a major sign that HD DVD will be around a long time, and it would be the start of seeing other Studios start hedging their bets with HD DVD.

Still we may see Sony go neutral in a way of trying to end the "war," aspect of the format differences.

[TheMoose]

Originally Posted by Lotus

Still we may see Sony go neutral in a way of trying to end the "war," aspect of the format differences.

If you believe that I have some swamp land in Florida to sell you!!