Warner goes Blu-ray exclusive!

[bdraw]

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/01/04/warner-goes-blu-ray-exclusive/

[Palmateer]

Hooray, if it means ending the damn format wars sooner!

We just tilted to Blu-ray ourselves last week, and are completely satisfied with it.

[Palmateer]

January 5, 2008
Warner Backs Blu-ray, Tilting DVD Battle
By BROOKS BARNES
NY Times

LOS ANGELES — The high-definition DVD war is all but over.

Hollywood’s squabble over which of two technologies will replace standard DVDs skewed in the direction of Sony Corporation on Friday, with Warner Brothers casting the deciding vote in favor of the company’s Blu-ray discs over the rival format, HD DVD.

In some ways, the fight is a replay of the VHS versus Betamax battle of the 1980s, and the pendulum just swung firmly into Blu-Ray’s corner.

“The overwhelming industry opinion is that this decides the format battle in favor of Blu-ray,” said Richard Doherty, research director at the Envisioneering Group, a market research firm in Seaford, N.Y.

Behind the studio’s decision are industrywide fears about the sagging home entertainment market, which has buoyed the movie industry in recent years as piracy, competition from video games and the Internet and soaring costs have cut into profitability. Analysts predict that domestic DVD sales fell by nearly 3 percent in 2007, partly because of confusion in the marketplace over the various formats.

The rival high-definition format, HD DVD, is not dead. Two major studios, Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures, have deals in place to continue releasing their movies exclusively on HD DVD, as does DreamWorks Animation. Warner Brothers, part of Time Warner, will also continue to release its titles on both formats until the end of May.

But by supporting Blu-ray, Warner Brothers, the largest player in the $42 billion global home entertainment market, makes it next to impossible for HD DVD to recover the early momentum it achieved.

While the specifics of the Blu-ray and HD DVD skirmish are insidery, the consequences of a winner are not. Consumers have been largely sitting on the sidelines, waiting to buy high-definition players until they see which will have the most titles available. Retailers have been complaining about having to devote space to three kinds of DVDs. And the movie business has delayed tapping a lucrative new market worth billions. High-definition discs sell for a 25 percent premium.

“Consolidating into one format is something that we felt was necessary for the health of the industry,” Barry Meyer, the chief executive of Warner Brothers, said in a telephone interview. “The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger.”

In addition to Sony, a consortium of other electronics makers back Blu-ray. For Sony, Warner’s decision is a chance to rewrite history: the company flubbed its introduction of Betamax into the consumer market in the 1980s. Many analysts say HD DVD now risks becoming the equivalent of Betamax machines, which died out in large part because it became harder for consumers to find Betamax movies as studios shifted allegiance to VHS.

With Warner on board, Blu-ray now has about 70 percent of the market locked up; Walt Disney, 20th Century Fox, MGM, Lionsgate and, of course, Sony are all on Blu-ray’s team. Warner Brothers has some of the bigger releases in 2008, including “Speed Racer,” the Batman sequel “The Dark Knight” and the sixth Harry Potter installment.

“This doesn’t necessarily kill the HD DVD format, but it definitely deals it a severe blow,” said Paul Erickson, an analyst at NPD Group’s DisplaySearch. “When a consumer asks a store clerk which format to buy, that clerk is now going to have a hard time arguing for HD DVD.”

In a prepared statement, Toshiba said it was “quite surprised” and “particularly disappointed” by Warner’s decision. “We will assess the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies,” the company said. Universal Pictures declined to comment.

Warner Brothers has been courted for months by both sides. Toshiba dispatched Yoshihide Fujii, the executive in charge of its HD DVD business, to the studio three times in recent months, according to Time Warner executives who were granted anonymity because the negotiations were confidential. Sony has aimed even higher: Sir Howard Stringer, the conglomerate’s chief executive, has leaned on Jeffrey Bewkes, the new chief executive of Time Warner.

Money was an issue. Toshiba offered to pay Warner Brothers substantial incentives to come down on its side — just as it gave Paramount and DreamWorks Animation a combined $150 million in financial incentives for their business, according to two executives with knowledge of the talks who asked not to be identified.

Kevin Tsujihara, president of the Warner Brothers Home Entertainment Group, declined to comment on whether any payments were offered for support of Blu-ray. “This market is absolutely critical to our future growth,” he said in a telephone interview. “You couldn’t put a number on that.”

For his part, Mr. Meyer said, “We’re not in this for a short-term financial hit.”

Which high-definition technology is better has been the subject of intense debate in Hollywood and electronics circles for years. HD DVD players have been much cheaper than Blu-ray machines, but Blu-ray discs have more storage space and more advanced protections against piracy. Both versions deliver sharp resolution.

Consumers were inundated with marketing from both sides during the recent holiday season. Wal-Mart, as part of a temporary promotion, offered Toshiba players for under $100. Sony and its retailing partners, including Best Buy, responded by dropping prices on Blu-ray players, although not to the same level. Blu-ray players can now be purchased for under $300.

Still, Blu-ray was emerging as a front-runner as early as August. Blu-ray titles have sharply outsold HD DVD offerings — by as much 2 to 1, according to some analysts — and some retailers like Target started stocking only Blu-ray players. Blockbuster said last summer that it would carry Blu-ray exclusively.

“We’ve been monitoring the situation with consumers for awhile now and they have clearly made their choice,” Mr. Meyer said. “We followed.”


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/05/technology/05disc.html?_r=1&ref=business&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin

[Harry]

Well, the announcement did it for me. I had been kicking tires for months about getting a Hi Def player of some type. After seeing the announcement and reading most of the "expert" opinions that said this won it for Blu-Ray. I went out and took advantage of some of the existing deals and purchased a BR player and a bunch of disks. Just waiting for my reasonable priced HDMI cable to show up in the mail and I will set it up. I was on the wrong side of the Beta/VHS thing way back. Hope I haven't done it again.

Harry

[StevenA]

Hollywood Video, where I rent DVDs, refuses to carry high definition DVDs of any type. The $1.00 DVD rental kiosks that are popping up at supermarkets only offer standard DVDs. And Verizon FiOS recently started offering HD VOD, negating the need for a high definition DVD player (although they still have a few kinks to work out). With all of this plus the continuing integration of computers with HDTVs, I think the whole debate about Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD is about to become moot. Within the next five to ten years I predict that DVD players of any format will disappear completely.

[Palmateer]

We live in the mid-Pinellas area.

The Blockbuster Video store in Pinellas Park (49th Street) and the Hollywood Video store next to Best Buy (22 Ave N) both have a nice selection of Blu-ray rental discs.

Blockbuster only charges 50 cents more ($4.99 vs $4.49) for Blue-ray rentals over DVD rentals - well worth it.

[FTBoomerIII]

We live in the mid-Pinellas area.

The Blockbuster Video store in Pinellas Park (49th Street) and the Hollywood Video store next to Best Buy (22 Ave N) both have a nice selection of Blu-ray rental discs.

Blockbuster only charges 50 cents more ($4.99 vs $4.49) for Blue-ray rentals over DVD rentals - well worth it.


I can get HD On Demand for $4.99, why ever leave the house.

[CANDY76MAN]

I can get HD On Demand for $4.99, why ever leave the house.


Thats true but untill they offer every new "A" movie that places like blockbuster offer and make them available starting on the same date that the video stores get them in, Ill still have a use for the video stores.

I'm waiting till BR burners for pc's get down to around 100-150 bucks and I'll jump on the bluray wagon...hope I don't have to wait too long :)

[Palmateer]

Like the Candyman said, the on-demand list has so few choices.

Besides, those are 1080i.

The Blu-ray 1080p movies will knock your socks off. And some are good enough to keep (often selling for around $19.95 on Amazon).

I can get HD On Demand for $4.99, why ever leave the house.

[FTBoomerIII]

Like the Candyman said, the on-demand list has so few choices.

Besides, those are 1080i.

The Blu-ray 1080p movies will knock your socks off. And some are good enough to keep (often selling for around $19.95 on Amazon).


My TV is 1080i so I'm golden.

[CANDY76MAN]

I can see very little difference when watching a 1080i clip vs the same clip in 1080p on my 1080p dlp. I think that much like 480i deinterlaced to progressive on dvds, deinterlacing 1080i to progressive results in an image that is very nearly as good as a native progressive image of the same material......I can see slight differences but only if I really look for it and certainly no difference I would go to any great lengths to attain.

[Palmateer]

Deepest sympathies, bro.:(

My TV is 1080i so I'm golden.

[FTBoomerIII]

Deepest sympathies, bro.:(


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That's just one of the problems with being an early adopter

[bdraw]

The benefits to Blu-ray over VOD HD have very little to do with 1080i vs 1080p, and everything to do with bit-rates, OAR and audio quality.

If you are happy with cropped, over compressed and 10 year old DD dumbed dumb-downed audio on VOD HD, then don't ever watch a Blu-ray disc, cause if you do, you will to see how poor the quality is on VOD HD.