[Todijo]

http://www.dvdtown.com/news/breaking...of-hd-dvd/4677

Paramount, Dreamworks + associates have switched to HD-DVD only. Sony have shot themselves in the butt again. Betamax all over

We'll see how long the exclusivity lasts.

The war will be settled by which format player sells more and Blu-Ray will sell more helped by the PS3.

[Todijo]

It would of be useful to see XBox 'man up' and include a HD DVD drive internally in the XBox 360 Elite, that would of countered the PS3 effect on Blu-Ray to an extent. However should the HD DVD should indeed of lost the war (Which I doubt) then Microsoft would of been f*cked.

[mickandtich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Todijo

http://www.dvdtown.com/news/breaking...of-hd-dvd/4677

Paramount, Dreamworks + associates have switched to HD-DVD only. Sony have shot themselves in the butt again. Betamax all over

I think its a bit early to say the war is over until we know the real reasons behind the change of policy.

There is no doubt that thanks to the PS3 Bluray is selling more and the number of BR players is also higher.

Why would Paramount do this?

[smcbeath]

All i can say is, transformers , but to be honest though, i have 14 hd dvd's and not one of them is by paramount. Mission Impossible 3 is the only one i would maybe get and star trek if it ever comes out. I would be more happy if they all went neutral, except sony - blu ray and universal - hd dvd, but that would be a dream.

The only winner from the war is the consumer, as the two formats compete for our custom.

[mickandtich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smcbeath

All i can say is, transformers , but to be honest though, i have 14 hd dvd's and not one of them is by paramount. Mission Impossible 3 is the only one i would maybe get and star trek if it ever comes out. I would be more happy if they all went neutral, except sony - blu ray and universal - hd dvd, but that would be a dream.

The only winner from the war is the consumer, as the two formats compete for our custom.

Star Trek TOS season 1 is out on HDDVD in the US in NOvember.

Thanks to no region coding you can buy those.

The mooted Blu-Ray release looks like its now a no-go

But the customer is no more the winner now than they were last week.

They remain the losers as their fave films are split over 2 formats ,so in fact the studios lose out big time and will continue to do so until one format gives in.

I read somewhere that Disney are reportedly now considering HDDVD

[Jarrak]

From a software stance the format war is still bad for the consumer but come on falling prices for hardware and multipule generations would not have happened so quickly with only format.
Remember the driving force for blue laser was for a high profit standalone players and media licensing to replace the mature DVD format, the need to compete on the hardware front has almost destroyed one aspect of that desire for HD.


Dual format players look even more attractive now.

[FB_Rogers]

This doesn't bode well for the PS3 IMO as last time they were quite lucky that DVD was an already established format but by committing themselves to the Blue Ray format would be fine for Sony's games but not as all encompassing as being able to put anything in as used to be on the PS2.

Plus of course Microsoft have a HD-DVD drive maybe there could be some kind of 3rd party developed dual format drive in time. Now wouldn't that be am incentive to choose the 360 over the PS3 when High Definition becomes a much more wide spread phenomenon in the UK.

[Ash_735]

It doesn't make sense why a company would jump from the winning format. It's just business again, It's cheaper to bring out films on HD-DVD rather than Blu ray, if these company bastards can see a way to make more money they will take it regardless of which is the better technology. I support Blu ray as it IS the better technology, 25GB single layer beats 15GB single layer in my books. I've said thios a few times, DVD was a clear winner because everyone supported it, this stupid little war is doing no one favours, until all companies decide which format is best, or if they all go Multi-Platform, then no one wins as films will be split up on both formats making people choose. How is the average idiot suppose to know which film catelog will support his taste? Either All support one format or All go Multi-Format, simple.

[Jarrak]

I wouldn't consider out and out capacity the only factor to determine the superior format, the out of the box interactive/net access features are important to many and of course for the studios the licensing costs and DRM capabilities(beginning with Region coding) are a major factor.
I believe FOX have stated they believe Blu-ray offers far more control over what the consumer can do with the media than HD DVD is capable of, good or bad for the consumer that has yet to be seen.

All that aside the likes of Disney and FOX chose Blu-ray because it suited their wallets as did Universal and no doubt the deals done between Toshiba/MS and Paramount will mean money in the bank.

All said and done every studio being format neutral was the best way to encourage HD takeup leaving the hardware manufacturers to squabble over the formats with price probably being the deciding factor.

As a HD DVD over I am delighted with the news for two reasons, the first being the obvious as I'll have more content the second because two formats is driving down the price of hardware at an alarming rate something a single format would not have done in the same timescale.

[FB_Rogers]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jarrak

I wouldn't consider out and out capacity the only factor to determine the superior format, the out of the box interactive/net access features are important to many and of course for the studios the licensing costs and DRM capabilities(beginning with Region coding) are a major factor.
I believe FOX have stated they believe Blu-ray offers far more control over what the consumer can do with the media than HD DVD is capable of, good or bad for the consumer that has yet to be seen.

I guess we all remember the DIVX discs that you would rent every time you wanted to watch it even though you had bought the physical disc. If Blu-Ray is housed inside an online gaming machine and players down the line allow you to connect to the internet what's to stop the film industry from saying you want to see the extra features, that'll be an extra 10 quid now but free if you wait for about 12 months.

Having control over what the consumer can do with a disc that they have purchased is not something I would want in the next generation of DVDs.

[Ash_735]

Hold the phone, Fox and MGM has responded by going Blu-ray only, this is heating up now, they have even put out a list of films that will be out by the end of year on Blu-ray...
Master & Commander
The Day After Tomorrow
From Hell
The Fly (1986)
Edward Scissorhands
28 Days Later
Robocop
Amityville Horror (1979)
Battle of Britain
A Bridge Too far
I, Robot
Die Hard
Die Hard 2: Die Harder
Die Hard with a Vengeance
Red Dawn
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Independence day
Cast Away
Ronin

[Jarrak]

Yep, FOX have been rather slow supporting Blu-ray given their exclusive status and it's no surprise a flood of movies are being released now. Once the BD-J is standard on new players and those that can be upgraded Warner will probably release a lot more titles that have only been on HD DVD thanks to it's out the box interactive interface.

A boom in dual players with full support for both formats is surely the way to go in hardware terms.

[Mr Cable]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ash_735

Hold the phone, Fox and MGM has responded by going Blu-ray only....

Erm, hasn't Fox ALWAYS been BluRay only? Do they have any HDDVD titles?

Hopefully Paramounts decision will help Balance things out is this 'war' until Warners start with their THD discs - something which they've offered to other studios too.

[mickandtich]

The move by Paramount has certainly tipped the balance again.

While the better selection of titles and increasing number of BR players thanks to the PS3 gave early indications of an eventual victory for BR,this has put things back on an even keel.

If Warner now decide to drop Blu-Ray ,the formats main advantage will be lost and the many disadvantages will come into play.

Those being:

Hugely more expensive for companies to create software
More expensive hardware
BD-J uncertainty

[Rob500]

Some HD DVD players are cheaper than the PS3, so I'm very surprised HD DVD isn't miles ahead anyway

[Mr. Brightside]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob500

Some HD DVD players are cheaper than the PS3, so I'm very surprised HD DVD isn't miles ahead anyway

it doesnt work on cost its more people who know, theres still a large chunk of people who dont know about digital switchover, plus theres only one shop in my town that sells HD/blu ray discs and thats an independant game shop (and towns like mine will be integral to the whole format war because its joe public who will decide the outcome), so the whole of high definition, be it tv or discs are probably only penetrating 3-5% of the whole of the country, sonys have a problem with telling 'normal' gamers that they can watch this new 'blue disc' thing on their ps3's

[Jarrak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob500

Some HD DVD players are cheaper than the PS3, so I'm very surprised HD DVD isn't miles ahead anyway

Sony knew what they were doing, with a reported 6million sales globally for a unit which is intended as a games machine and subsidised accordingly and if only on average 1 movie per PS3 was sold it would impact the HD movie sales figures to a huge extent.
That combined with the huge marketing and build up for the PS3 it's really no surprise it blew the standalone HD DVD player sales figures out the water


While in the real world it makes no practical difference comparing the sales figures of the HD DVD standalone range to the Blu-ray standalones is more representative.

[mickandtich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob500

Some HD DVD players are cheaper than the PS3, so I'm very surprised HD DVD isn't miles ahead anyway

For starters Blu-Ray had more studio support ,so the early adopters are even holding back because they dont want to buy into a format that could be obsolete within a year even if the players are under £250.

Joe Public are just not interested in general.
Many still need HD ready tv sets to get HD quality ,and the lack of a proper HD tv service will prevent many buying the sets at the moment.

Once BBC/ITV offer a full time service then we will see a surge in sales of HD sets.

Perhaps by that time there will be a single HD disc format.
If there isn't ,the players can be £100 and most still wont buy them.

[Kojack]

I'll be buying a player as soon as they bring out dual BR & HD player under £200

[SideshowMark]

Bluray and HDDDVD, the Minidisc and Digital Cassette of the 21st Century. They're never going to go mainstream.

[mickandtich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SideshowMark

Bluray and HDDDVD, the Minidisc and Digital Cassette of the 21st Century. They're never going to go mainstream.

One or the other will eventually.

The end of the format war is simply the first step.

The main thing required is to encourage the public to buy an HD ready tv and many wont bother until there is HDTV channels in plentiful supply,whether it be Sky or cable.

Once there is a full HD tv service the LCD and plasma sets will fly off the shelves and we wont have to listen to moaning about how shit SD looks on them.

Once we have a full HD tv service the replacement of DVD to HDDVD will follow naturally

[Jarrak]

As some US retailers have said the upscaling and plain DVD playback capabilites of some of the HD players is so good they are being sold as DVD players given the prices are in the ball park of mid-range DVD players.

With the continuing format war which has forced hardware prices down far further than SONY or Tosh expected it won't be long before buying into HD will for the majority be a reasonable alternative to a DVD player.

I have no faith in IPTV or simple downloading of HD content until 21CN and LLU is nationwide and even then bandwidth has to be paid for plus if the average punter isn't ready for HD then IPTV is a pipe dream.

HD optical media is here to stay and a continued format was should mean dual players get more and more attractive and forcing prices down across the board.
Thankfully until then DVD will continue to get every major and minor release for far longer than VHS did, nothing will sell as well as DVD did

[mickandtich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jarrak

As some US retailers have said the upscaling and plain DVD playback capabilites of some of the HD players is so good they are being sold as DVD players given the prices are in the ball park of mid-range DVD players.

With the continuing format war which has forced hardware prices down far further than SONY or Tosh expected it won't be long before buying into HD will for the majority be a reasonable alternative to a DVD player.

I have no faith in IPTV or simple downloading of HD content until 21CN and LLU is nationwide and even then bandwidth has to be paid for plus if the average punter isn't ready for HD then IPTV is a pipe dream.

HD optical media is here to stay and a continued format was should mean dual players get more and more attractive and forcing prices down across the board.
Thankfully until then DVD will continue to get every major and minor release for far longer than VHS did, nothing will sell as well as DVD did

Still little point in buying HDDVD if you dont have an HD ready tv.

And as dvd playback is still region coded you may have a problem.

I've not been checking but are there any Blu-Ray regin hacks or dvd hacks for HDDVD players

[Jarrak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mickandtich

Still little point in buying HDDVD if you dont have an HD ready tv.

And as dvd playback is still region coded you may have a problem.

I've not been checking but are there any Blu-Ray regin hacks or dvd hacks for HDDVD players

Yes indeed which is why I mentioned US retailers since HD TV penetration is far more advanced in that market and R2 imports are not a high priority for the average joe as it is perhaps in the UK as well.
It's all long term thinking, nothing is going to be decided in the next year and a half.


Still no sign of region hacks for either format, the forums that control the specs are very very tight compared to DVD but then again we are still at a very early stage with no "cheap" manufacturers looking for an edge. Given the Blu-ray camps stance on DRM and security as a selling point as backed up by FOX/Disney I doubt we'll see any region hacks for that format while the continue to be exclusive supporters.

Daft as it sounds the format war which has certainly played a part in the price cuts especially with HD DVD may bring a region hack (semi-official) when we see a third party player but I seem to recall Toshiba DVD's were amongst the last to have flexible firmware.