Comments on: Warner goes Blu-ray exclusively, delivering crushing blow to HD DVD

Warner Brothers is dumping HD DVD and going Blu-ray exclusively. Does this spell the end of the format war?

[DOm3N]

Standing on one leg

I have supported blu-ray from the begining due to storage capacity and studio
support, mostly the later. I further supported blu-ray as a consumer when I
picked up a PS3. I think this may be the knock out punch to HDDVD. However I
DO feel that HD-DVD was/is the better format aside from lack of studio
support. From a player stand point, not just price but having minimum specs
enforced, and features above and beyond blu-rays. However this format war
ending will be nothing but good for consumers (IMO), no matter which side
wins. I remember the SACD format war never ended and both are forgoten.

[Brolix]

I knew this day might come, but hoped it wouldn't.

This could be the catalyst that send HD-DVD into it's twilight months and it is quite saddening. As a user of both formats, i have long preferred HD-DVD because it has--in my opinion--the most seamless user experience. Blu-Ray discs often force me to either skip through or sit through previews prior to the movie starting; both of which are annoying. regardless of this, it appears that, with only Paramount as a truly potent hindrance, Blu-Ray is poised to become the successor to standard DVDs. 'Tis a sad day for HD-DVD, but a good day for consumers who may now delve deeper into a market that has thus far been more "underground" than "mainstream."

[C433Z]

who cares?

most "extra features" either side claims to have are pointless. who wants to watch hours of extra footage documenting the movie you just watched. i just want a cheap player to watch the discs i bought at 1080p, that's it.

HDDVD players have been cheaper so if they do go down it's kind of a bummer but it doesn't matter in the long run. Hopefully this just drives prices down faster.

p.s. Are they going to remake those HDDVD exclusive movies in blu-ray if hddvd loses?

[geeman1082]

Well, it's not like I'm gonna toss my player ...

... so I guess I won't be buying any HD Warner movies after May ... I'm certainly not going to buy a new player just to watch HD Warner movies, so I will probably just buy DVD's of the movies I really want and be satisfied with upsampled video ... Warner's decision seems like a very bad business move to me (because I know others that feel the same way I do), so as it said in the article it is also obvious to me that Sony must have offered up a pretty big incentive to T-W to land this exclusive deal ... I certainly didn't buy the line about it being better for the consumers ... cheers ...

[HHaller2]

I'll stick to HD DVD for the time being

If I could live without Sony, Fox and Disney I can live w/out WB. Hell, just about everything I want from WB is already out on HD DVD.

So when BD players finally get to profile 2.0 and reach an affordable price...probably years from now...maybe I'll plunk down money for one of them. Unless downloading HDM is more efficient by that point.

[royauty]

Heavyweight still to throw a punch?

Rumour has always had it that the "adult entertainment" industry allowed VHS to triumph over Betamax. So what happened this time around? If nothing has happened yet, there might still be some wiggle-room (if you'll forgive the expression) for Toshiba et al.

[yiang]

That was before the dawn of the internet

The adult industry will have no major weigh in here. Porn's prevelance on the internet has made that evident since it's more easily accessible online, than having to go adult shops ot purchase it. This is pretty much game over for HD-DVD unless they pull out a major ton of cash like Sony apparently has.

[aggiedoc]

Evolution, not Revolutioln

The adult entertainment industry was not readily available in homes until the advent of video tape. The fact that the industry selected the less expensive VHS format might well have been a deciding factor in the win of technically inferior VHS over Beta.

However, porn on DVD exists and will continue to do so. There is little real reason for fly-by-night studios to spend money for a more expensive format when they benefit from soft focus and lower resolution. Freckles, scars and tatoos are not necessarily more appealing in High-Def. I think it likely that adult entertainment producers will continue to "sit this one out" since they have little to gain from making their product for a more expensive system with a small user base at this time.

In any case, I don't see any revolutionary changes from the porn industry. There is no reason. If one format eventually wins they will evolve to it gradually. I'm sure there would be less resistence from HD-DVD production studios which have less of a Disney-esque association than Blu-Ray. Even so, I've been surprised at the adult content of some Touchstone products. Certainly not "hard core" but a win by Blu-Ray would not prevent porn from sharing the market ultimately.

[thisislovell]

We'll find that out next week, too

Well, the AVN Expo is next week (runs same time, same place (Las Vegas) as CES), so there will probably be alot of news on this front by the end of next week.

[cyde01]

What a dumb industry..

"Warner Bros. has produced in both high-definition formats in an effort to provide consumer choice, foster mainstream adoption and DRIVE DOWN HARDWARE PRICES,"

Hats off to Warner Bros. for at least appearing to do what is best for the consumers. The one silver lining (if anything)from this format war was the fact that in an effort to compete with each other the 2 formats were slashing hardware prices at an incredibly fast pace. My theory is Warner intentionally helped prolong the war so that the competition between the formats would lead to faster price drops in hardware.

Alas, things can't go like this forever. Consumers have refused to embrace either format, while downloading HD content from the web and IPTV are developing much faster than anyone expected. Profit margins for downloading HD movies online must not be as high as selling discs, which could explain Warner's sudden change in tune. If the format war doesn't end soon, an HD iTunes movie store could take off and both formats could be forgotten before they ever saw mass adoption. It's happened before, iTunes has already took over CD sales and made SACD obsolete. Blame the stupid greedy electronics companies for this mess.

[boilerg]

Why don't people pay attention!?

HD DVD is the only format that allows you to get both the HD DVD and DVD version of a movie on one disc. So if you want to watch your new movies in your bedroom, on your laptop, on your portable DVD player, at your parents house, or anywhere you don't have a HD DVD or Bluray player, only new HD DVD releases allow you to flip the disc over and watch it. This is the ideal setup for compatibility. Why don't people pay attention to this fact? Bluray forces us to buy two copies of the same disc if we want one for our original DVD players and one for our new Bluray players. This will be a huge factor that will affect mass adoption because a lot of people aren't going to want to give up compatibility with their existing players.

[commorancy]

Better ROI in Blu-Ray

From a business point of view, the Blu-Ray format gives the best monetary return. From the consumer point of view, HD DVD is more compatible. Yes, HD-DVD supports both a DVD format of the movie and an HD DVD version on one media. But, this means either raising the price of HD DVD to cover the loss of a second purchase or opting for Blu-Ray. Blu-Ray, yes, forces consumers to buy two versions of the same movie if you want both DVD and the HD version of it. As I said, from a sales perspective, this is a better deal for business.

From this point alone, I can see why a business would opt for Blu-Ray support exclusively simply because the most money can be made. Opting for Blu-Ray requires consumers to purchase two versions rather than one. It's not optimal for the consumer, but when has that stopped business?

[bubblebathgirl]

HD DVD is DEAD!!!!!!

Long live Blu-ray!

The superior format, with the most backing, and best sales won!

Go figure ;)

[vagadgetfreak]

Revenge is sweet...

Years and years after Sony lost the BetaMax vs. VHS war it finally gets its long
awaited revenge in the DVD format war!

At least here, the better technology won and not the better marketed format!

[racevw14]

Let HD-DVD die quickly & lets get on with it!

The sooner there is 1 format the better, J6P will wait till there is one format before they jump in.

So come on Universal announce your going Blu-Ray only & HD-DVD will have to let Paramount & Dreamworks out of the contract they paid them to sign & we will have our 1 format so HDM can thrive.

[psibot]

All your fail are belong to HD DVD

hd DVD supporters are now FAIL. To wit:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/22508081
(too funny! - article from CNBC source, ie NBC Universal, ie Universal Studios - soon you shall all see Universal movies go neutral/purple or BD exclusive).

Those droning on and on for days/pages/bytes about hd DVD superior are now officially on notice. All aboard the red FAIL-train. The format storm will now surely clear, as we see Blu skies ahead.

In other news, Facebook phenomenon latest legal obstacle, say observers. We get signal!

[cursesredbaron]

Stuck on the Rail Road Tracks with Blu-Ray

Yet again consumers are being forced into expensive technology from a company that thinks they know what we want. Has anyone really took a good look at both formats? I have both players, HD DVD on my XBOX 360 and the Sony PS3 and there is a major difference. The HD DVD is without a doubt the better format. The Picture is sharper and clearer on my HiDef 56" T.V. with HD DVD and the menus and navigation is much easier. I also like the fact that just because I choose to buy an HD DVD I can still watch the movie on the other 4 regular DVD players I have in the house. Here is where the real difference between the formats makes an impact on the consumer. I guess that Sony expects all of us to throw away all of our other DVD players, portable or otherwise, and go out and spend money like the Hilton sisters to replace them with BluRay players. I challenge anyone out there to tell me that they don't have at least 2 regular DVD players in the house and a huge collection of DVD's and that they are ready to throw all of that in the trash for BluRay. Go out to your local electronics store and watch the two formats side by side and I guarantee you will see that HD DVD is a win win for the consumer.

[brandonh33]

Cool, You knew it was gunna happen sometime

I cant wait untill all of the 360 and hd-dvd fanboys start showing up this is going to be hilarious. I can see it now. "Its not over consumers are all about price and our cheep peice of crap 1080i unit is $50 cheeper." You know, the war already has had a winner for a while, the only thing that was confusing was when the war would end. Honestly I dont believe hd-dvd is just going to go away, but its going to turn into nowadays vhs and tape, they are still for sell, but nobody buys them and there will be very small supply. When does that happen?I am betting on 1 - 1 1/2 years. Ahh, I cant wait for the o so sweet fanboy hatemail comming my way, but i speak the truth:)

[dvdwilly]

Disappointing...

What I find most disappointing is the oft touted misconception that Blu-Ray is the superior format to HD DVD. That is true without equivocation in only one aspect?it is the superior storage capacity medium. Otherwise, the two formats appear to be capable of producing video and audio that are both exceptional.

That is as far as it goes. In the implementation of the two media formats, HD DVD has been the superior in implementing and advancing the medium. The HD DVD players came to market faster and cheaper. They have also become more stable platforms more quickly. I have an HD DVD player?the Toshiba HD-A2 and it will put up as good a picture on a 92" screen and a completely immersive sound field. However, I cannot get all of the movies that I want in HD DVD, so I have been looking at Blu-Ray players.

I had already made a decision to buy a Blu-Ray player as soon as I could identify one that is stable and implemented with a full complement of audio capabilities. I have yet to identify a single brand or model of Blu-Ray player for less than $1,000 that is either stable or implements the full complement of advanced audio such as HD True Dolby and DTS whatever they call theirs in the same way that my low end HD DVD does?that is, through the Digital Audio (Optical or Coax) outputs.

One Blu-Ray player that I have been looking at that would almost fill the bill is the Panasonic DMP-BD30. However, the only way that it passes either of the advanced audio codes is via an HDMI 1.3 cable. With my HD DVD player, on the other hand, I can pass HD True Dolby to my older Onkyo, TX-SR702 for a complete surround experience.

To go with Blu-Ray right now and get the advanced audio, I have to buy the Blu-Ray player and spend an additional $700 to upgrade an otherwise perfectly good receiver to the next generation so that I can do a pass through to the receiver via HDMI for decoding. What concerns me further is that the implementation of HDMI, even 1.3 is not perfect either and I do not really want to introduce still another switch between my video source?the DVD player, and the display device, a Sony VPL-VW50.

So, am I happy that Blu-Ray has scored a ?victory? in the format wars? No?I am still stuck with waiting for another generation of Blu-Ray player, higher cost, and a lesser implementation of what I spend my money for to begin with?a superior picture AND sound or spending even more money to get that level of performance by upgrading my current receiver?not a happy camper.

[BCF1968]

Get a PS3....

A $400 PS3 supports HDMI 1.3 and blu-ray disc profile 1.1

[ylla]

More DRM! YAY!

Another victory for Blu-ray; guess that means more disks with region-control and bug inducing DRM...yippie! Yup...another victory for the consumer; that's why they did it alright! (Note Sarcasm....)

[mizzax]

From a HD DVD owner.

As a new HD DVD owner this news initially bummed me out. Then I went to the WB website and found out they only have 2 movies comming out that I would want to see anyway. "I am Legend" will be out in May and will be available on HD DVD. That just leaves "The Dark Night", which is not due out on dvd for about a year, and who knows what will happen by then. Worst case senario, HD DVD's will become super cheap and I will then buy all my favorites and have them in my library on HD media and dvd format.

[ylla]

From an owner of both formats

"I cant wait untill all of the 360 and hd-dvd fanboys start showing up this is going to be hilarious."

That's a fan boy comment if I ever heard one.

[brandonh33]

You must feel proud of yourself

Oh ya! here come all of the cheep shots from you desperate hd-dvd/360 fanboys. This is going to be great! What are you going to do next? Insult my grammer? Say your not a fanboy? Hey, surprise me why dont you. Lets make this exciting. I was just saying that you fanboys are funny when you go into "desperation mode" or whatever you want to call it, so if that makes me a fanboy so be it. "from an owner of both formats" ya you sold a lot of people there haha. Well you have fun with your little games!:)

[Mam00th]

You got to be kidding?

At least here, the better technology won and not the better marketed format!
by vagadgetfreak

hummm the better marketed format is blu-ray and by far lol. It is the good old BIGGER IS BETTER marketing technique. I think this is a major loss for consumers because HD-DVD were much cheaper while having the same image quality, better audio on most players and lets not talk about the java used on blu-ray player...

A big loss for American consumers with less and less money...