- LOCK - Format War - HD DVD vs. Blu-Ray - LOCK -

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[quote name='Sporadic']Good luck handing your friend a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD R. I'm willing to bet they won't have a drive to play it.

Hard drives on the other hand use USB. Everybody has USB.

That's what I'm trying to point out.

For backup purposes, HDDs win hands down right now and for years to come.

And you keep talking about giving them to your friends as if they all already have drives. Remember how long it took for DVD to catch on? CD? Chances are it will be a long time before next-gen optical drives become the standard or even worse what if you go to give your friend a Blu-Ray and they have a Toshiba computer with HD-DVD? You're way of giving them data is now useless.

And what the hell are you planning on giving your friend where you would have to give them multiple harddrives even if you did want to loan something out?[/quote]
http://cheapassgamer.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3269162&postcount=1970

Why do you act as if I would give them a BD-R now?
I've said time and time again that it would take time for it all to get to DVD level penetration.

Why do you keep saying most BD releases are on single layer discs?
That was true in the early days.
Geko, am I right on this, you seem like you'd know.
 
[quote name='LinkinPrime']Paramount CTO Speaks out on why they chose HD DVD


http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Paramount/Paramount_CTO_Speaks_Out_On_Switch_to_HD_DVD/885

PCWorld Q&A: http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136253-c,dvdtechnology/article.html

He makes a lot of great points...hope others notice and switch over or atleast go neutral. Its about time HD DVD has some solid backup.[/quote]
What do you expect him to say? "Yeah, we switched over because we were paid 150 million dollars?" No, of course he is going to say they switched over because HD-DVD is better.

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/

Most movies aren't using Dual Layer? Every new release I see is BD-50.

And yes FLAC is lossless and MP3 is lossy, but what the hell is the point if the Lossy still sounds just as good as the Lossless?
 
[quote name='guyver2077']Single layer for br is 25gb.

DL is 50gb. There are a few titles which use the dl disc[/quote]There are quite a few that use the DL discs. And pretty much every recent release is DL. (since three months or so now?)

I really don't care if they use it or not, unless it's needed, but I just didn't like Sporadic saying they hardly even use it.
 
[quote name='LinkinPrime']He makes a lot of great points...hope others notice and switch over or atleast go neutral. Its about time HD DVD has some solid backup.[/QUOTE]

:rofl:

Now, he *does* make a compelling argument for HD DVD, to a small extent. However, the strength with which he portrays his convictions about HD DVD are undone by the need to soak Toshiba, Microsoft et al. for $150 million to have those opinions.

I mean, really now. Do you believe the scientific reports denying global warming that are written by climatologists given money hand over fist by the oil industry, too? :lol:
 
[quote name='Sporadic']In a strickly storage sense, I don't believe using hard drives instead of any next gen optical disc when backing up date is "limiting outselves".

It cheap, bound to get even cheaper, GB wise they are becoming massive and they work with just about every computer.[/QUOTE]

I'm not arguing against that. HDD will definitely become more cheap and larger in time. I'm just wondering why that should be an excuse to go with a format with lesser storage space.

[quote name='Sporadic']What I'm trying to say is why wouldn't you compress sound if it doesn't harm the sound? Same with game developers, why leave all of the textures uncompressed? Again if you back up a CD, do you use .WAV or .FLAC? If you chose .WAV, would you use .FLAC if you knew that it cuts the filesize in half while still being loseless?[/QUOTE]

I agree, but both formats allow for compression, yet BD allows for more compression, should someone need it.

Yes, disc space is an issue but it isn't a major issue.
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Of course not. As time goes on, it will become more of an issue, but it won't be THAT serious. Studios/Developers will find ways to work around the space issue, if need be, but, since the extra space is there, might as well opt for the larger medium just to be safe, is all I'm saying.

The guy from Paramount said it all, 1 disc will always be able to hold 1 movie, push come to shove you can just put the extras on a second disc and everyday, compression methods are getting better and better.
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I doubt space will be an issue for movies. Like I said before though, it would be nicer for studios, but I think it will be more of an issue when dealing with data storage or gaming.

With game development, DVD should be able to carry us to the next Xbox. I would be willing to bet the farm that the next Xbox will use HD-DVD and 30GB should be more than enough to carry us through the next generation.
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Of course HD-DVD will be enough, but BD would be better. That's all I'm getting at. You can call it unnecessary, irrelevant, or whatever, but the extra space is better.



Ok.

How does this...
turn into your horrible replacement for that misquoted Bill Gates quote?
???
Yeah, that looks like misinformation spin to me.
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Your argument against BDs extra space seems to be that its excessive and unnecessary. I'm just saying that that won't always be the case. Right now, the extra space is really just being used uncompressed audio, video, textures, etc. Not exactly necessary, but still nice to have. In the future, as games continue to evolve, they will, naturally, need more storage space, which is why I stand by my statement that a larger storage medium would be more logical, in the long run. To say it won't be needed, based on the current uses of the extra space is a bit naive, if you ask me.

And no matter what I post about compression or ingame cutscenes or fucking anything. You never move an inch and just continue parroting 50>30 at me. That seems like a brick wall of ignorance.
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Well, you still really have yet to show me any reason why it makes more sense to go for a smaller format, in the long run. You make it sound as if compression is not possible on BD. I realize things can and will be compressed, making the 30GB much more useful and efficient. But, the same can be done on BD, with even more cushioning space.
 
Not only that but 45GB and 51GB HD-DVDs are in development.
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Your point? You just spent this entire time saying that extra space is not needed and unnecessary, so why should it matter that HD-DVD is surpassing the 30GB mark. And, FYI, BD is currently at 50GB, and will most likely not stop there (much like HD-DVD). Difference is, BD will most likely have the advantage as it can contain 10GB more per layer, and has already released the 50GB for consumers, whereas HD is still developing the 45GB/51GB discs. I imagine this trend will continue, and might even get exponentially worse as time goes on, which, again, is why I would think it would make more sense to with BD, instead of hoping HD will one day catch up, in terms of storage space.
 
[quote name='Sporadic']Good luck handing your friend a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD R. I'm willing to bet they won't have a drive to play it.

Hard drives on the other hand use USB. Everybody has USB.

That's what I'm trying to point out.

For backup purposes, HDDs win hands down right now and for years to come.

And you keep talking about giving them to your friends as if they all already have drives. Remember how long it took for DVD to catch on? CD? Chances are it will be a long time before next-gen optical drives become the standard or even worse what if you go to give your friend a Blu-Ray and they have a Toshiba computer with HD-DVD? You're way of giving them data is now useless.

And what the hell are you planning on giving your friend where you would have to give them multiple harddrives even if you did want to loan something out?[/QUOTE]

If they have a BD drive, use that, if they don't, use a hard drive. No need to eliminate one option because it isn't as practical for some.
 
anybody kind of notice that this war is fought more on spite than anything else? toshiba and party are so pissed that Sony was so arrogant on royalty splitting and didn't want to incorporate any of hd-dvd's features on bluray when they had a chance to create a unifying format. Toshiba must have lost millions while trying to push hd-dvd and sony just smugly sat back and was going to coast on their name alone. all of a sudden it's a fight and sony isn't on the ropes but can feel the heat. I think the only smart thing for Sony to do is to give incentives to warner for them to drop hd-dvd completely and thus will probably seal hd-dvd's coffin. If they get warner to drop hd-dvd it will just be inevitable and you'll have to wait 18 months for your paramount and dreamworks discs. If they don't get warner then the rich people who could afford a hdtv and bluray will be forced to have both. middle class people wil have to scrimp and save to afford both and we won't get masses to buy into this until 3 years down the line when crystal chip media becomes available with no loading times. I see the hd-dvd camp like ralph nader and the green party who could have helped gore win but chose to enter the fray and helped bush take over the country.
 
[quote name='dallow']If it was up to Sporadic, they'd be shipping games on 1.8HDDs.[/QUOTE]

According to sporadic:
1) Compression will solve all of HD-DVDs problems, but won't, for some reason, work for BD.
2) BD/HD-DVD drives and burners will remain rare, expensive, and impractical, while HDDs will rapidly decrease in price, increase in storage space, and decrease in actual size and portability.
3) HD-DVD will eventually get 51GB discs out of development and onto the market. The fact that BD has had 50GB discs available to consumers now, and is also continuing to grow in size, is irrelevant.
 
New rumors!

WB may be going HD DVD exclusive...
Beatboy77 (FUD spreader #1) made some indications that Microsoft offered them $225 Million to be HD DVD exclusive and an announcement may be made on Friday. Again, a rumor, but when beatboy77, who is as big of a Blu-Ray fan as The Mana Knight here for PS3...its worth atleast taking into consideration.

So what does the future hold now? I personally (as of 6:30 p.m. MST) think WB will not go exclusive any time soon. They will lose TotalHD and it may give HD-DVD the boost it needs to surpass Blu-ray in software sales. Does Microsoft want either side to dominate? Absolutely Not. Microsoft wants as much parity for as long as possible.

The big Blu-ray news? It is on hold awaiting WB's decision on studio support. Basically if WB's stays neutral, the development should be announced soon, if WB goes exclusive, the development is most likely dead. Only time will tell at this point.
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Even Bill, from The Digital Bits posted this little tidbit...
By the way, we've heard back from both Warner and New Line this morning. Warner says their format neutral stance remains in place... at least for now ("We haven't announced anything otherwise," was the basic quote). And New Line said they still plan to support both high-def formats, and will contact us when they have news about titles and dates.
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Now, if WB (and I would think Newline as well) goes HD DVD exclusive, and scraps plans for all current Blu-Ray titles...would this be game over for Blu-Ray? We would not have a 50% split on studios between the formats. Again, THIS IS A RUMOR, but.... WB leans towards HD DVD as they have an interest in the format money wise.
 
[quote name='Maynard']hahaha I love the fact that yesterday everyone was flipping out about this exclusivity agreement yet Speilberg doesn't have to stay exclusive? Who the fuck cares than? I saw that Gizmo posted in the PS3 forums about "No transformers for you" Problem is Gizmo who cares? Even the director of the movie said that it is horse shit what paramount did.

It just further proves that even directors agree that this move is bad for consumers, that is my biggest gripe with this entire EXCLUSIVE deals that everyone has going on. Same goes for Sony.[/QUOTE]

And....
Here's an interesting twist in this mess today. After some fast and amazing damage control by Paramount, Michael Bay has recanted yesterday's comments on his website. Here's what he's now posted according to Video Business:

"Last night at dinner I was having dinner with three Blu-ray owners, they were pissed about no Transformers Blu-ray and I drank the Kool-Aid hook, line and sinker. So at 1:30 in the morning I posted -- nothing good ever comes out of early a.m. posts mind you -- I overreacted. I heard where Paramount is coming from and the future of HD and players that will be close to the $200 mark which is the magic number. I like what I heard. "As a director, I'm all about people seeing films in the best quality possible, and I saw and heard first-hand people upset about a corporate decision. "So today I saw 300 on HD, it rocks! "So I think I might be back on to do Transformers 2!"
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Boom.
 
[quote name='LinkinPrime']Oops...sorry...don't know what Zewone was right about, care to explain? You can PM me if needed.[/QUOTE]
:)

Nothing major, I just said that posting it twice wasn't neccesary, but I guess I was wrong.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']:rofl:

Now, he *does* make a compelling argument for HD DVD, to a small extent. However, the strength with which he portrays his convictions about HD DVD are undone by the need to soak Toshiba, Microsoft et al. for $150 million to have those opinions.

I mean, really now. Do you believe the scientific reports denying global warming that are written by climatologists given money hand over fist by the oil industry, too? :lol:[/QUOTE]

Now come on now do really think Sony hasn't "soaked" their share of manufacturers? Let' be real here. The HD-DVD camp is no different then the Blu-Ray camp. It's a format "WAR" folks and I still have not come across any war that was pretty. In the long run this can only benefit the consumer. You can almost guarantee you will see more manufacturers begin to jump aboard and release HD-DVD and dual players. I personally think ALL movies should be released in both formats and lets see who sells the most. I would not be surprised if BOTH HD formats are stil around this time next year and profitable at that. One other good thing to come out this (Paramount's HD only support annoucement) is we will see more new titles released on both formats at a faster rate.
 
[quote name='guyver2077']casino royale.. pardon my lazyness[/quote] 35GB, AVC 16/48 LPCM.

[quote name='dallow']Why do you keep saying most BD releases are on single layer discs?
That was true in the early days.
Geko, am I right on this, you seem like you'd know.[/quote]
293 total titles, 177 (61%) on BD25, 111 (39%) on BD50.

If you limit to 2007 releases only.....

164 total titles, 63 (39%) on BD25, 98 (61%) on BD50.
 
[quote name='geko29']35GB, AVC 16/48 LPCM.[/quote]

35? strange..let me check again..

o and "Waiting" is 46 Gb. It has uncompressed audio so thats probably why
 
[quote name='zewone']:)

Nothing major, I just said that posting it twice wasn't neccesary, but I guess I was wrong.[/quote]

Its not...I thought the news ws pretty fresh, checked the previous page to see if anyone posted but it wasn't...I gotta make it a habit to keep up with threads before I post something :whistle2:#
 
[quote name='guyver2077']35? strange..let me check again..

o and "Waiting" is 46 Gb. It has uncompressed audio so thats probably why[/quote] 35GB is the size of the MOVIE (as all of the numbers I've posted have been), including all audio tracks, subtitles, branching, etc. Extras bring the total size of the DISC to 47GB. Don't have Waiting on my list for some reason....

Sorry about the misunderstanding.

EDIT: Should clarify that the list isn't actually MINE, just what I was using. There's a similar list for HD DVD.
 
thats a good list...

anyways yea waiting is a feature packed movie with 7.1 uncompressed audio and alot of extras.. i also cant believe digest reviewed it as a bad film. i personaly enjoyed the movie
 
[quote name='H.Cornerstone']I can't see WB going exclusive, especially after 300 sales.[/quote] A week ago, I would have thought it impossible too. However, here's a few little tidbits that make it a bit more likely, especially in light of the Paramount/Dreamworks move:

WB was initially HD DVD exclusive, then went neutral in August of last year.

To date, over a quarter (23/83) of their titles are HD DVD exclusive.

Unlike Paramount, who did seperate encodes to optimize for Blu-Ray releases, Warner uses the HD DVD encode on Blu-Ray, but often cuts down the audio to 640Kbps DD (vs. 1.5Mbps DD+ and/or TrueHD typical on the HD DVD releases).

WB holds patents in HD DVD (just like DVD), so they get paid for EVERY DISC sold, no matter who sells it. They do not get paid for Blu-Ray sales.

BD25 and HD30 cost the same to replicate, reportedly just over $1.30/disc (Pacific Disc charges $1.45/disc). HD15 are about a dime cheaper. Combo and BD50 pricing are unknown. However, as DVD9 costs at most $0.50/disc, I find it unlikely that a 30/9 combo cost more than $1.75 at the most, making a large portion of the $5 MSRP premium for combos pure profit. We know BD50 is much more expensive than BD25, but not how much, since at the moment only Sony DADC can make them. Rumour puts it in the neighborhood of $4/disc, which reduces per-disc profit since BD50s don't carry the $5 premium that combos do.

It costs approximately $150k to upgrade a DVD line to press HD DVDs, and the line can press SD DVDs when the HD capacity is not needed. A BD25 line costs $2.5 million at the absolute minimum (the first independent Blu-Ray manufacuter, Blue Ray Technologies, spent $12M on its line), and sits idle when BD capacity is not needed. BD50 lines are reportedly much more expensive, and publically-available (ie non-Sony) BD25 lines "MAY be upgradeable" to support BD50. Eventually the major studios will want to do all their replication in-house, so startup and per disc costs matter tremendously.

Warner Bros. first BD releases were August 1st, 2006, which means that "300" (release date July 31, 2007) was their last release with the Sony BD subsidy in effect. Exact terms of the subsidy are unknown, but rumor is that BD50s cost the studios no more than BD25s under it. Regardless of what the subsidy was, going forward WB is responsible for 100% of replication costs.

Likewise, Paramount's first title they would have been responsible for replication on would have been "Blades of Glory".

Two avid Blu-Ray supporters with some level of inside info (Bill Hunt of the Digital Bits and Beatboy77 on AVS Forum) have dropped hints that HD DVD exclusivity for WB is on the table and actively being negotiated. Neither has any motivation WHATSOEVER to mention this possibility, especially right after the Paramount/Dreamworks announcement.

When asked, WB didn't respond with a "no, we're not dropping neutrality" or "we have no plans to change our strategy", but rather a weak "we haven't announced anything otherwise". You'll recall that last week Paramount was actively promoting Blu-Ray.

Now granted, this is all pure speculation, rumor and conjecture at this point, but I'd now put even money on WB going exclusive, whereas last week I would have put it at 50:1. If this DOES happen, expect it as early as Friday or as late as CEDIA, which runs Sept. 5-9.
 
I said the same thing and some one pointed out the TotalHD factor. WB is trying to promote their TotalHD discs, so why would they go HD exclusive?
 
[quote name='millrat1030']I said the same thing and some one pointed out the TotalHD factor. WB is trying to promote their TotalHD discs, so why would they go HD exclusive?[/quote] From: http://wesleytech.com/totalhd-delayed-until-08/334/
Last month, Warner announced a couple titles would be released on TotalHD only to recall that comment. It now looks like TotalHD is pushed back until the beginning of next year at the earliest.


No reason for the delay was officially announced, but speculation within the industry suggests Warner is waiting to see if the ‘07 holiday season shakes out a definitive win
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You gotta remember the replication costs listed above. A 50/30GB TotalHD disc would likely cost in excess of $5 to produce. That's TEN TIMES what a 9GB DVD costs. So either they'd have to eat those extra costs (plus the extra licensing costs), or jack the MSRP by another ~$10 (A $1 increase in MSRP does not net an extra dollar for the studio) to compensate.

TotalHD has always looked to me like a backup plan in case the whole single format thing didn't pan out, with the added bonus of WB getting paid royalties by studios that had been Blu-Ray exclusive. If they can force the winner to be the side they get royalties for, it's win/win for them.
 
Total HD was delayed to next year because of difficulties. With the reported $225M, I think they can afford to put off Total HD.
 
[quote name='geko29']From: http://wesleytech.com/totalhd-delayed-until-08/334/
You gotta remember the replication costs listed above. A 50/30GB TotalHD disc would likely cost in excess of $5 to produce. That's TEN TIMES what a 9GB DVD costs. So either they'd have to eat those extra costs (plus the extra licensing costs), or jack the MSRP by another ~$10 (A $1 increase in MSRP does not net an extra dollar for the studio) to compensate.

TotalHD has always looked to me like a backup plan in case the whole single format thing didn't pan out, with the added bonus of WB getting paid royalties by studios that had been Blu-Ray exclusive. If they can force the winner to be the side they get royalties for, it's win/win for them.[/QUOTE]

Of course they want know a winner, all the studios will do what they can to save money. Exclusive or not they're still all driven by the almighty dollar. But your reasoning is wrong, WB has said they get no special royalties or licesning fees (I don't wholeheartedly believe it either) off Total HD in the past. However, if exclusive studios use THD they will have to pay licensing fees for both HD and BD, thus making it an (at least somewhat more) expensive dive into the Total HD format. WB also has sunk quite a bit of money into promotion and R & D for this, and they'll likely spend even more trying to get other studios aboard. So all that with the first effective combo players expected to beat it to the market (combo players will essentially render THD pointless too). So it's not all as cut and dry as win/win exactly.
 
Oddly enough, I actually believe WB when they say they won't charge licensing fees for TotalHD. But that doesn't change the fact that it's still a BD (requiring fees to Sony, among others) and an HD DVD (requiring fees to Toshiba and WB, among others).

I still think TotalHD is a backup for HD DVD not winning outright. It's a way to wring royalties out of Blu-Ray exclusive studios where there would otherwise be none, primarily in the event of a stalemate.
 
Warner Brothers' Steve Nickerson Steps Down


Posted August 23, 2007 by Josh

wb.jpg
We have received word from a reliable source that the Senior Vice President of Market Management for Warner Home Video, Stephen Nickerson has stepped down from his position. During his tenure, Mr. Nickerson was an outspoken proponent of HD DVD, though Warner Brothers does release titles on both Blu-ray and HD DVD. No word on his successor, or if Warner will change it stance on high definition releases.


What could this mean? WB decided to stick with Blu-ray so he stepped down?


http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=430&filter=rating30&page=1

WB was initially HD DVD exclusive, then went neutral in August of last year.

To date, over a quarter (23/83) of their titles are HD DVD exclusive.

Unlike Paramount, who did seperate encodes to optimize for Blu-Ray releases, Warner uses the HD DVD encode on Blu-Ray, but often cuts down the audio to 640Kbps DD (vs. 1.5Mbps DD+ and/or TrueHD typical on the HD DVD releases).

WB holds patents in HD DVD (just like DVD), so they get paid for EVERY DISC sold, no matter who sells it. They do not get paid for Blu-Ray sales.

BD25 and HD30 cost the same to replicate, reportedly just over $1.30/disc (Pacific Disc charges $1.45/disc). HD15 are about a dime cheaper. Combo and BD50 pricing are unknown. However, as DVD9 costs at most $0.50/disc, I find it unlikely that a 30/9 combo cost more than $1.75 at the most, making a large portion of the $5 MSRP premium for combos pure profit. We know BD50 is much more expensive than BD25, but not how much, since at the moment only Sony DADC can make them. Rumour puts it in the neighborhood of $4/disc, which reduces per-disc profit since BD50s don't carry the $5 premium that combos do.

It costs approximately $150k to upgrade a DVD line to press HD DVDs, and the line can press SD DVDs when the HD capacity is not needed. A BD25 line costs $2.5 million at the absolute minimum (the first independent Blu-Ray manufacuter, Blue Ray Technologies, spent $12M on its line), and sits idle when BD capacity is not needed. BD50 lines are reportedly much more expensive, and publically-available (ie non-Sony) BD25 lines "MAY be upgradeable" to support BD50. Eventually the major studios will want to do all their replication in-house, so startup and per disc costs matter tremendously.

Warner Bros. first BD releases were August 1st, 2006, which means that "300" (release date July 31, 2007) was their last release with the Sony BD subsidy in effect. Exact terms of the subsidy are unknown, but rumor is that BD50s cost the studios no more than BD25s under it. Regardless of what the subsidy was, going forward WB is responsible for 100% of replication costs.

Likewise, Paramount's first title they would have been responsible for replication on would have been "Blades of Glory".

Two avid Blu-Ray supporters with some level of inside info (Bill Hunt of the Digital Bits and Beatboy77 on AVS Forum) have dropped hints that HD DVD exclusivity for WB is on the table and actively being negotiated. Neither has any motivation WHATSOEVER to mention this possibility, especially right after the Paramount/Dreamworks announcement.

When asked, WB didn't respond with a "no, we're not dropping neutrality" or "we have no plans to change our strategy", but rather a weak "we haven't announced anything otherwise". You'll recall that last week Paramount was actively promoting Blu-Ray.
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This was posted by a member named GizmoDVD at the Blu-ray.com thread about this topic, look familiar?
 
[quote name='H.Cornerstone']What could this mean? WB decided to stick with Blu-ray so he stepped down?[/quote] That's entirely possible. Of course, there could be any number of reasons for a VP stepping down. He was also responsible for TotalHD, which if I'm right and they're abandoning it, has been an expensive exercise in futility. I guess we'll have to wait and see. Hopefully we'll know more today. Worst case, 2 weeks. And hopefully by tomorrow we'll have more on the Nickerson departure from a source other than blu-ray.com. :) And yes, I checked, this time they ARE the source.

Edit: We have another source. Ironically, the same one who broke the Paramount story.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr...ent/video/e3ic5e5748d210215482fe5e2abfedf8b53
Nickerson will exit Warner high-def post
By Thomas K. Arnold

Aug 24, 2007
Steve Nickerson, Warner Home Video's ubiquitous next-generation disc guru, is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities that will be announced shortly.

Nickerson came to Warner in 2000 after 17 years in the consumer-electronics sector. Most recently, he worked with Toshiba, helping oversee the launch of DVD as senior vp sales and marketing.

At Warner, Nickerson was hired as vp DVD marketing and then became senior vp sales for the U.S., a position he held until 2002. After three years as GM of Australia, he returned to the U.S. in 2005 as senior vp market management.

A year later, with the launch of Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD, he became Warner's point man for the new formats as senior vp high-definition media. He was a regular speaker at industry trade shows and conferences and talked up the studio's dual-format approach as giving the consumer the ultimate choice and the studio a chance to maximize high-def disc revenue.

"While it's hard to leave a company like Warner Bros., I have appreciated the opportunities that I have been given here and, especially, the chance to work with so many great people," Nickerson said.
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Yeah I'm definitely thinking this has to do with the end of neutrality and the death of TotalHD.

[quote name='H.Cornerstone']This was posted by a member named GizmoDVD at the Blu-ray.com thread about this topic, look familiar?[/quote] GILLIGAN!!!! :bomb:
 
My take is this: Warner is definitely going exclusive, and they'll probably announce today, though they could be asses and wait till CEDIA. In addition to Nickerson leaving (and news of his exit leaking WELL after the close of business yesterday, whereas normally this stuff comes out during the normal day/news cycle), WHV has suspended all Blu-Ray and HD DVD sales from their webstore (DVD orders still work fine), with notice that fufillment may not resume until as late as September 5th. CEDIA starts on September 5th. I'm thinking they don't want to directly sell any titles after announcing, but they don't want to tip their hand as to which way they're heading, so they shut down both formats.

I'd say it's 90% likely they'll go HD-only, due to the reasons I outlined above, but BR exclusivity is certainly a possibility as well. Hopefully we'll know at 9am PDT/noon EDT (that's when the Paramount announcement was made).
 
[quote name='seanr1221']If WB goes exclusive, I'll probably pick up the HDdvd add on pretty soon.[/quote]Best to pick up a dedicated player during Black Friday or Christmas season.

Grumble grumble.
I just want to watch movies...... ::cries::
 
:lol: I think everyone's paranoid; the HD thread is full of people proclaiming WB is going BR exclusive, and everyone here is worried about HD exclusivity.

As far as I'm concerned, only a damned fool company would sell 200,000 copies of a BR movie (300), 100,000 of an HD, and decide to go with HD. But, of course, that is exactly what Paramount/DW did - so odds are even, IMO.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']:lol: I think everyone's paranoid; the HD thread is full of people proclaiming WB is going BR exclusive, and everyone here is worried about HD exclusivity.

As far as I'm concerned, only a damned fool company would sell 200,000 copies of a BR movie (300), 100,000 of an HD, and decide to go with HD. But, of course, that is exactly what Paramount/DW did - so odds are even, IMO.[/QUOTE]

Oh I'm not paranoid...but if they hypothetically go exclusive, I'm just going to wave my white flag and give up on not supporting 2 media formats.
 
If they do HD-exclusive I'm just going to stop buying videos in general for a while - let y'all settle the score for me. I'll be back when there are only blue or red boxes, not both.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']If they do HD-exclusive I'm just going to stop buying videos in general for a while - let y'all settle the score for me. I'll be back when there are only blue or red boxes, not both.[/QUOTE]

Ditto. The "war" is a huge mess, and I think everyone knows it.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']As far as I'm concerned, only a damned fool company would sell 200,000 copies of a BR movie (300), 100,000 of an HD, and decide to go with HD. But, of course, that is exactly what Paramount/DW did - so odds are even, IMO.[/quote]
I don't have a link, but I remember Warner saying they made about the same amount of money on both formats for Departed, which sold 2:1 on Blu-Ray. 300 was likely the same story.

And that was WITH Sony's Blu-Ray subsidy, which is now over for them (and Paramount).
 
Should be interesting to see what happens, that stopping sales of High def formats is very interesting, and I guess we will have to wait till september 5th. And I don't get the gilligan reference. :cry:

I agree, if WB goes HD-DVD exclusive, I don't think I am going to buy another high def movie after Die Hard, this war is just stupid and needs to end now.
 
[quote name='H.Cornerstone']Should be interesting to see what happens, that stopping sales of High def formats is very interesting, and I guess we will have to wait till september 5th. And I don't get the gilligan reference. :cry:[/quote] The Skipper would always scream Gilligan's name at the top of his lungs when Gilligan did something that pissed him off. Which was pretty much every episode. :)

Regardless of what happens, I don't understand the sour grapes attitude of "if my chosen format looks like it might not win, I don't want HiDef media anymore." that's popping up on here now. If Blu-Ray turned out to take the crown (as it was beginning to look earlier in the year), I would have been more than happy to pick up a combo player and enjoy new Blu-Ray movies, while continuing to enjoy my HD DVDs as I had been for the year or two prior.

Now that it looks like HD DVD has a chance of recovering the lead it had last year, why is the reverse not true? Pick up an A3 for
 
More info on Nickerson:

http://www.videobusiness.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA6471669
Nickerson leaving Warner high-def post

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 8/24/2007

AUG. 24 | Warner Home Video’s high-definition czar Steve Nickerson will exit the company at the end of September to pursue other opportunities, said Mark Horak, the studio’s executive VP/general manager of worldwide operations and new packaged media.
Nickerson, who joined the studio in 2000 as senior VP of market management and managing director/general manager for Australia and New Zealand operations, will be replaced by Dorinda Marticorena. Nickerson transitioned to WHV senior VP of worldwide high-definition during the last couple of years.
Currently VP of kids and sports marketing, Marticorena has been promoted to the senior VP of high-def post and will move into her role upon Nickerson’s departure. Reporting to Horak, Marticorena will take the reigns in WHV efforts to promote the mainstream adoption of high-def formats.
WHV spokesman Jim Noonan said that Nickerson’s leaving doesn’t suggest an upcoming shift in the studio’s high-def operations. With Paramount Home Entertainment and DreamWorks Animation now HD DVD-exclusive, WHV is the only major studio to produce high-def titles in both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc.
“This is not about a change in strategy,” Noonan said. “This is completely his call, and he will be missed. He is smart and a workhorse.”
Nickerson did not specify his next endeavor but expressed gratitude for his time at WHV.
“While it is always hard to leave a company like Warner Bros., this rare opportunity was unexpected, but it is exactly the sort of job that I have long wanted to do, so I did not feel I could let it pass,” said Nickerson. “I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with and learn from the many creative and smart people there.”
Prior to teaming with WHV, Nickerson worked for a number of years at Toshiba in various sales and marketing positions.
“It has been my pleasure to work closely with Steve over the last seven years, and all of us at Warner Home Video wish him success in his new career,” said Horak.
Over the next month, Nickerson will help Marticorena transition to her new gig. She joined WHV as director of marketing, kids entertainment, in 2001.
“I look forward to immediately collaborating with my domestic and international colleagues in this new role and doing all that is necessary to ensure success of the high-definition format in their markets as quickly as possible,” she said.
Click to expand...

Quotes of note: "This is not about a change in strategy." and "..doing all that is necessary to ensure success of the high-definition format...." (note the use of the singluar instead of the plural).

So there's everything in the story to tell us.....absolutely nothing. :)
 
Sour grapes attitude probably stems from the fact that BD winning outright was making it look like the war would over soon.

That's really what I'd like first and foremost.
 
[quote name='dallow']Sour grapes attitude probably stems from the fact that BD winning outright was making it look like the war would over soon.

That's really what I'd like first and foremost.[/QUOTE]

Pretty much. Blu-ray had the momentum and a better chance of winning, and now this move and the price drops are just evening the playing field, and, ultimately, prolonging the war.
 
[quote name='dpatel']Pretty much. Blu-ray had the momentum and a better chance of winning, and now this move and the price drops are just evening the playing field, and, ultimately, prolonging the war.[/quote]

Really its just the latest shot fired. Going into the holiday season last year hd-dvd was outselling blu-ray 3-1, but with the ps3 / plus blu-ray incentives to studios cutting fees the ratio changed. Really the HD-DVD camp sat back to long and just start firing back in the last few months with the price cuts, paramount, etc.

Hell we all would have been better off if both formats came out of the gate last year with no exclusives to see who the winner would have been, but now we are stuck with alot of small battles being fought over the longer format war. Personally I don't see how it can go on for more then 1 more year, but for now if it helps drive prices down so be it. Of course this is coming from someone who is not a early adopter of either format. Face it someone will get screwed the chance of dual format long term just isn't going to fly...
 
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