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[VanMardigan]

i put so much money down on red, i'm not going to front it definitely sucks, but at the same time it IS good to see the war finally coming to an end.

Yeah, I have ~25 HD DVD's, so I agree with you. I already have a Ps3, I got 2 movies from a previous Amazon BOGO today, 2 more from a previous Best Buy BOGO, and 2 more that I ordered just a few days ago (all Blu Ray). So that helps take some of the sting away. Also, we still have no idea when the Uni and Para/Dreamworks movies are making it out on Blu, so I don't regret owning those nor do I have immediate plans to sell them. But yeah, if this ends the war, in the end we'll all benefit (those of us who just wanted HD movies on disc). Plus, like I said before, I was prepared for this outcome when I bought my HD DVD drive. At the time, Uni was the only exclusive studio.

 

[Raistlin]

This is the only upside to folks like me who have supported both formats.

Not really.

The upside for dual-format owners is that once the 'war' is truly over ... there will be A LOT more HD releases.

 

[Pristine_Condition]

Ugh. Blu-ray sounds so stupid. I feel so lame saying it. It's not growing on me as a name at all.

CD, VHS, VCR, DVD, HD-DVD....Blu-ray

Sweet name Sony.

You can always say BRD or BD.

Regardless, you'd be better off to unload the bitterness and get used to it.

 

[thaivo]

Megaton! Too bad it was dropped on HD DVD... : (

Well, I'm likely to continue buying HD DVD's for the next few years, and with the internet, I can still get them if they become hard to get at brick & mortar. The optimist in me says that I'll still be able to pick up new releases two years from now.

 

[xBerserker]

I remember M$ saying that as well.

And I recall MS saying they would leave the option open for a BR addon for the 360.

 

[djkimothy]

It will be interesting to see the sales spike off the back of this news and the forthcoming CES announcements (Mac shipping with Blu-Ray).

Yup, latest rumour is that it will be announced this Macworld in San Francisco.

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...to_ship_macs_with_blu_ray_support_report.html

 

[Mifune]

Peter Moore definitely said something about a potential BD add-on.

*sniff*

 

[Walshicus]

huh.

Well there just aren't that many artists with songs I feel I *have* to have available 24/7; Supertramp, Elton John, Yes, Pink Floyd, Olivia Ruiz, Xavier Naidoo and Morcheeba's discographies being most of my collection. Even then they've all got albums where I only really like one or two songs.

I'm a really big fan of BBC Radio 2 though. I was born 35 years old at heart so their presenter's tastes are usually in alignment with mine. You should check out the stream of it sometime in the UK's daytime if you're not from here.


EDIT: Anyway, I've set up a bit of a silly tangent for a HDM thread with events such as thus.

 

[Raistlin]

If it was, it isn't now.

Actually ... I'm wondering if Warner announced this now out of respect for MS ... basically giving MS the time to pull the CES announcement?

 

[Benjamin1981]

Well there just aren't that many artists with songs I feel I *have* to have available 24/7; Supertramp, Elton John, Yes, Pink Floyd, Olivia Ruiz, Xavier Naidoo and Morcheeba's discographies being most of my collection. Even then they've all got albums where I only really like one or two songs.

I'm a really big fan of BBC Radio 2 though. I was born 35 years old at heart so their presenter's tastes are usually in alignment with mine. You should check out the stream of it sometime in the UK's daytime if you're not from here.

So you are a Brit listening to Xavier Naidoo ? Just curious.

 

[Opus Angelorum]

I guess I've no excuse now not to buy Lost Season 3 Blu-Ray when it comes out in the UK, when I don't know.

 

[Grimmy]

Toshiba's response:

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS230058+04-Jan-2008+PRN20080104

Toshiba's Comment on Announcement from Warner Bros. Entertainment of Its
Exclusive Support for Blu-ray Disc Format

TOKYO, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Toshiba is quite surprised by Warner Bros.'
decision to abandon HD DVD in favor of Blu-ray, despite the fact that there
are various contracts in place between our companies concerning the support of
HD DVD. As central members of the DVD Forum, we have long maintained a close
partnership with Warner Bros. We worked closely together to help standardize
the first-generation DVD format as well as to define and shape HD DVD as its
next-generation successor.
We were particularly disappointed that this decision was made in spite of
the significant momentum HD DVD has gained in the US market as well as other
regions in 2007. HD DVD players and PCs have outsold Blu-ray in the US market
in 2007.
We will assess the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD
DVD partner companies and evaluate potential next steps. We remain firm in
our belief that HD DVD is the format best suited to the wants and needs of the
consumer.

 

[avaya]

Been a good day.

Warner decides it really wants to end the format war.

Sony-BMG, I repeat Sony-BMG, decide to sell music online without DRM.

Dems owned Iowa and Republican's are in a Huckabee shitstorm.

 

[Opus Angelorum]

We will assess the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD
DVD partner companies and evaluate potential next steps.

I literally can't think of anything they can do.

 

[Raistlin]

Yeah. I've had cable broadband since something like '00. Before that I listened to radio rather than buy music, and never had any files big enough to need 700Mb of storage.

I seriously doubt I'm the only person who never had a need for 700Mb of portable storage on account of having a fast internet connection, and I also doubt I'm the only person who never felt the need to purchase CD based music when there were so many alternatives available.

If you honestly think many people have connections suitable for HD content d/l, anywhere near BD quality, the joke's on you.

 

[chubigans]

despite the fact that there
are various contracts in place between our companies concerning the support of
HD DVD.

Eh?

We will assess the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD
DVD partner companies and evaluate potential next steps.

Huh. All very interesting stuff given the circumstances.

 

[Chiggs]

Toshiba's response:

Toshiba was surprised by nothing. Disappointed? Definitely.

 

[Raistlin]

Ugh. Blu-ray sounds so stupid. I feel so lame saying it. It's not growing on me as a name at all.

CD, VHS, VCR, DVD, HD-DVD....Blu-ray

Sweet name Sony.

Ehhh ... just call it BD.

 

[Opus Angelorum]

Eh?

Yeah that is quite telling. It would suggest that this decision from Warner wasn't fully disclosed; interesting to see what contracts are actually in place.

 

[nubbe]

Toshiba's reply make it sound as if it could be costly for Warner to go Bluray exclusive. But maybe BDA will cover the costs.

 

[Walshicus]

So you are a Brit listening to Xavier Naidoo ? Just curious.

Yeah, my Deutsch isn't too great so I listen to it more as sound than music with words, if you know what I mean. I take it you're a compatriot of his? How's he viewed in over there?

 

[Zombie James]

We were particularly disappointed that this decision was made in spite of the significant momentum HD DVD has gained in the US market as well as other regions in 2007.

52-0.

 

[Chiggs]

Eh?

Huh. All very interesting stuff given the circumstances.

It's fluff. And they're trying to act like they have a plan when they don't. Warner was the kingmaker, make no mistake. Also, they're not going to get anything done about this legally.

 

[Raistlin]

Ahhh, ok. I didn't know about that battle. Thanks for the info.

Yeah ... if anything ... Sony's win was one of the most important in the history of personal media. Be VERY thankful Universal hates Sony.

 

[gkryhewy]

52-0.

The ship has sailed, dude, must you dance on graves? Do you do that in the gaming forum?

 

[MechDX]

Well.....this sucks.:lol

 

[Crisis]

I literally can't think of anything they can do.

That stuck out to me too. What do they have left to do? Cry?:lol

 

[DarkJediKnight]

I tend to agree with this guy from another board:



I agree. I'm glad that an apparent victor is emerging, but they handled this in a completely shitty way. There were many, many HD DVD adopters that probably picked one up before Christmas and they just got toasted. They should have just announced this earlier and maximized Blu-Ray profits and sales.

I think they just stuck to their guns to see how HD DVD did during Q4. I think once the numbers came out favouring Blu-ray, the papers were signed.

 

[Pristine_Condition]

Microsoft should take this whole thing in stride and announce that at CES. That would be pretty cool.

If Microsoft was smart, (and I believe they are) that's exactly what they should do. Announce a Blu-ray add on, or at least halt plans for the announcement of the rumored 360 with the HD-DVD built in, which would be pretty embarrassing to show at CES.

The only question is whether they can move swiftly enough to react correctly. That's the only unfortunate problem with being a behemoth of a company, it's hard to turn a massive ship on a dime to react to breaking events.

Microsoft is a software company at heart though, which while huge, should still be a bit more quick to react to trends than if they were a traditional consumer electronics company, and they did get a break with this news leaking a day early. Those factors give me at least some hope that they'll be able to avoid a potential disaster like announcing an expensive new 360 with an HD DVD drive. At this point, sticking to any plan to go further down the HD DVD path would only muddy the PR waters for Microsoft, and spoil what should be a CES show with a lot of positivity surrounding the 360 as a platform that is kicking ass in the market.

They've got a lot to brag about with the success of the 360. They need to avoid looking arrogant or doing something stupid that would give the critics ammo.

Microsoft reacting swiftly and announcing a Blu-ray add-on, even if it's way down the road like Holiday 2008, would make them look smart and quick on their feet. They could make this a win by saying that this shows that their system is flexible, and they want to give customers the choice.

 

[JonathanEx]

Re: complainers about Blu-Ray not being easy to say
Why are you listing VHS as formats with the easy initial names? Did anyone seriously call it that? I don't know about America, but in the UK in conversation it's always just 'tapes' or even 'video'.

 

[Mifune]

Exactly what momentum did HD-DVD gain in 2007? BD had a steady lead pretty much the whole year.

 

[soul creator]

I literally can't think of anything they can do.

$30 HD-DVD players w/ $10 movies, sold in grocery stores everywhere

 

[DarkJediKnight]

Now I can use this more often. :lol

 

[Forsete]

52-0.

HD-DVD employs some of the most notorius math-professors on the planet. They use some form of advance maths that us regular earthlings cant understand.

52:0
2:1
3:1

is actually good numbers for them.

 

[Raistlin]

The one that takes 5 syllables instead of 2 or 3.

:lol :lol :lol

 

[VanMardigan]

It definitely has to be a stunner for Toshiba, whose embarrassment now begins with the fact that EVERY HD DVD player they sell comes packaged with a Warner Brothers movie.

 

[Raistlin]

I think my brother gave me an old hand-me-down Sony alarm clock from what must have been the early 90s. I probably do have some other pieces of technology in the house that Sony or some subsidiary built or partially designed... but that's an oversight on account of not really caring to the point of zealotry. The point is that BD is Sony's baby and I don't really want to spend money on it. If that means downloading 720p encodes of films to match my 720p screen then whatever. The small degredation in end-point quality isn't enough for me to spend £300 and more replacing my HD-DVD collection with a blu-ray player and the discs to go with it.

Ummm ... Sony is one of the greatest electronics R&D companies in existence, in terms of IP's, etc. You have no idea how many things you own that are actually Sony related.

Christ, even floppy drives are Sony IP's.



You should be thankful Sony actually reinvests money into R&D. Crap, imagine what Nintendo or MS could do with the money they make? Too bad they don't actually use it for anything worthwhile.

 

[rage1973]

So this pretty much means that the next version of Xbox will have a bluray drive right?

 

[brain_stew]

Oh bugger, just as I buy a HD DVD addon. Still I'm not too fussed, it was only £100 with 5 free movies which means it cost me like less than £50 and means I can enjoy HD movies right now. Since its USB, it'll be useable for a long, long time and I don't plan to unhook my 360 anytime soon either. If I'm honest it was always just a cheap solution to get some HD content now before I shell out for a PS3 later and its not as if it stops working with this announcement.

 

[FF_VIII]

Damn, and I was so close to buying the HD DVD add-on just for Matrix and Batman Begins.

Oh well.

 

[MechDX]

So this pretty much means that the next version of Xbox will have a bluray drive right?

According to certain BD fans logic it will be all digital download.:lol

 

[Battlezone]

If Microsoft was smart, (and I believe they are) that's exactly what they should do. Announce a Blu-ray add on, or at least halt plans for the announcement of the rumored 360 with the HD-DVD built in, which would be pretty embarrassing to show at CES.

The only question is whether they can move swiftly enough to react correctly. That's the only unfortunate problem with being a behemoth of a company, it's hard to turn a massive ship on a dime to react to breaking events.

Microsoft is a software company at heart though, which while huge, should still be a bit more quick to react to trends than if they were a traditional consumer electronics company, and they did get a break with this news leaking a day early. Those factors give me at least some hope that they'll be able to avoid a potential disaster like announcing an expensive new 360 with an HD DVD drive. At this point, sticking to any plan to go further down the HD DVD path would only muddy the PR waters for Microsoft, and spoil what should be a CES show with a lot of positivity surrounding the 360 as a platform that is kicking ass in the market.

They've got a lot to brag about with the success of the 360. They need to avoid looking arrogant or doing something stupid that would give the critics ammo.

Microsoft reacting swiftly and announcing a Blu-ray add-on, even if it's way down the road like Holiday 2008, would make them look smart and quick on their feet. They could make this a win by saying that this shows that their system is flexible, and they want to give customers the choice.

I can't speak for the keynote, or any announcements there, but I can tell you that the only presence XBox has in the Microsoft booth is linked to Microsoft Mediaroom, and that's only tangentially. The gaming section of the booth is entirely dedicated to Games for Windows.

Just sayin'.

 

[UnholySpectacle]

I just realized that if the Blu encode of Batman Begins is better than the HD-DVD one, I will own 3 versions of that movie. I already have the special edition DVD that came with the Year One comic book and the HD-DVD release. Damn you Nolan for making a film I will buy three times!

 

[Walshicus]

If you honestly think many people have connections suitable for HD content d/l, anywhere near BD quality, the joke's on you.

I never said anything of the sort... how did you read my post and get that?

 

[xBerserker]

Ya, pretty amazing stuff. Sony has some great products.

Ummm ... Sony is one of the greatest electronics R&D companies in existence, in terms of IP's, etc. You have no idea how many things you own that are actually Sony related.

Christ, even floppy drives are Sony IP's.



You should be thankful Sony actually reinvests money into R&D. Crap, imagine what Nintendo or MS could do with the money they make? Too bad they don't actually use it for anything worthwhile.

 

[SSM25]

So why all off a sudden all the internet is talking about digital downloads?

Oh, the Format war is over and Blu-Ray won, I see

 

[Mooreberg]

Looks like this shit is finally getting sorted out. If I don't get a PS3 soon I'll be getting a stand alone Blu-Ray player.

 

[DarkJediKnight]

It definitely has to be a stunner for Toshiba, whose embarrassment now begins with the fact that EVERY HD DVD player they sell comes packaged with a Warner Brothers movie.

I think this might have been the reason why Warner couldn't drop HD DVD on the spot. A3s and A30s all have 300 in them. And they probably had a contract with Toshiba to keep production of those titles until May. So they felt they might as well release other titles until then as well since the assembly lines will have to keep working regardless.

 

[Benjamin1981]

Yeah, my Deutsch isn't too great so I listen to it more as sound than music with words, if you know what I mean. I take it you're a compatriot of his? How's he viewed in over there?

He is the biggest German solo recording artist. He came out of nowhere and his albums all went through the roof saleswise. But this is what happens, when you make good music.

 

[VanMardigan]

I literally can't think of anything they can do.

I can:

1. Drop the prices of their A3 to $99. If Walmart is any indication, they'll move very briskly at that price.

2. Replace 300 with Transformers as the pack in along with Bourne.

Of course, these are all short term solutions, none of which I believe will change WB's mind now.