Paramount drops Blu-ray

[Barbossa]

Paramount drops Blu-ray and sticks to HD DVD. Here's the article:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/s ... ub=SciTech

I wonder if this will have any effect on Disney high def DVDs down the road.

[Mr. Toad]

They were bribed by the tune of $20 million to do so by Microsoft plus discounting on the authoring of HD DVD.

Can't believe for the life of me that is legal.

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/d ... ormat-war/

[MadonnasManOne]

They were bribed by the tune of $20 million to do so by Microsoft plus discounting on the authoring of HD DVD.

Can't believe for the life of me that is legal.

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/d ... ormat-war/

Sony has been paying money to those who will support Blu-Ray, as well as offering discounts for Blu-Ray authoring, since before Blu-Ray launched. I am also willing to bet that Disney has been getting some of that money/discount. Sony hasn't denied that they have done this, either.

I think it's funny that when it happens with HD-DVD, it's suddenly a big deal, and the Blu-Ray fanboys say it's "wrong and illegal". Why is it okay for Sony to do this, but, not anyone else?

[Mr. Toad]

If Sony has done the same thing then it I find it also repugnant. I can handle discounts -that is certainly legal, done all the time for large suppliers.

However, paying someone to go one way over the other is just plain wrong. I have never seen a credible source say that Sony has done this(which isnt to say there is not a credible source to be cited, I just havent seen it).

I should add although I would rather see Blu Ray win this it is not an overwhelming desire. I just want the war and confusion to be over so I can upgrade. Right now I am not buying any movies that come out as I am waiting for a winner. Good thing I ended up with a stockpile of over 200 unwatched (currently sitting at about 170).

[DarthPrime]

Now the "war" gets interesting again.

With Paramount and Dreamworks HD DVD only it evens the field with Blu-ray some. I will admit it looked like Blu-ray would overtake HD DVD in 2008, but this news throws that away. There are a ton of titles that could be released that would be major sellers. Plus you have recent hits like Shrek The Third, and Transformers that will now be HD DVD only.

Paying for Paramount/Dreamworks is no different than what has been done to keep some studios with Blu-ray. Is it right? Who knows...

Anyway this is great news for HD DVD.

[I am the Doctor]

Well, I own both Blu Ray and HD DVD, so this news doesn't really matter. I'll still buy Paramount movies, just on HD DVD.

With the studios unable to come up with one HD standard, I expect the CE companies are going to be looking at the viability of dual-format players. LG already has one (albeit without HDi support on HD DVD discs) and Samsung has announced one. If LG and Samsumg can get prices down low enough (they aren't quite there yet as they are currently selling for $1000), the format war won't really matter.

I have to admit that buying the LG dual-format player is looking like one of my better ideas. At least I can watch everything that comes out, unlike those who support only one format.

Of course, the main effect of this will be to continue SD-DVDs domination of the marketplace and slowing the adoption of the Hi Def formats. The sooner that HD DVD and Blu Ray learn to co-exist with each other, the sooner we can start to see mainstream consumers begin to buy and enjoy Hi-Def movies.

[Mr. Toad]

Of course, the main effect of this will be to continue SD-DVDs domination of the marketplace and slowing the adoption of the Hi Def formats. The sooner that HD DVD and Blu Ray learn to co-exist with each other, the sooner we can start to see mainstream consumers begin to buy and enjoy Hi-Def movies.

That is excellent analysis. The real winner of the Paramount/Dreamworks press releases followed by the Fox/Disney press releases is good old Standard Definition DVDs.

[darth_deetoo]

Doesn't really bother me too much as I have both formats. Biggest concerm is that it enhances consumer confusion and delays mainstream acceptance of Hi Def formats. I've thought for awhile now that both sides may co-exist for some time, and this reinforces that belief.

It's disappointing that somebody like George Lucas won't commit to either format until he see's a clear winner in the format war, so this delays the likelihood of getting Star Wars and Indiana Jones in Hi Def.

A good thing however, is they've woken the sleeping giant that is Fox and MGM, and they've announced a huge slate of 29 titles for the rest of the year.

It may also stir Disney up into increasing their release rate, so we might get a few more Animated Classics and Pixar films released as a result. I don't think we'll see any change until next year though.

[I am the Doctor]

A good thing however, is they've woken the sleeping giant that is Fox and MGM, and they've announced a huge slate of 29 titles for the rest of the year.

That is, indeed a good thing. One has to wonder whether Fox would have announced anything if Paramount had remained format neutral.

It is interesting visiting the Hi-Def forums like HiDefDigest and AVSForum. Many are swearing off Paramount, or saying its the end of HiDef, etc. It does make one wonder whether these folks are in it for the movies (which is why I own both formats), or for the format of their choice.

[Mr. Toad]

It's disappointing that somebody like George Lucas won't commit to either format until he see's a clear winner in the format war, so this delays the likelihood of getting Star Wars and Indiana Jones in Hi Def..

Guess he is the only studio executive with any brains.

[Mr. Toad]

[quote="I am the Doctor"

T is, indeed a good thing. One has to wonder whether Fox would have announced anything if Paramount had remained format neutral.

It is interesting visiting the Hi-Def forums like HiDefDigest and AVSForum. Many are swearing off Paramount, or saying its the end of HiDef, etc. .[/quote]

Fox would have made that announcement but certainly not yesterday.

The people who are saying it is the end of HiDef could be correct. One of the reasons SACD/DVDA never caught on was market confusion. The second was people just spent thousands converting to CD and werent about to do the same again. Sound familiar?

[MadonnasManOne]

Well, it looks as if Michael Bay is throwing a temper tantrum because of Paramount's decision to go HD-DVD exclusive.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/21/mich ... -ray-no-t/

Michael Bay responds to Paramount's abandonment of Blu-ray: "No Transformers 2 for me!"

So by now you've heard that Paramount has dropped support for Blu-ray right? Good, so has a notable Hollywood director. Michael Bay -- the man behind "Transformers," "Bad Boys," "Pear Harbor," etc. -- just threw down with Paramount in his personal blog. In a forum post titled "Paramount pisses me off!", he states, "I want people to see my movies in the best formats possible. For them to deny people who have Blu-ray sucks! They were progressive by having two formats. No Transformers 2 for me!" That's right Mike, aim your PS3 right at their coffers!

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What a baby! If Paramount wants to do a second film, and I am sure they do, they will make it happen with or without Michael Bay. These studios aren't going to let the director dictate what films will or will not be made. Michael Bay is going to have to quit throwing a temper tantrum, or, he'll lose out on all of the money he's sure to make by directing a sequel.

[darth_deetoo]

There is no way it is going to be the end of Hi Def. It might prolong acceptance of Hi Def formats, but it won't be the end of them. Movies are a completely different market to music. I know of several people, myself included, who are not that bothered about whether or not music content is downloaded and stored on a device like an Ipod or a laptop or on a physical media. It's a different product, the whole benefit of having music on such devices is that your music collection is portable and can be taken anywhere with you. It's not so easy to carry around a case of a couple of 100 CD's.

However, movies are a totally different situation. People have grown up owning movie collections on VHS and DVD and are used to having physical collections, and I think the majority still want physical collections. The technology and storage capacity isn't there yet for most people to have vast collections of Hi Def movies downloaded, and it will most certainly signal an end to extra content which has become synonymous with DVD.

I think we'll just see the Hi Def formats co-existing for a while, and more and more people will eventually go format neutral. I think some of these people complaining on home theatre forums are out of their heads. They are talking about this as if it's a real war where people are getting killed. They really need to stop and engage their brains before typing some of their comments, because they are just coming over as complete nutters.

[DarthPrime]

Well, it looks as if Michael Bay is throwing a temper tantrum because of Paramount's decision to go HD-DVD exclusive.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/21/mich ... -ray-no-t/

Michael Bay responds to Paramount's abandonment of Blu-ray: "No Transformers 2 for me!"

So by now you've heard that Paramount has dropped support for Blu-ray right? Good, so has a notable Hollywood director. Michael Bay -- the man behind "Transformers," "Bad Boys," "Pear Harbor," etc. -- just threw down with Paramount in his personal blog. In a forum post titled "Paramount pisses me off!", he states, "I want people to see my movies in the best formats possible. For them to deny people who have Blu-ray sucks! They were progressive by having two formats. No Transformers 2 for me!" That's right Mike, aim your PS3 right at their coffers!

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What a baby! If Paramount wants to do a second film, and I am sure they do, they will make it happen with or without Michael Bay. These studios aren't going to let the director dictate what films will or will not be made. Michael Bay is going to have to quit throwing a temper tantrum, or, he'll lose out on all of the money he's sure to make by directing a sequel.

Seriously this is hilarious. As is all the news about HD dieing now that Paramount went HD DVD exclusive. I still say neither format will replace DVDs, but this isn't going to kill both formats. If anything it will boost HD DVD sales this year.

Sure Paramount/Dreamworks got a deal to go HD DVD exclusive, but its not any different than what has been done to keep studios with Blu-ray. HD DVD does have a higher attach rate, even though its trailing in sales. HD DVD still has a shot to "win" this, and Blu-ray still has a chance to return and beat HD DVD. However the way its going both formats are going to be around for a long time. Going format neutral with 2 players, or a combo player will end up becoming the only option if you want to enjoy all the movies.

Having two formats is good and bad for the consumers. Its good, because it keeps prices down. If we only had one format to start with I highly doubt the prices would have come down this fast. The bad... it just adds to the confusion of potential buyers who don't want to buy both formats, or are currently happy with DVDs.

UPDATE: Looks like that original post by Bay is gone. It now says he is upset that Paramount no longer supports both formats.

[SpringHeelJack]

Oh, my, that response from Micahel Bay is HILARIOUS. I love it!

[Loomis]

I love the Michael Bay comment. "It's my ball and I'm going home".

While I am glad to finally see a big studio put a dent in Sony's armour - in the sense that they have effectively been declaring "mission success" and "war over" since Day One - it also seems kind of random. However, given that many are starting to realise the way Sony has been playing (in terms of incentives offered), this probably shouldn't come as any surprise.

As to the health of competition, here is an article I wrote some time ago about my feelings on the matter:

http://www.dvdbits.com/details.asp?newsid=4594

A quick Google search shows that it got a bit of praise about the traps. I'm quite pleased with myself over that.

[DarthPrime]

Declaring the war over since the start, is my only problem with Blu-ray. I don't hate Blu-ray and I agree it is the "better" format spec wise, but the week after week of "we won HD DVD is dead" gets old.

Michael Bay has now said that he watched 300 on HD DVD and likes HD DVD. Talk about a complete 180 from his first comment. I guess he got a call, or figured that his pay from Transformers 2 would be a lot higher than Blu-ray sales of Transformers. Something happened.

If one side does win we are going to continue to see the payouts like Paramount/Dreamworks got. Eventually player prices will come into play too. Still I think its a long road ahead, and eventually combo players will become the norm. DVD-R/DVD+R war all over... sort of.

I was looking at Paramounts library, and future films earlier (Iron Man next year). If some of these make it to HD DVD this could turn around the HD DVD disc sales. Of course we want see any Spielberg films anytime soon. Other than Close Encounters of the Third Kind on Blu-ray I don't think we will see very many, if any more of them until there is a "winner." Its a shame too in my opinion. Spielberg's movies along with others (Lucas, etc...) could sell a lot of players and discs. Saving Private Ryan, E.T., Indiana Jones, Jaws, Jurrassic Park, etc...

[darth_deetoo]

Well, Paramount's future schedule is supposed to include Braveheart, Grease, Forrest Gump and the Trek movies - very strong ammunition I would have thought. And if they also put out The Godfather and Gladiator, I would have thought a lot of 'tru Blu' (as they seem to like to call themselves) will have a hard time resisting HD DVD.

I don't really care. I've got both formats, and I'll continue to support both by buying the films that I want to see. My titles are split about 2-1 in favour of Blu Ray at the moment, but that's probably more due to the fact that I had Blu Ray first. No doubt if Disney quicken the pace, that will probably maintain that gap, but in all honesty I like both formats, both deliver phenomenal picture quality given a good transfer. Detractors of HD DVD should look no further than King Kong.

[DarthPrime]

It was reported earlier that the Paramount deal was for 18 months. However a recent interview by PC World with Alan Bell CTO of Paramount suggests that they have no plans to support Blu-ray indefinitely unless something happens.

At this moment in time, it's an indefinite commitment. The core of this announcement comes from our experience, and what our consumers are looking for. We hope this will influence consumers' choices.

They basically state in the interview that Blu-ray's disc size is nice, but not a major factor. Also that HD DVD is part of the DVD Forum and has a finalized spec, etc...

Who knows if they were paid to say this or not, but its a interesting read.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,13625 ... ticle.html

[Disney-Fan]

Am I the only one that just. Doesn't. Care?