The HDDVD Ship is Sinking!

[Lsi9]

Warner is only releasing Blu-rays from now on!

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[brijenjas]

Warner is only releasing Blu-rays from now on!

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That's a misleading statement.

This quote is from the article you linked to;

"Warner Home Video will continue to release new titles in HD DVD until the end of May."

Still, this is bad news for HD DVD, and me, since I on both Blu ray and HD DVD players.

[avguytx]

Thank God I only have a hundred bucks in the HD DVD player if something like that ever happens!

[mantis]

We shall see. I see Blue ray players only in the field anymore. I have only done a few HD DVD's in the last few months. Everything is blue.

Dan

[bobman1235]

I'm shocked by this - I know 4 or 5 people who have HD-DVD players, and a grand total of zero with a Blu player. Granted my friends and I are all cheap, but still...

[Ethancf]

What a kick in the nuts for the thousands that bought HD DVD players for the holidays and bought the Harry Potter giftset. Days later Warner makes this announcement...that's pretty crummy on their part timing wise.

[aaharvel]

some perspective:



(edit) New Line has followed Warner.

What's even more telling is that the exclusive deal between Paramount/Universal and HD-DVD has less than a year to go. And make no mistake the studios will flock to where the software sales go. Now imagine what that pie chart will look like in six months....

The official statement from the HD-DVD promotional group:

The HD DVD Promotional Group had scheduled a cocktail party and a press conference this Sunday evening in Las Vegas to tout the "progress" it has made in high definition video and the ongoing format war with the Blu-ray consortium.

On Friday, however, the group sent out a note terminating the event because Warner Home Video earlier in the day said it would switch exclusively to the Blu-Ray format.

"Based on the timing of the Warner Home Video announcement today, we have decided to postpone our CES 2008 press conference. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause," the cancellation read. "We are currently discussing the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies and evaluating next steps. We believe the consumer continues to benefit from HD DVD's commitment to quality and affordability - a bar that is critical for the mainstream success of any format."

The original invite was a lot more upbeat:

"Please join us as we present exciting news and a sneak peak at what's to come for 2008," it read "featuring executives from the HD DVD Promotional Group: Intel, Microsoft, Paramount Home Entertainment, Toshiba, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video."

(edit) They didn't postpone their conference. They canceled it altogether, as well as their CES booth.

[mantis]

As much as I don't want to pick sides, I wish one would win and get done with it. If Blue ray wins , I will be happy. I'm tired of format wars. No matter how you slice it, it sucks.

Dan

[Ricardo]

It does suck. It seems that what I will have a few months from now is just another upconverting player, expensive, and probably with no support. Great. (A35)

On top of that, additional expense if I want to have a High Definition player.

[danger boy]

it bites... but both formats still have problems with their players.. and having to download firmware updates every time a new movie is released. HD DVD players have trouble with rental movies. if the disc has fingerprints or scratches. it locks, up, freezes, skips, etc.

Blu ray players are just expensive players with the exception of the PS3, which is also a gaming console.. which has been out now for a while.. i'm sure Sony is already working on a PS4 which will make the PS3 seem like a afterthought.

I guess this is the price we pay for being consumers wanting better electronics. I decided i'm waiting 6 month's to see how things play out. A lot can happen in 6 month's.

Should I go play my Betamax tapes while listening to my MiniDisc player or the Walkman, or DVD-Audio? Oh wait, those formats are dead. ;)

[AsSiMiLaTeD]

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/show...19&postcount=9

[Sherardp]

I have the XA2, as I said when I purchased, if HD DVD loses, it will hold its on as one of the best upconverting DVD players. Ive been format neutral since the beginning, so it doesnt matter to me either way. I was hoping that both formats would stick around to be honest.

[bykes]

This shouldn't be a surprise. It was rumored last year this was going to happen. I made a post about it. You can't ignore the numbers. It was a smart decision by Warner. Good for everyone in the long run.

[Ron-P]

One step closer to a single HDM format. I stopped buying HD-DVDs over 6 months ago except for a very select few discs. Why, the lack of lossless audio tracks. My Blu collection is nearly 3X's that of my HD-DVD collection. Both formats are great but HD-DVD just couldn't do it right with the majority of their discs, give me lossless or no sale. Also, Blu-ray discs cases look cooler.

Who know's where this will go with Paramount and Universal still HD-DVD exclusive but I have a feeling their doing some serious talking right about now.

[dbaldus]

Blu ray players are just expensive players with the exception of the PS3, which is also a gaming console.. which has been out now for a while.. i'm sure Sony is already working on a PS4 which will make the PS3 seem like a afterthought.

While it may be true that they are already thinking ahead for the PS4, you can't blame them for wanting to move forward in the future! However, to be fair to Sony, I have read many official interviews that say that they plan to support the PS3 for 10 years, similarly to how they have planned to (and have been) supporting the PS2 for 10 years.

Ever notice how when the 360 came out, they stopped making XBox games and you never saw an XBox ad on TV again? Thats because Microsoft doesn't support their older systems. However, a bunch of great games have still been coming out on the PS2 since the PS3 came out and you still see ads on TV for PS2 games. I can't remember for sure exactly (and I apologize for not having any references at this moment), but the last time I read an article like that, they said the PS2 has a year or 2 left in it.

So, on the bright side, if you buy a PS3, at least you know it will still be supported in another few years, when (and if) a PS4 comes out!

[cfrizz]

This is precisely why I have stayed out of this new market. I refuse to play the game that these competing companies have played over & over & over again with the public.

What amazes me is that people are too foolish to learn from the past & keep repeating the same mistake over & over again which costs them money & all they have for their effort is an unsupported machine with a few expensive titles to play on it.

[ledhed]

We have HD-DVD but got the player for $100. Gives us an excellent up converting player (especially for the price) and if HD goes down, no biggy pass the player along like all the old ones and pick up a Blu (PS3). It is interesting though that our local Blockbuster only does Blu and no HD.

And about the problems with rental discs, the new firmware I installed on ours fixed all problems.

[Ron-P]

What amazes me is that people are too foolish to learn from the past & keep repeating the same mistake over & over again which costs them money & all they have for their effort is an unsupported machine with a few expensive titles to play on it.

If I read this right Cathy your calling people fools because they invested in a format they very well knew could die at any time. Nothing is for certain in this hobby of ours but to call people fools is just plain wrong.

I knew exactly what I was buying into when I bought my HD-DVD and Blu-ray players. I don't for a minute consider either purchase a waste of money. I've been enjoying HDM for almost 2 years now and it's fantastic, I'd not change a thing if I had the chance to do it over again.

[danger boy]

but overall is the general consumer population even really adopting either format right now? I think it's still kind of early for any family to want to move to this or that format. esp since they've now collected standard DVD"s for about 10 yrs now. having to purchase another player, just like you had to if you wanted to listen to SACD or DVD-Audio, basically killed those formats.

The nice thing about both formats is that you can still play your standard DVD's on them.. but you still need to purchase a new player to view either Blu Ray or HD DVD. that's the part I think consumers as still having a problem with.

It's still early enough that both formats haven't been out that long really. If one reigns supreme over the other, I'd rather have it happen now instead of 3 of 4 yrs from now when most people have amassed a huge library of the defunct format.

I was all anxious and was heading to go out today as a matter of fact and pick up a HD DVD player, but i'm going to sit tight for 6 month's and see how things shake out by then.

6 month's in the consumer electronics industry is like what 2 yrs to you and me? :p

[BIZILL]

just wait a week or so db. i'm sure all the people bailing out of hd dvd will accept a loss on their players. there are still a bunch of hd dvd's worth having. even if they go under. a handful of exclusives as well. all can be had at tremendous discounts. probably less than what you'd spend for an evening of hardcore partying.

[Sherardp]

If I read this right Cathy your calling people fools because they invested in a format they very well knew could die at any time. Nothing is for certain in this hobby of ours but to call people fools is just plain wrong.

I knew exactly what I was buying into when I bought my HD-DVD and Blu-ray players. I don't for a minute consider either purchase a waste of money. I've been enjoying HDM for almost 2 years now and it's fantastic, I'd not change a thing if I had the chance to do it over again.

+1 on this, guess Im one of those fools Cfrizz is calling out. ;) No mistakes either way, I'll still keep my XA2 for playing back my HD DVD catalog and SD DVDs. I'll still buy HDM as I have in the past on both formats, when its over, its over.

[mrbigbluelight]

I'm still waiting for the 8-track to come back.

[danger boy]

people are beginning to dump... err, sell off their Toshiba HD players + their whole collection of HD movies.. hmmmm? :D maybe i won't have to wait afterall for the price to drop.

[Ron-P]

New Line is now going with the Blu side, of course, this was a given.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...ryid=1009&cs=1

[Sherardp]

New Line is now going with the Blu side, of course, this was a given.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...ryid=1009&cs=1

I seen that over at AVS, guess its pretty much a wrap. Im sure Paramount will be next up and the game is over.

[cfrizz]

Fine you all aren't fools, you just don't mind being these corps. ginea pigs for untried, unproven, technologies, that will change constantly or simply disappear any day. Then you are stuck with an expensive paper weight.

I simply don't have that kind of money, space, or patience for these kinds of games. When my universal Pioneer breaks down, it will be replaced with another universal dvd player. But I will never choose one incompatible brand over another risking the loss of what I have if it goes down the tubes!

[danger boy]

Cathy, live a little... take a chance on something unproven... it's fun!

[cfrizz]

I can't afford to Al. I don't have that kind of disposable income!

[aaharvel]

Breaking.... Target

[Ethancf]

It ain't over til it's over. Once that pie chart is all blue...it's over.