Warner Bros Now Blu-Ray exclusive!!!!!

[Reverb2009]

Good find bobgoat. ^^^^




Blu-ray regains market share for week ending February 10th, 81:19 lead

After the surprise small gain in market share for HD DVD, discovered last week, Blu-ray has pushed up its share back into the 80s with a new lead of 81:19. Since inception, the lead has been on a ratio of 65:35.

Across the Universe (Blu-ray) was the top selling High Definition title and the only HD DVD title to reach the top 10 was Elizabeth: The Golden Age

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom021708/index.php


Toshiba To Drop HD DVD In The Coming Weeks, Sources Say

http://www.n4g.com/ClickOut.aspx?ObjID=111494

 

[Rich]

And another:

Toshiba to give up on HD DVD, end format war: source


Looks like it is all over but the crying. Now maybe we can move forward with some expanded high-def. content offerings and more reasonable prices for content and players. This war was ridiculous and a waste of time and resources for the companies involved and the consumers who were shafted. Congrats to Sony. I think this is the first time one of their formats has actually won a war. I hate Sony simply because they ALWAYS have to produce their own proprietary format for everything, which they then charge a premium for.

 

[JonFo]

... I hate Sony simply because they ALWAYS have to produce their own proprietary format for everything, which they then charge a premium for.

Ditto. Totally agree with you there Rich.

On the one hand, it's good that it's over rather cleanly (unlike SACD vs DVD-A) and one format can move forward as well as content can begin to appear in quantity. On the other, the bad guys won.

But I figure we'll continue to see expensive disc releases (factories are at capacity and demand will now surge), as everyone flocks to the winner.

I'm hoping hardware prices benefit from multiple players competing against each other in that arena.

Now, who is going to start releasing high-rez audio mixes on BR?

There's a handful of video concerts with amazing sound, but I'm talking about mutlichannel audio-only (OK, minimal graphics are fine) discs.

That's what I'm looking forward to.

 

[Reverb2009]

And another:

Toshiba to give up on HD DVD, end format war: source


Looks like it is all over but the crying. Now maybe we can move forward with some expanded high-def. content offerings and more reasonable prices for content and players. This war was ridiculous and a waste of time and resources for the companies involved and the consumers who were shafted. Congrats to Sony. I think this is the first time one of their formats has actually won a war. I hate Sony simply because they ALWAYS have to produce their own proprietary format for everything, which they then charge a premium for.

I disagree,

With all the BOGO's going on I was buying up Blu-Ray's for less then they were selling for on DVD. I was averaging about $8.00 a movie and my collection is close to 100 Blu-Rays thanks to the war.

 

[Rich]

I disagree,

With all the BOGO's going on I was buying up Blu-Ray's for less then they were selling for on DVD. I was averaging about $8.00 a movie and my collection is close to 100 Blu-Rays thanks to the war.

Wow, that's awesome, Zip. I didn't see any of those kind of deals in my local retail shops. All the Blu-Rays were priced from $20 to $34 a pop with no deals in sight. But then I wasn't really searching high and low for them either. Of course, I'm sure a lot of people that picked up 100 or so HD-DVDs are kicking themselves a little bit right now.

Don't you think now that there is one high-def format winner that we will start seeing some expanded content? It seems like the studios have been holding back, just like the consumers, waiting for a winner. I agree with JonFo; I am looking forward to some expanded offerings of high-def music content on Blu-Ray.

 

[jk319]

Ya, I missed out on the BOGOs too. I did just receive my 5 free BD's last week . Waiting on the free HD-DVDs. Perhaps they are worthless to some, but I just bought 5 new HD-DVD's from Deep Discounts . com, for $12.20 a piece, free shipping. Price was hard to pass up. That being said, my BD collection is 3 to 1 to my HD-DVD collection. Also, (with a very small sample size), so far I find the transfers to be superior on my HD-DVD's (Bournes, Batman Begins, Unforgiven, etc). For BD, Ratatouille is the best so far (but aren't all Pixar?), and I was slightly disappointed with Planet Earth. Amazing stil, but I was hoping for heart-attack amazing.

All said, I still prefer BD for more consistent hi-def audio usage (even though I can't access them yet!).

 

[HsvToolFool]

I just want a boxed set of Animusic 1 and 2 on BluRay
with uncompressed audio. Is that too much to ask?

I want to point out that Sony's approach to HD media wasn't
taken solely so they would have a proprietary format. I'm
certainly no Sony fan-boy, but I strongly disliked Toshiba's
solution of clinging to older DVD technology just to avoid
re-tooling costs. The long-term cost of this compromise-
approach was too large: a disk that stored half as much data.

Sony made changes in how the data is organized on the disk
which doubled the data density. It needed to be done. Although
this approach requires re-tooling and makes production costs
higher for the next few years, those costs will eventually drop
just as they did with DVD.

 

[Reverb2009]

Wow, that's awesome, Zip. I didn't see any of those kind of deals in my local retail shops. All the Blu-Rays were priced from $20 to $34 a pop with no deals in sight. But then I wasn't really searching high and low for them either. Of course, I'm sure a lot of people that picked up 100 or so HD-DVDs are kicking themselves a little bit right now.

Don't you think now that there is one high-def format winner that we will start seeing some expanded content? It seems like the studios have been holding back, just like the consumers, waiting for a winner. I agree with JonFo; I am looking forward to some expanded offerings of high-def music content on Blu-Ray.

Amazon.com has a buy two get one free going right now.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.ht..._rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=364561001&pf_rd_i=193640011

J&R.com has Blu-Ray movies starting at $11.99
http://www.jr.com/JRSectionView.process?displayAll=1&Ns=pricing_amount&N=13326+3604&Ne=3600



Personally I think the war was good for HDM. It did screw people that bought into the loosing format, but if you think about it Blu-Ray players launched at an average price of $999.99 and in a years time cut prices by 50% going down to $499.99, and around Christmas Costco had the Samsung player for $269.99. HD DVD launched at an average price of $499.99 and in a year time got down to $199.99 and even had a $99.99 door buster sale.

The Blu-Ray camp did BOGO after BOGO after BOGO last year which they more then likely would not have without competing for sales with HD DVD. The war was good to get the prices down so fast but was capping sales. Like many I am happy one format won so consumers don't have to worry about choosing and just buying. The sales charts have already shown allot of fence sitters have jumped off and picked Blu-Ray. I agree price are still a little high but the deals are out there if you look for them.

 

[Rich]

Thanks for the links, Joe.

 

[Rich]

I just want a boxed set of Animusic 1 and 2 on BluRay
with uncompressed audio. Is that too much to ask?

You and me both! And while they are at it, they could just go ahead and put out Animusic 3 and include all three discs in the box set.

 

[Reverb2009]

Thanks for the links, Joe.

Your welcome, Rich.

 

[Reverb2009]

Game Over!

Toshiba Resigns from Format War; Blu-ray Wins!
Posted February 18, 2008 07:52 PM by Josh

Sources close to the situation have alerted Blu-ray.com that Toshiba is expected announce at a press conference to be held at 5pm (local time) in Tokyo, Japan that they have ended their support of the HD DVD format. Toshiba will announce that effective immediately, production of HD DVD hardware, software, and authoring tools will cease, and that sales and support of existing products will end sometime in March.

As the main supporters of HD DVD, their resignation effectively ends the format war. Blu-ray has won.

Since Warner Brothers' announcement that they would exclusively support the Blu-ray format, rumors have been circulating that HD DVD's lagging sales and loss of studio support would force Toshiba to exit from the high definition format war. The weeks following were riddled with additional studios, retailers, and distributors announcing that they too would support Blu-ray exclusively, concluding with Wal-Mart's announcement last Friday that they would drop support of HD DVD in June.

This information should be considered a rumor until Toshiba makes the official announcement, but our sources have always proven accurate. Once the official announcement is released, we will update this post with any additional information.



http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=1003

 

[Reverb2009]

Toshiba Cancels HD-DVD

Toshiba Cancels HD-DVD


It is over! The format war between Blu-ray and HD-DVD has come to an end! On NHK, Japanese TV, a reporter for the channel has made the announcement that Toshiba will halt production of HD-DVD players and conceding a loss to the Blu-ray group. He said that Toshiba will be making the formal announcement within a few days.

With Blu-ray featuring a commanding lead over HD-DVD worldwide, the choice was beyond obvious. It's estimated that Blu-ray commands 90% of the high-definition market, and with 10 million PlayStation 3s out there, it's certainly a big boost for the format. Additionally, with retailers and studio support dropping left and right, HD-DVD had no ground to stand on anymore. Toshiba will continue to liquidate HD-DVD stock, but production has been officially ended.

This loss could cost Toshiba an unspecified figure of hundreds of millions US dollars. Hopefully, Toshiba will be able to recooperate much of that loss with their Blu-ray products. As we reported earlier, it looks like Toshiba is planning Blu-ray players of their own to go on sale this Summer.

http://www.psxextreme.com/ps3-news/2598.html

 

[Kruppy]

I know, flogging a dead horse.....but directly from Toshiba, finally.


http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2008_02/pr1903.htm

 

[Kenscollick]

beating a dead horse

 

[Reverb2009]

Universal Preparing Titles for Blu-ray


The statement that Blu-ray fans have been waiting for nearly two years to hear, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment Craig Kornblau has announced that Universal Studios will begin distributing their films on the Blu-ray format. He commented, "While Universal values the close partnership we have shared with Toshiba, it is time to turn our focus to releasing new and catalog titles on Blu-ray."

He continued, "The path for widespread adoption of the next-generation platform has finally become clear. Universal will continue its aggressive efforts to broaden awareness for hi-def's unparalleled offerings in interactivity and connectivity, at an increasingly affordable price. The emergence of a single, high-definition format is cause for consumers, as well as the entire entertainment industry, to celebrate."

While no solid details about which titles or specific dates were revealed at this time, a more detailed announcement is expected soon.

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=1007

 

[Reverb2009]

Paramount Pictures Switches Back to Blu-ray

Paramount seals Blu-ray sweep
Winner of next-gen format war now has all 6 majors
By Thomas K. Arnold




Feb 21, 2008

RELATED STORIES:
High-def format war ends; studios going Blu
Analysts react to HD DVD demise

All six major Hollywood studios are now in the Blu-ray Disc camp, a day after Toshiba has pulled the plug on HD DVD and Blu-ray became effectively the only next-gen game in town.

Paramount Home Entertainment quietly came onboard via a statement sent exclusively to The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday: "We are pleased that the industry is moving to a single high-definition format, as we believe it is in the best interest of the consumer," the statement reads. "As we look to (begin) releasing our titles on Blu-ray, we will monitor consumer adoption and determine our release plans accordingly."

No further details were given.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment, in contrast, cast its lot with Blu-ray within hours of Toshiba's announcement Tuesday morning that it was ending the format war by ceasing the development, manufacture and marketing of HD DVD players by the end of March. Universal made a big splash with its announcement, sending media outlets a statement from division president Craig Kornblau in which he said, "While Universal values the close partnership we have shared with Toshiba, it is time to turn our focus to releasing new and catalog titles on Blu-ray."


Janet Murray, director of Georgia Tech's masters and Ph.D. program in digital media, said a single format supported by all six major studios has a much better chance of success than two rival ones that each take only a chunk of Hollywood.

"It's a big victory for the consumer," she said.

Now that the studios are no longer battling each other over which format is best, Murray said, they can focus on generating awareness among consumers of the many benefits of high-definition media. Murray predicts "a standardization of extras" now that everyone's releasing films on a single format rather than two, each with its own set of capabilities. "This will lead to a much richer experience for viewers," she added.

Murray also foresees "much more content and much more breadth of content" now that Blu-ray is the only way to go. "When people have these higher-end screens at home, they take great pleasure in them, and this will push ahead the delivery (of movies) in high-definition," she said.

Ironically, Universal had been exclusive with HD DVD since the format's launch in April 2006, while Paramount had initially supported both HD DVD and Blu-ray. Paramount and DreamWorks switched to HD DVD-only in August, reportedly after receiving a $150 million payment from the format's supporters for "promotional consideration."

Neither studio has announced specific titles earmarked for early Blu-ray release, though both are expected to start with new theatricals coming the same day as the standard DVD, beginning in late spring or early summer.

The four other majors committed to Blu-ray are Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (along with its distributed MGM Home Entertainment label), Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video (including distributed labels New Line Home Entertainment, BBC Video and HBO Video). Mini-major Lionsgate also has been an exclusive Blu-ray backer since the start.



http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ic60f3f2e7077b9b8dc969933f25fc601

 

[amey01]

Toshiba Cancels HD-DVD


Hopefully, Toshiba will be able to recooperate much of that loss with their Blu-ray products. As we reported earlier, it looks like Toshiba is planning Blu-ray players of their own to go on sale this Summer.

I couldn't care less if Toshiba recooperate any of that loss. I hope they don't for that matter.

I hope they (and the whole industry for that matter) learn a very big lesson in the costs of ripping off the consumer with stupid format wars and planned obsolesence.

 

[Nik]

Microsoft cancels production of Xbox 360 HDDVD player and walmart is Blu-ray only now.
Nik

 

[jfm]

Blu-ray Disc faces fight against downloads

by Dan Nystedt, Feb 25, 2008 1:48 pm

Blu-ray Disc may have beaten out HD DVD as the high-definition optical disc format to replace DVDs, but it now faces a new test against Internet downloads, market researchers Gartner and iSuppli said.

Link to the full article