Warner go Blu-Ray exclusive

[thecremeegg]

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSN0432340820080104

Good news for Blu Ray, I really cant see HD-DVD winning this tbh, especially as the moeny that Microsoft has paid out to keep exclusives is only for 18 months

 

[KDF]

Thats really bad news for HD-DVD users. In fact this could be final nail in the coffin.

They are still gonna do it for a while more though, although out of all the formats it will be released on HD-DVD last and then not at all.

On the plus side.. PS3 + BluRay FTW !! (the one and only time I will ever use FTW !)

 

[The Hoff]

Good, all this messing around is as the article says just stalling the market. I wonder if MS will soon be jumping into bed with Sony for BD too

 

[Daz]

Apple are also rumoured to be going Blu Ray.. which is a big step.

As Apple are going, Disney Pixar will probably do it too.. so even more.

How long before a BluRay Add-on for the Xbox 360 then?

 

[The Hoff]

Apple will be a big catch, hopefully 2008 will see an end to the format wars.

HD-DVD drives, coming to an Antique show near you!

 

[David]

Good, all this messing around is as the article says just stalling the market. I wonder if MS will soon be jumping into bed with Sony for BD too

MS made the codecs for both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. They don't need to jump into anyone's bed. As far as they're concerned, if blu-ray win the format war, they'll release a blu-ray add on for the 360. Done.

 

[spirez]

Done at another £100 on top! Sucks if you already bought the HD-DVD add-on.

MS are crooks

 

[ukaskew]

We still have the problem that if one format does 'win', many studios are tied into exclusive deals with a format.

I've no idea how long those exclusivity deals are, but for the consumer it means that one way or another there will not be a single format with all movies on it for quite some time, which will surely have quite an impact.

 

[dk]

We still have the problem that if one format does 'win', many studios are tied into exclusive deals with a format.

I've no idea how long those exclusivity deals are, but for the consumer it means that one way or another there will not be a single format with all movies on it for quite some time, which will surely have quite an impact.

they'll have put clauses in the contracts for a get out if the format fails or sales drop below a certain figure etc. so won't be difficult to get out imo.

 

[dk]

Apple are also rumoured to be going Blu Ray.. which is a big step.

As Apple are going, Disney Pixar will probably do it too.. so even more.

How long before a BluRay Add-on for the Xbox 360 then?

isn't pixar bluray already anyway? cars and ratatoille are both out on bluray, plus disney is already bluray with the POTC trilogy out on BD?

 

[Brand86]

Even if MS switch to BR it would be quite embarassing for them, but to be honest Sony DEFINITELY deserve to win in at least one media format, as Betamax and Minidisc both dropped off.

I feel sorry for those who bought the HD drive add-on though, as I spent loads on MD components and now useless and no one wants them However the report I read today still said the new 360 version would have a built in HD DVD drive built in, and as it won't be out to Q3 most people think, that means MS must still believe it will be going strong in 9+ months time.

We shall see though!

 

[dk]

Even if MS switch to BR it would be quite embarassing for them, but to be honest Sony DEFINITELY deserve to win in at least one media format, as Betamax and Minidisc both dropped off.

I feel sorry for those who bought the HD drive add-on though, as I spent loads on MD components and now useless and no one wants them However the report I read today still said the new 360 version would have a built in HD DVD drive built in, and as it won't be out to Q3 most people think, that means MS must still believe it will be going strong in 9+ months time.

We shall see though!

to be fair, at least the addon drive was cheap, if it was expensive i would be annoyed but it was dirt cheap and worth the money just for 1-2 years of use and its not like it will go in the bin, its still going to play the 15 discs i already have!

it will be a big joke if MS have to use their main competitors product with their gaming system though!

 

[Revels]

I think its far more important to Sony that BluRay wins than it is to MS that HD-DVD wins.

MS will just bring out a BluRay drive and say it was always their long term plan, blah blah blah. But it would be a major blow for Sony as the BluRay drive is a major selling point.

Personally im not buying either, after all the DVD's I bought that sit on my shelf as basically ornaments, im not wasting all that cash again.

 

[dk]

i sometimes wonder why i buy them myself, you are right, they are ornaments, i only ever watch them once (well my bond set hasn't even been watched!) so it is a waste of money, i just like owning films i guess.

 

[Revels]

I used to go through a stage where id buy films constantly, had a few hundred and when I looked a good 25/30 of them were still sealed. DVD's seemed to get cheaper, quicker too.

Plus the fact I havent bought the HD-DVD drive yet so theres not much use me buying any! lol

Once ive download one from live and see how good they are I might be tempted if it really is that good.

 

[sargey]

Guess what I bought with the money I got for Christmas..........


Yep, a HD DVD drive for my 360................ Great!

 

[Brand86]

Yeah my room is FULL of CDs and DVDs I never listen to anymore, so I guess having them all saved on a HDD is the way forward, literally my whole shelf stack thing is ridiculous.

Thats why iTunes and stuff is good, load all your media on there, put on random play and occassionally you hear a song you haven't heard for ages and reminds you of when you used to listen to it.

Likewise iPod link in your car, I put it on random play and tunes pop up haven't heard for ages, and would never have thought to put the CD in the car.

 

[Daz]

If Apple have their way, you won't be buying discs soon.

Look at iTunes doing TV shows and movies.. link that to an Apple TV, and there's no need for a disc..

And, this sort of stuff usually takes off quite well..

 

[Toypop]

I am not buying either.

If Blu Ray wins I will never buy it.

There were two formats that from the average consumers point of view offered absolutely identical quality. If you did the Pepsi challenge using the same TV, 99.999999% of people couldn't tell which was a Blu Ray film and which was HDDVD.

The only difference was that one format costed considerably more than the other and as a result of deals done in smoke filled board rooms, men in suits are trying to force us to pay for the more expensive option.

That is a game I refuse to play. In fact if Blu Ray wins it will either kill the HD optical disk movie market completely or seriously delay how long it takes to become mainstream. Only the cheaper HD DVD could have taken off quickly.

All that will happen now is that consumers won't buy HDDVD because there aren't many films for it and they won't buy Blu Ray because it is over expensive.

Digital Downloads FTW IMO.

 

[oska]

:lolup: You miserable git Toypop! :clown: I agree digital downloads are great but very big in HD. I know you have your views against Sony but when whoever wins wouldn't it be easier to pop to Blockbuster etc to get one?!

 

[BRUN]

HD-DVD will win, i dont care what anyone says lol , Blu Ray will go down in history as yet another Sony failure, along with Betamax and Mini Disc

 

[sn00p]

Is betamax dead yet?

 

[dk]

I am not buying either.

If Blu Ray wins I will never buy it.

There were two formats that from the average consumers point of view offered absolutely identical quality. If you did the Pepsi challenge using the same TV, 99.999999% of people couldn't tell which was a Blu Ray film and which was HDDVD.

The only difference was that one format costed considerably more than the other and as a result of deals done in smoke filled board rooms, men in suits are trying to force us to pay for the more expensive option.

That is a game I refuse to play. In fact if Blu Ray wins it will either kill the HD optical disk movie market completely or seriously delay how long it takes to become mainstream. Only the cheaper HD DVD could have taken off quickly.

All that will happen now is that consumers won't buy HDDVD because there aren't many films for it and they won't buy Blu Ray because it is over expensive.

Digital Downloads FTW IMO.

your loss then, and theres no difference between bluray and hd-dvd movies so ofcourse you aren't going to notice it side by side.

digital downloads, especially HD ones need a much better BB infrastructure to cope, isps were getting scared of the bbc iplayer launch let alone people downloading 20gb films in an evening to watch them!

plus, digital media is unlikely to disappear as people still prefer to own something physical for their money!

 

[sn00p]

plus, digital media is unlikely to disappear as people still prefer to own something physical for their money!

You sure about that? I think it's a small select group of people who want own something physical, most people would go for the convenience of the download.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/retailing/article2002755.ece

 

[Williams025]

I'd rather have the product in my hand, but I'm a movie enthusiast. The people who dont give a toss are the ones that download it, watch it once then forget about it. I have so many films I'd need the worlds biggest HD to store them. Then what if the data got corrupted? You'd lose your entire collection in the blink of an eye!

Cant beat a good box set.

 

[Daz]

I'd rather have the product in my hand, but I'm a movie enthusiast. The people who dont give a toss are the ones that download it, watch it once then forget about it. I have so many films I'd need the worlds biggest HD to store them. Then what if the data got corrupted? You'd lose your entire collection in the blink of an eye!

Cant beat a good box set.

You'd have a decent backup system..

I think downloadable movies (none-ripped, because you could rip them again), will be rental, so you pay for 1/3/7 day, then they get deleted etc.. this would do most people.

 

[Williams025]

^ Fine for your casual viewer, but not your average movie buffs!

 

[Toypop]

I have Sky HD and regularly watch HD movies on there and to be honest I have to be the one to point out that the emperor has no clothes.

All I can say is big deal. I am not particularly amazed by it. I find HD is important for gaming (mainly FPS games as opposed to say driving games). For movies when sat a couple of metres from the average TV (mid range 32") it really does not make a massive difference.

The sad geeks will say it does but the best test to avoid the geek factor is to just sit your mother down on the Sofa and get her to watch it in HD or SD. She probably won't notice or will say it is a very small difference. Her view is the view of the typical person who will make or break the HD disk system.

I wouldn't pay more than £100 for a standalone movie player although to be honest I'd get one that came as part of a home cinema system. Even then I wouldn't pay anymore than what I paid for my SD DVD/home cinema system. I'd never buy the disks, I would just rent them.

That is the problem though. If I am going to do that then I might as well do a downloadable rental or stream whether that be via Sky Box Office, Xbox Live or some kind of PC web service. I think the majority of consumers that aren't huge film collectors are not that impressed with HD and won't pay £300 for a drive.

 

[Williams025]

^ Its important to remember that sky HD is not 'full' HD (and I dont mean 720 / 1080 p), while it looks better than an SD dvd, it doesnt look as good as an actual BD / HD DVD disc.

Not that I'm trying to defend them, they brought on this format war so I hope they both die a quick death. Then someone can come along with a single inexpensive HD format that we can all enjoy.

 

[CupWhite]

Downloading HD Movies FTW!!

 

[dk]

Downloading HD Movies FTW!!

BOOM

 

[dk]

I have Sky HD and regularly watch HD movies on there and to be honest I have to be the one to point out that the emperor has no clothes.

All I can say is big deal. I am not particularly amazed by it. I find HD is important for gaming (mainly FPS games as opposed to say driving games). For movies when sat a couple of metres from the average TV (mid range 32") it really does not make a massive difference.

The sad geeks will say it does but the best test to avoid the geek factor is to just sit your mother down on the Sofa and get her to watch it in HD or SD. She probably won't notice or will say it is a very small difference. Her view is the view of the typical person who will make or break the HD disk system.

I wouldn't pay more than £100 for a standalone movie player although to be honest I'd get one that came as part of a home cinema system. Even then I wouldn't pay anymore than what I paid for my SD DVD/home cinema system. I'd never buy the disks, I would just rent them.

That is the problem though. If I am going to do that then I might as well do a downloadable rental or stream whether that be via Sky Box Office, Xbox Live or some kind of PC web service. I think the majority of consumers that aren't huge film collectors are not that impressed with HD and won't pay £300 for a drive.

funny you should say that as i sat my mum and dad and nan in front of my ps3 christmas day to watch a movie and my mum and nan both commented how good the picture looked and they know nothing about hd and i hadn't told them it was anything special, my dad knew and he like it so much he even wants a ps3 now to be able to play them!

As mentioned above too, don't use sky as the benchmark for HD as there's is not true hd in regards to full resolution 1080p.