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In Reply to: RE: I was just going to post that :-( posted by Jack G on January 04, 2008 at 13:10:49
Now that Warners is officially kicking sand in the face of HD-DVD support it remains to be seen whether either format will be able to survive. There are two factors to consider: 1) A lot of folks purchased HD-DVD players during the holidays, and 2) with Paramount and Universal locked into an exclusivity commitment for the next year plus I'm not sure how Warner's decision will eliminate the format confusion. In the interim both formats could collapse from public apathy.
Regardless of whether Warner succumbed to some under the table deal with SONY or they were just concerned about dual inventory releases confusing/alienating the public, their move to Blue support while emphasizing continued support to standard DVD doesn't give any indication of absolute commitment to high definition. If their Blu-ray sales don't show a marked improvement throughout the year then it wouldn't surprise me if Warners support for high definition on any disc format falters.
Personally, I think that this was a poor business decision for Warners that will alienate some of their studio's movie fans, but who knows. I'm still looking for a reasonably priced dual format or Blu-ray player (not a game-boy or whatever) that has all the A/V bugs worked out. We'll see.
At least Obama came out a winner in Iowa. :o)
Cheers,
AuPh
Follow Ups:
That noted Blu-ray shill, Bill Hunt offers an alternative viewpoint.
"...
Let's call a spade a spade: What Warner has done today is to effectively pull the plug on this format war. Think about it. Their decision to go Blu-ray exclusive is the only change they could have made that makes any kind of business sense. It's become clear now to nearly everyone in this industry that the continuation of this format war - while it's certainly helped to drive hardware prices lower - has now become the sole major roadblock to high-def discs moving past the early adopter market and into more widespread consumer acceptance.
Warner could have done one of three things: Go Blu-ray exclusive, go HD-DVD exclusive, or stay neutral. It's apparent from their statement this morning that Warner knows as well as we do that this format war is confusing consumers and hurting the chances for high-def packaged media in the long run. While early adopters online have been happily back-biting each other these past two years, most folks elsewhere on planet Earth have just issued a collective yawn. Meanwhile, those non-early adopter consumers who are actually interested in high-def discs have sat on the sidelines waiting for the axe to fall on one of these formats. So for Warner, staying neutral just wasn't an option anymore. The question then becomes, if you're going to make a change in strategy, you want to make one that's going to impart genuine forward momentum on the situation. Warner going HD-DVD exclusive would have effectively created a 50/50 split in Hollywood studio support for these formats, resulting in an even bigger stalemate than already exists, and probably closing the door completely on either of these formats ever gaining widespread acceptance. On the other hand, Warner going Blu-ray only makes that studio split 70/30. It effectively gives Blu-ray exclusive access to 70% of Hollywood studio content. And that's not only a game changer, it's a game ender.
..."
Bills published some opinions which have been wrong and impacted his credibility, but this seems spot-on.
The dropping of prices below $100 and free movie deals was the real incentive for Joe Public to get on board the high resolution express. Collective yawn or not, folks woke up and took notice of those jaw dropping HD-DVD player sales on Black Friday. These folks just got left high and dry by Warner's belated announcement.
Furthermore, all of those who just got stiffed by Warner's decision after buying an HD-DVD player over the holidays as well as those still sitting on the sidelines aren't going to be so easily talked into ponying up hundreds of dollars more for a Blu-ray only player anytime in the near future.
In regard to the PS3 game-boy purchasers, I still suspect that the majority of those folks aren't serious movie buffs/collectors. If they're into games, that's probably the primary function for which those units will be used.
I mean no disrespect to the article or it's author, but I see this from a slightly different perspective. Of course, I could be mistaken and everyone's mileage varies.
Cheers,
AuPh
And the $98 firesales probably reinforced the principle: inexpensive = sales. Toshiba's advantage was they were quicker to bring economies of scales to their HD DVD players quicker than any of the BDA manufacturers. This was a temporary advantage, perhaps augmented by loss/low profit pricing strategies in an attempt to steal the market. There was a surge in Sony Blu-ray SA player sales when they dropped to $300. At the moment, there is actually price parity between the lowest priced Sonys and the Toshibas in the B&Ms I've visited recently.CES 2008 will be interesting to see what new profile 1.1/2.0 Blu-ray players will be released. Will we see the "cheap" Funai players ? I will admit I suspect the BDA new player MSRPs are being "massaged" (i.e. increased) after the fallout from the Warner decision. CE manufacturer competition and economies of scale will probably lead to sub-$100 Blu-ray players, maybe even by Christmas 2008.
BTW, I almost bought a PS3 to watch movies, not play games. The PQ was stellar. There are quite a few PS3 owners who use it strictly for movie watching. It's arguably still the most capable Blu-ray player out there. I needed the 5.1 analog outputs so I went with a different player.
In other words, I'm suggesting that the vast majority of PS3 game platforms will ONLY be used for the primary function that they were designed.> > > "And the $98 firesales probably reinforced the principle: inexpensive = sales. Toshiba's advantage was they were quicker to bring economies of scales to their HD DVD players quicker than any of the BDA manufacturers. This was a temporary advantage, perhaps augmented by loss/low profit pricing strategies in an attempt to steal the market. There was a surge in Sony Blu-ray SA player sales when they dropped to $300. At the moment, there is actually price parity between the lowest priced Sonys and the Toshibas in the B&Ms I've visited recently." < < <
My point is that folks who bought the new HD players over the holidays probably thought that their purchase was going to be supported in the near term (at least for a couple of years down the line) by both manufacturers and product providers. Warner's rationale and belated announcement to "go Blue" after the holiday 'fire' sales may backfire for Blu-ray, and only serve to reinforce the publics distrust.
AuPh
About the same percentage have a HDTV for their PS3. The rest plan to get HDTV.
Why buy a HD game console for a normal TV?
see link
- http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/ps3-celebrates-its-first-birthday-56-million-sold/18572/?ncid=AOLGAM000500000000016 (Open in New Window)
I would've been surprised at 50%, but 80% seems a trifle suspicious.
Cheers,
AuPh
-------------"I have found that if you love life, life will love you back." -Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982)
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