Research commissioned by Warner indicates that consumers are willing to pay several dollars more than current high-definition DVDs for a disc that works on both players.

Would you be willing to pay extra in addition to current HD prices for each of Warner's future releases on Total HD with it giving you the ability to be able to be played on both HD DVD and Blu-Ray?

Absolutely not.

Heck no.

Only if they are released by studios not supporting the format I chose, and the combo player is a bust.

No, why would I? I don't have a BR player, so why should I pay extra for something I won't use. If I did have a player for each format, why wouldn't I just buy it on the format of my choice? It sounds like Warner is just trying to make an extra buck at our expense.
J

Warner only hears what they want to hear...

This 'Total HD' idea is just a way they're trying to play the present market confusion to ensure whatever happens, some royalties come their way. But no way this takes off in any substantial fashion.

Given LG's recent announcement? Not a chance.

No way. I already have both a HD-DVD and Blu-ray player. Why on earth would I want to pay more for the titles, regardless of studio? Oh, and get rid of those darn HD-DVD combo discs as well as I have no use for those either since they just cost me more as well.

Absolutely not. I have no intention to pay this kind of "format war premium tax" for a feature I have no use for.

I might do it for a couple of classic hits if I can't avoid it, but for the rest, forget it. Either I'll rent them or I'll stick with their DVD versions.

Absolutely not. I have no intention to pay this kind of "format war premium tax" for a feature I have no use for.

I might do it for a couple of classic hits if I can't avoid it, but for the rest, forget it. Either I'll rent them or I'll stick with their DVD versions.


format war premium tax - thats funny :D

Yes I'm willing to pay more but only up to $29.99.

There is value in knowing my disc plays in damn near every HD player out there. There is an inherent flexibility in having a hybrid product.

Hmmm I set the poll to last a month, not sure why its saying its closing in 2 days... :(

feck no!!

gosh I hope someone at Warner sees this poll, and realize how big of a joke this idea is

Hmmm I set the poll to last a month, not sure why its saying its closing in 2 days... :(

That's okay...the answer is quite clear.

feck no!!

gosh I hope someone at Warner sees this poll, and realize how big of a joke this idea is

LOL. You mean us bunch of AVS forum groupies who try to justify shelling out $1000 for a movie player?

No..people on these boards LOVE paying more for stuff. At first blush they'll rant and rave about pricing and then they'll catch the bug and run out to buy the next whizzbang piece of gear.

Warner is spot in. People will pay more money for these discs because in the end of the day they'll realize that they just spent 4 bucks that morning for a Starbucks coffee and last night was an $8 martini.

Consumers are naturally opposed towards the idea of spending more money for ANYTHING. But reality has a way of sinking in and changing things.

Not only no, but Hell No!

That's okay...the answer is quite clear.

Ya but I think it would have been more imformative if the poll lasted throughout CES and us actually getting more info about these discs

I have both players now so I would not pay the premium except for exceptional movies.

As novelty items, I can see getting a couple. Realistically, if I am going to rebuild a DVD library of 1300 disks, there is no way I'm going to pay even $1 more for something I can't use, let alone $5.

Warner's market research must be flawed.

Warner's market research must be flawed.

That's for sure.

What do you think Netflix would say or Blockbuster or the thousands of movie rental locations strewn across the globe?

Everyone here is defending their own pocketbook but failing to look at the whole picture. If Warner can make this work without costing a significant premium the roar from the aforementioned companies will be deafening. No one wants to keep multiple versions of the same movie.

In the end as a consumer I realize that the economies of scale could in fact benefit me.

i definitely will














not buy this crap....

Everyone here is defending their own pocketbook but failing to look at the whole picture.

Um, thats because there asking us the consumer to pay the extra... If it only benefits the retailers then let them bite the difference to save on shelf space and continue to market these new discs at the same price as regular discs

Depends on the config.

What do you think Netflix would say or Blockbuster or the thousands of movie rental locations strewn across the globe?

Everyone here is defending their own pocketbook but failing to look at the whole picture. If Warner can make this work without costing a significant premium the roar from the aforementioned companies will be deafening. No one wants to keep multiple versions of the same movie.

In the end as a consumer I realize that the economies of scale could in fact benefit me.
I can see this helping the rental places, and definitely adding to Warner's bottom line. What are the odds that Sony or Universal will go along with this?
What are its limitations? Is it dual layer, or one format/side?
J6P already thinks HD is too expensive, this will only help if its the same price.
J

LOL. You mean us bunch of AVS forum groupies who try to justify shelling out $1000 for a movie player?

No..people on these boards LOVE paying more for stuff. At first blush they'll rant and rave about pricing and then they'll catch the bug and run out to buy the next whizzbang piece of gear.

Warner is spot in. People will pay more money for these discs because in the end of the day they'll realize that they just spent 4 bucks that morning for a Starbucks coffee and last night was an $8 martini.

Consumers are naturally opposed towards the idea of spending more money for ANYTHING. But reality has a way of sinking in and changing things.


uhoh, ...looking at the poll and the comments here, you're in the minority

If the config = DVD9/HDDVD15/BD25 = YEAH :)

If its BD50/HDDVD15 = HELL YEAH :D

BD50/HDDVD30 = Yeah :)

BD25/HDDVD30= HELL NO!!! :(

No....I own players for both formats. It would make zero sense.

A DVD9/HDDVD15/BD25 combo would mean they can replace standard DVD releases once and for all and hence mass market??

A DVD9/HDDVD15/BD25 combo would mean they can replace standard DVD releases once and for all and hence mass market??

And what type of content, quality, audio tracks, extras, movie length are we getting on 15-25 g disks? Additionally we would be paying extra for this loss of quality and content...

Warner is spot in. People will pay more money for these discs because in the end of the day they'll realize that they just spent 4 bucks that morning for a Starbucks coffee and last night was an $8 martini.

Consumers are naturally opposed towards the idea of spending more money for ANYTHING. But reality has a way of sinking in and changing things.

I voted no. I won't pay more than $20 for a movie in ANY format. If Warner can make money on this, more power to them. They'll do fine without my $20 and I'll do fine without their films.

No discs above $20 and no HD player of any format until the "war" is over, the prices drop to below $200, or both.

A DVD9/HDDVD15/BD25 combo would mean they can replace standard DVD releases once and for all and hence mass market??

Mass market? That disc will be too expensive for the mass market.

LOL. You mean us bunch of AVS forum groupies who try to justify shelling out $1000 for a movie player?

No..people on these boards LOVE paying more for stuff. At first blush they'll rant and rave about pricing and then they'll catch the bug and run out to buy the next whizzbang piece of gear.

Warner is spot in. People will pay more money for these discs because in the end of the day they'll realize that they just spent 4 bucks that morning for a Starbucks coffee and last night was an $8 martini.

Consumers are naturally opposed towards the idea of spending more money for ANYTHING. But reality has a way of sinking in and changing things.

Disagree. Players you only buy a couple, ok, maybe 3 or 4. But disks you will buy lots and lots. A few thousand here, a few thousand there, pretty soon it adds up to real money.

Not a chance. I'm only supporting one format and have no need to 'pay' to help the other guys. I wouldn't even pay extra for those dual HD/DVD releases.

I certainly won't pay extra. Thus far I've refused to buy in either format (I was an early Betamax supporter). The existance of a hybrid disc will get me to reconsider, and, maybe, buy.
Pay extra because the studios couldn't get their act together and agree on one format? No way.

Disagree. Players you only buy a couple, ok, maybe 3 or 4. But disks you will buy lots and lots. A few thousand here, a few thousand there, pretty soon it adds up to real money.

Yes and real money+ value = investment. What do you think your resale value is on a HD DVD vs Blu-ray vs Total HD disc? Which one would give you the most coverage in players?

I'm curious to see what Warners prognostication on pricing will be. Frankly there are a few dissenters stating they won't buy but that's a drop in the ocean to those who just want peace of mind. I don't see BD fans ripping Fox over $28 discs with any regularity. Warner is right. The majority will pay and have no desire to get into the cats fights we see here daily.

Hell no. I already have an HD-DVD player, why the f would I want to but a disk with BD content on it?? And spend more on top of that, when I can simply buy the HD-DVD version of their movies. This just doesn't make any sense to me.

I voted undecided: I may want to buy Universal titles if they appear on Total HD and if quality/features are not impacted.

It's going to be HD30/BD25/DVD9, HD15 wouldn't be enough and the extra 10GB on the Blu-Ray would be wasted (same transfer), they'll just stick an extra True HD track on the HD-DVD. Price wise it's fairly irrelevant if you thnk it's worth paying an extra 5 bucks or not. My guess is that ALL Warner HD titles will be released on this format so if you want to buy a Warner film you have no choice but to go with this.

On a scale of one to "NO" I go to 11.

It's going to be HD30/BD25/DVD9, HD15 wouldn't be enough and the extra 10GB on the Blu-Ray would be wasted (same transfer), they'll just stick an extra True HD track on the HD-DVD. Price wise it's fairly irrelevant if you thnk it's worth paying an extra 5 bucks or not. My guess is that ALL Warner HD titles will be released on this format so if you want to buy a Warner film you have no choice but to go with this.

I don't think they even need to support DVD9 (which would make the disc a flipper). I agree about Warner potentially switching over to this format sometime in 2007. You can bet yer arse they'll be hyping the advantages.

Yes and real money+ value = investment. What do you think your resale value is on a HD DVD vs Blu-ray vs Total HD disc? Which one would give you the most coverage in players?

I'm curious to see what Warners prognostication on pricing will be. Frankly there are a few dissenters stating they won't buy but that's a drop in the ocean to those who just want peace of mind. I don't see BD fans ripping Fox over $28 discs with any regularity. Warner is right. The majority will pay and have no desire to get into the cats fights we see here daily.

This poll seems to be pointing in one direction, most HD-DVD and BD supporters are saying that they don't want to pay extra for the flippies. And this is the market segment of vehement collectors that Warner want to address for their sell through, so this is something they must consider very carefully.

I am actually even more extreme in my view on charging extra for a disk. If adding extras such as director's commentaries to movies that I will collect but not really like, I don't believe director's commentaries are worth another $1.

If it's LOTR or Starship Troopers or Rocky Horror, I will pay for extras, but if it's KK or Hulk or Click or Talladega Nights, not one penny.

At this point, I am buying the few HD-DVD disks on universal I can't get on BD. I never worry about combos as the new day and date warner BD releases are ok for now even if they don't have PCM or TrueHD or DTS-HDMA. I'm happy with the DTS and DD tracks for now. If there are earlier HD-DVD warner releases, I will still buy them to watch.

If I had to bet, I doubt HD-DVD can win this long term, and even though this will drag for years, by June of '07 it should be clear. But that is just my assessment at this point. I could be wrong.

On the other hand, if I'm wrong and HD-DVD does win, my BD movies will still play on the PS3. I don't buy extended warrantees at best buy, I'm never bought the special VHS+Betamax special collector's set and I'm not going to pay any insurance for this flippy disk thing.

That's what I think.

But you won't be able to buy the non combo BR Warner discs anymore, Warner won't make them.

But you won't be able to buy the non combo BR Warner discs anymore, Warner won't make them.
If warner titles were to suddenly go up by $5, I would have a problem.

I guess I have to be more selective of the warner titles then.

Most of my collection of movies are discretionary and impulse buys. There will always be must-get-at-any-price titles, and I will still get those, but I will probably cut back on the impulse buys for most of the warner titles.

Hell, I don't even buy combo HD-DVD's! Why on earth would I want to pay a premium for this? Sell me one format or the other, let me make the choice on which one I will spend my hard earned cash.

Initial convenience factor aside, I would not support this option for the mere fact that universal players are on the way and the fact that I presently have the means to play both formats already.

More to the point though, unless the new players are prohibitively expensive, the buying public will probably bias for the simplicity of the one stop shop approach ... as opposed to the piece meal approach at "discretional" multiformat disks.

Bottom line ... compatible, simple, cheap and reliable are the pubic demands for enthusiastic adoption of new technology.

Sam

A DVD9/HDDVD15/BD25 combo would mean they can replace standard DVD releases once and for all and hence mass market??

I was planning on puting both drive types in my media center PC, but now it looks like I will just go HD-DVD and buy the dual DVD/HD-DVD disks so I can play them on all my older DVD players as well. For studios that don't sell those I will buy the HD-DVD or the TotalHD disk, whatever offers the better quality HD picture.

Saves me about $500 so I guess it's a good thing since that gets me an extra 20 new movies.

I would quit buying WB titles all together if this becomes the only way to get them. I own both formats and should,as a consumer, decide which format I want it for. If all studios go to this with a $5- $10 premium we all might as well start talking about the next way to get HD content, because there is no way in hell the average consumer will pay that price if us enthusiasts won't. I want to know who the hell they have doing research that tells them that the market is out there for this product, especially when there is still a minimal market for the HD formats in general.

Not only would I not pay extra for this, I wouldn't pay for it at all. The real winning idea is a multiformat player. This is what solved the issue for DVD+R and DVD-R in the DVD burner format war, and it can work here too.

From a neutral studio like WB. What the hell for? I can already by the disks on either format.

How about if Warner had come up with a hybrid DVD and DIVX disc back in the day and pushed it as the answer to any war, with extra cost over a single format disc? :)

Okay, I admit that I don't know what the physical format of DIVX was, so whether the analogy holds.

--Darin

I will buy a HD-XA2 and HD-DVD only discs before I would buy a "flipper" disc from Warner.


JUST SAY NO TO FLIPPER COMBO DISCS!!!

I would. No brainer for me.

As someone who's just started trying to help his grandad learn to use a DVD player for the first time, I can assure you that flippers are a very poor idea if you want to engage the largest possible over-all sector of the market. The lettering on the spindle is just too small, and he isn't able to use them. I doubt this is an isolated problem.

Personally I dislike flippers for fingerprint issues, and for forcing me to turn the lights on when I want to change film. Silks are also an attractive part of the product, and I would have thought a way to encourage sales instead of piracy. (though I understand profesional pirates are pretty good at making their own silks)

I think Warner has been incredibly proactive through this format.

Their behavious in supporting both formats has been very commendable, and their foresight in creating these new disc designs has been stunning. They will do very well as the HD era continues.

Yes, price is still fundamentally a very important factor, so it remains to be seen how competitiove these solutions can be...

As someone who's just started trying to help his grandad learn to use a DVD player for the first time, I can assure you that flippers are a very poor idea if you want to engage the largest possible over-all sector of the market. The lettering on the spindle is just too small, and he isn't able to use them. I doubt this is an isolated problem.

They could color code the hub ring. Red on one side, blue on the other.

Nope. I've been passing on the DVD/HD-DVD combos despite a couple I want. I got Miami Vice as a gift and that's the only combo I have.

I'll pay extra for backwards compatibility with DVD as seen on HD DVD combos - I want the flexibility to play the HD DVD anywhere.

Compatibility with Blu-Ray is useless to me, though

LOL

judging by the poll and responses, looks like TrueHD is gonna flop before it even begins

I think Warner has been incredibly proactive through this format.

Their behavious in supporting both formats has been very commendable, and their foresight in creating these new disc designs has been stunning. They will do very well as the HD era continues.

Yes, price is still fundamentally a very important factor, so it remains to be seen how competitiove these solutions can be...

It pretty much shuts down the production cost issue as a format distinguisher, and a primary concern for studios, doesn't it? It requires BD production capability for every HD DVD disc made. And perhaps notches up prices.

Once committed to this, stopping would be difficult. It would basically guarantee two formats for this generation. Now, from a putting an end to all the bickering, this may be the most commendable thing. But, all studios would need to follow Warner's lead.

Gary

Can't wait till Warner starts putting out the Toltal HD discs, then the fanboys will argue about what players their actually being played in.

LOL

judging by the poll and responses, looks like TrueHD is gonna flop before it even begins

Lots of bluster. But if Warner goes 100% for this, are you saying people would stop buying Warner titles?

I don't like spending money on tuners I will never use. That doesn't mean I wont buy the set.

Gary

Lots of bluster. But if Warner goes 100% for this, are you saying people would stop buying Warner titles?

I don't like spending money on tuners I will never use. That doesn't mean I wont buy the set.

Gary

No way they go 100% for this. They aren't that stupid...their DVD revenue would be destroyed and those involved would be fired. They'll introduce Total HD on a limited basis and see if it sells.

Are we that much different than the market sample ? I just don't get it.Who wants this ? :(

Art

No way they go 100% for this. They aren't that stupid...their DVD revenue would be destroyed and those involved would be fired. They'll introduce Total HD on a limited basis and see if it sells.


Are you confusing this with HD DVD/DVD combos? This is an HD DVD/Blu-ray combo being discussed.

DVD is not possible on this, at this time. And besides, like HD DVD/DVD combos, you'd need to be able to make DVD quantities for an exclusive release to be viable. That's not possible until HD discs are equal to DVD in sales.

Gary

It really depends on how much extra is extra. IF I had a choice between a HD-DVD/DVD combo disk and a HD-DVD/Blu-Ray combo disk, I'd rather have it with blu-ray.

Great idea for the disks, but for me it isn't a question of paying more. I refuse to buy either BD or HD because I don't want to get stuck with disks that won't be supported if I choose the losing format. I was a beta owner. If dual players become the norm, and we know that future players will play both, then there is no need. Otherwise, I might be inclined to enter the market more quickly because the disks will play no matter which format wins. What I don't like is that it likely means none of their releases will use more than 25 GB, eliminating the BD space advantage and limiting HD to less than it could be. Dual players is a better way to go, but still waiting to see what they cost and whether they become the norm.

Eh, my game systems will still work regardless of the HD format. ;)

Is this why WB is holding off on the Harry Potter and Matrix releases for NA? I've never been much into Harry Potter (didn't even see the last two, and the one before that I didn't catch until the plane back from Iraq! :D ). Exclusive release on the Total HD disks is probably the only way they'll ever sell them.

If they're dumb enough to release catalog titles already released to HD-DVD / Blu-ray (Batman Begins, Troy, etc), they can't expect to sell any more unless they buy back the unsold stock and/or price them the same.

This is totally useless unless all the exclusive studios support it and we all know that isn't going to happen anytime soon with Sony or Universal.

No way will I buy these...if they ever even see the light of day that is. :rolleyes:

Why does there have to be a cost passed on to the consumer? I know that is the case with the HD DVD/SD DVD combos, but there is presumably a benefit to the consumer there due to the huge installed base of SD DVD players. The Blu-Ray/HD DVD combo disks would be beneficial to the studios as they might be able to print less copies overall. Also, retailers will like carrying less discs and save precious shelf space. Finally, adoption of either or both of these formats would presumably increase if all studios used these discs and put their films on both formats (I realize this should not be presumed anytime soon, but...).

In summation, if there are extra cost incurred to produce these HD hybrid discs it should be offset by cost of sales savings and not be passed onto the consumer. If they can't manage that, then this poll indicates that it would be a bad idea passing along costs to the consumer.

Are you confusing this with HD DVD/DVD combos? This is an HD DVD/Blu-ray combo being discussed. DVD is not possible on this, at this time. Hmmm, gets me thinking. With Warner also doing Twin Format Disc, would a DVD, HD DVD, & BD disc be possible? SD & HD DVD for one side and BD on the flip side?

I would have voted undecided if the poll was still open.
However, I don't mind paying extra for Total HD, provided it is a title that I'm interested in and if it's authored in top quality, both visually and audio.

Has it been disclosed if the combo discs are 30gig HD DVD/50 gig BD or do they short-change either format with single-layer performance?

Are we that much different than the market sample ? I just don't get it.Who wants this ? :(

Art

The retailers :rolleyes:

Hmmm, gets me thinking. With Warner also doing Twin Format Disc, would a DVD, HD DVD, & BD disc be possible?
maybe


SD & HD DVD for one side and BD on the flip side?
no, I am guessing with a tweak of HD DVD you might have HD DVD and BD on one side and DVD on the other. The issue is that DVD and HD DVD are at .6 mm and you need two layers. (SL DVD+SL HD DVD)+ SL(or DL) BD but that is useless. But if all HD DVD players guarantee to work through BD layers then DVD can be on side A at .6mm, HD DVD on side B at .6mm and BD on side B at .1mm. It would need to be BD+HD DVD on one side because some DVD players can't play BD and DVD on the same side.

Has it been disclosed if the combo discs are 30gig HD DVD/50 gig BD or do they short-change either format with single-layer performance?

I think WB have a press conf. tomorrow about this ...

Are we that much different than the market sample ? I just don't get it.Who wants this ? :(

Looks like Warner is Very Serious about making the HiDef DVD work - they have been one of the most supportive studios.

But there is one glitch - the format war. So, they are trying to overcome that with this disc. But if they are as pig headed about its pricing as their combo discs ... then I don't know what their marketing research agency is feeding them ...