just wanna point out that HD DVD has reached the street price point of $2**.

;) yupe .. HD DVD's cost affective advantage is showing. :D



http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-HD-D1-DVD-Player-Black/dp/B000IV6V3Q/ref=sr_1_10/103-8571942-9153440?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1173576403&sr=1-10

and the gen2 A2 player is $33* after Amazon Visa discount ... that is like $31 away from the $2** price point. And this is a model that is currently in production ;) :D

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000IJV4BC/sr/ref=pd_cp_e_title/103-8571942-9153440?ie=UTF8&qid=1173576403&sr=1-10

and with the and every purchase will also entitle purchasers to get 5 FREE HD DVDs

the $2** purchase would be like $199 wouldnt it ;) ...

just wanna point out that HD DVD has reached the street price point of $2**.

;) yupe .. HD DVD's cost affective advantage is showing. :D



http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-HD-D1-DVD-Player-Black/dp/B000IV6V3Q/ref=sr_1_10/103-8571942-9153440?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1173576403&sr=1-10

and the gen2 A2 player is $33* after Amazon Visa discount ... that is like $31 away from the $2** price point. And this is a model that is currently in production ;) :D

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000IJV4BC/sr/ref=pd_cp_e_title/103-8571942-9153440?ie=UTF8&qid=1173576403&sr=1-10

and with the and every purchase will also entitle purchasers to get 5 FREE HD DVDs

the $2** purchase would be like $199 wouldnt it ;) ...


If we're counting 'Visa Discounts' in price points, my grandma gave me a check for my birthday, and Blu-Ray players are in the $100 price point for me...

If we're counting 'Visa Discounts' in price points, my grandma gave me a check for my birthday, and Blu-Ray players are in the $100 price point for me...

Oh and I got a free PS3 with a new Sharp Aquos from Newegg! Thats a street price of $0!!!! :rolleyes:

1.) Shouldn't this be in the HD DVD hardware area.
2.) Isn't this the Wal-mart exclusive version of the A1?

Oh and I got a free PS3 with a new Sharp Aquos from Newegg! Thats a street price of $0!!!! :rolleyes:

And if we discount BR fanboys' posts who joined in the last 2 months to operate as viral marketers in the HD-DVD forums, we get 50% less filler.

And if we discount BR fanboys' posts who joined in the last 2 months to operate as viral marketers in the HD-DVD forums, we get 50% less filler.

Wow, I've made fanboy status already?

Actually I'm not a fanboy, but I hate flawed logic that says a discount totally unrelated to a specific product can/should be used in stating the product's price is at a certain point. I could have used HD DVD as my example, and it doesn't really matter.

If we're counting 'Visa Discounts' in price points, my grandma gave me a check for my birthday, and Blu-Ray players are in the $100 price point for me...

actually the $290 is excluding the Amazon Visa discount. The Visa discount applies to the A2's $330, not the D1.

how many grand children did your grandma gave checks to during your birthday anyway? :p

As much as the OP is a tad too gleeful, I wish some of the BR fanboys would cool it in their responses. There have been plenty of posts over the last year for BOTH formats pointing out great street prices of various players under certain introductory deals (airline miles, etc.)

Lets keep the zealotry to a minimum... he said in vain.

The Toshiba HD-D1 has been available in normal distribution channels (aside from Wal-Mart) for a couple of months now. The MSRP has been lowered to $299.95.

Eric

The Toshiba HD-D1 has been available in normal distribution channels (aside from Wal-Mart) for a couple of months now. The MSRP has been lowered to $299.95.

Eric

$276 here http://www.thenerds.net/index.php?page=productpage&affid=2&pn=HDD1&srccode=cii_5784816&cpncode=12-21281492-2

So is Toshiba just dumping old stock or is this their low-end player which they are continuing to manufacture?

The beginning of the end.

The beginning of the end.

The HD-D1 started out at $500 msrp and now goes for about half that price. The Samsung BD player started out at $1000 and I can buy it today for $500 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F99FDE/ref=pd_cmp_a_name/002-0306494-4822408

I guess it the beginning of the end for BD as well. :rolleyes:

What.. LOL it's funny in 1997 in bought a DVD player for 900$CAD... in 1999 i sold it 500$ to buy a Panasonic with was around the same price ... now i can't even sell my 799$ HD A1 .. 300$ not even 1 year after..

how many grand children did your grandma gave checks to during your birthday anyway? :p

I don't know, but my sister used to get what I got for my birthday...and that used to suck :rolleyes:

Just did some checking. The D1 is a re-badged A! so you get the Analog Outputs for the advanced sound formats.

Here is the spec page form Wal-Mart's site


http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4790608#Specifications

$275 is a pretty powerful argument for an impulse buyer.

Sony's cheapest standalone player will be $600 when it launches at the middle of the year, yet it does not include advanced audio decoding for DD+ or TrueHD - which the A1/D1 HD DVD player does. Nor does the Sony have the network ports or advanced HDi interactive features.

HD DVD price advantages are getting to the point where they are going to start shifting even more volume, IMO...

$275 is a pretty powerful argument for an impulse buyer.

Sony's cheapest standalone player will be $600 when it launches at the middle of the year, yet it does not include advanced audio decoding for DD+ or TrueHD - which the A1/D1 HD DVD player does. Nor does the Sony have the network ports or advanced HDi interactive features.

HD DVD price advantages are getting to the point where they are going to start shifting even more volume, IMO...


Well the recent article that claimed HD-DVD player sales would reach 1.7 million by year's end speaks volumes to your point. How anyone can proclaim this format is dead when it is on pace to have this many players in homes by the end of the year is beyond me! I guarantee -- if HD-DVD does hit those numbers, there WILL be more studios going neutral. Only an imbecile running a studio would ignore those kinds of numbers (so I guess Mike Dunn would still remain exclusive :D).

And if we discount BR fanboys' posts who joined in the last 2 months to operate as viral marketers in the HD-DVD forums, we get 50% less filler.

Did you learn the term "viral marketer" from AVS? Just wondering, since you didn't use the term correctly.

Reminds me of back in the day when people used to call every anomaly on a Mits CRT "raster ringing" when no one knew what it was. :rolleyes:

What we're seeing here are BR kids that just figured out that there's a hot debate here, and they have to defend their decision, which is already tempered by teen-angst low self esteem.

But they need to start advertising it at that rate, and doing it in more high profile locations. Best Buy is still selling theirs for $499. We need the Best Buy one to be $299.

$275 is a pretty powerful argument for an impulse buyer.

Sony's cheapest standalone player will be $600 when it launches at the middle of the year, yet it does not include advanced audio decoding for DD+ or TrueHD - which the A1/D1 HD DVD player does. Nor does the Sony have the network ports or advanced HDi interactive features.

HD DVD price advantages are getting to the point where they are going to start shifting even more volume, IMO...

You are comparing MSRP to retail pricing, no one knows what the retail pricing of the Sony unit is going to be. Robert has said he expects the new Samsung to retail for around $699, but that is all we know about retail pricing of G2 Blu-ray units.

It clearly isn't going to support HDi interactive features, what would be the point. The chip used inside the Sony unit (Sigma) can decode DD+/DTHD/DTS-HD, but it is unable to do DTS-MA, how do I know this, well, the Panasonic which uses the same Sigma chip can do all of this aswell.

So what? I bought a Samsung BD P1000 on E Bay for $401.00. What about this pricepoint? It's irrelevent!

So what? I bought a Samsung BD P1000 on E Bay for $401.00. What about this pricepoint? It's irrelevent!
You were had :)


But really, if they are selling new for under $299, that's a pretty big deal. It just depends on if that is a one off sale, or it we will see more of them.

You were had :)


But really, if they are selling new for under $299, that's a pretty big deal. It just depends on if that is a one off sale, or it we will see more of them.

Well clearly they are not, the A2 is $375 and the D1 is a clearance (they don't make these anymore) item so it seems more like a one off thing than the norm.

Well clearly they are not, the A2 is $375 and the D1 is a clearance (they don't make these anymore) item so it seems more like a one off thing than the norm.
I should learn to read the op more carefully. :)

not to significant until all the stores are selling them at this price. Most of the people I know just go to a local BB or walmart and pick items up, and until prices come to these type of stores, I don't think there will be much impact.

I should learn to read the op more carefully. :)

Don't worry, I don't think you are the first to fall for xboxboi's heavy spin, it happens to the best of us at times. :)

What we're seeing here are BR kids that just figured out that there's a hot debate here, and they have to defend their decision, which is already tempered by teen-angst low self esteem.

You're making an incorrect assumption. I don't have decisions to defend. I have a PS3. I bought it Blu-Ray playback. I don't have a horse in this race. PS3s will be around for years, regardless of the outcome of the format war. I don't have to hope in the success of Blu-Ray to ensure that I'll have hardware I can buy in 5 years that will play my Blu-Ray collection. I'm fine with HD DVD winning, as I said before, I'll have hardware I can buy for years to come. I'll have a number of hd movies that I won't have to re-purchase should HD DVD win.

I'm planning on buying a HD DVD player soon, hopefully the Xbox 360 add-on
(if my wife allows the purchase of another gaming system). The only things that I'm still hesitant about are the lack of studio support for HD DVD, and the rabid, misinformed, name calling fans. If you want to bash 'kids', you might want to take a look at the HD DVD 'kids'. I'm impressed with where HD DVD hardware is NOW, and the price point. If I buy a collection of HD DVDs, I do risk not having new hardware in 5 years to buy should my player break. If the Xbox had an embedded HD DVD drive (and HDMI), I would have purchased it already.

I'm more a fan of technology. That said, I'd say i'm pulling for Blu-Ray to win. I'd rather have 200GB discs for my data needs than a 51 GB disc. I'd rather have a format that gives studios a little more wiggle room with their movie transfers. I'd like the studios to have a choice of codecs, not just the one that looks good enough at a low bitrate.

What we're seeing here are BR kids that just figured out that there's a hot debate here, and they have to defend their decision, which is already tempered by teen-angst low self esteem.

Not really, I couldn't care less if BD died tomorrow, I would go out and buy a HD-XE1, it seems that the HD DVD guys are the ones out fighting and we always seem to be defending.

And beyond that, Schticker's remarks are the kind of generalizations that have been bringing this place down. Passive aggressive, with no purpose but to incite.

Nothing personal Schticker.

I don't know, but my sister used to get what I got for my birthday...and that used to suck :rolleyes:


:D good answer !! :D

And beyond that, Schticker's remarks are the kind of generalizations that have been bringing this place down. Passive aggressive, with no purpose but to incite.

Nothing personal Schticker.

Right. Let's forget the ignorance shown on this entire topic--to the point where we have to question the source given their immaturity--and focus instead on the speculation as to what those sources are. 90% of threads on this "war" are just like the "expensive cable" and "why not Bose" threads that are really nothing more that troll threads, and I tire of them also.

You were had :)


But really, if they are selling new for under $299, that's a pretty big deal. It just depends on if that is a one off sale, or it we will see more of them.

Anyone buying an HD-D1 at Wal-Mart or anywhere else is going to be really concerned about the slow as molasses on a cold day loading and startup times. Your average consumer who is used to DVD is going to think something is wrong. My HD-A2 was faster, but even then it was still painfully slow.

Anyone buying an HD-D1 at Wal-Mart or anywhere else is going to be really concerned about the slow as molasses on a cold day loading and startup times. Your average consumer who is used to DVD is going to think something is wrong. My HD-A2 was faster, but even then it was still painfully slow.

I agree, I played around with an HD-A2 today in CC, it's way slower than the PS3, even when accessing menus. Is the HD-XA2 any faster with menus/loading?

Pretty impressive the price of HD DVD has essentially halved in a year. I never thought it would be this fast. The potential exists for sub $200 players by Christmas.
What are the chances we'll see a sub $200 blu-ray plyer by Christmas?

Only an imbecile running a studio would ignore those kinds of numbers

Universal, Bob Black's calling on YOU! :D

PS: I love the talk of "potential" sales when BD now has the *proven* sales numbers

So, it's a fire sale.

Going out of business! Everything must go! :D

Universal, Bob Black's calling on YOU! :D

PS: I love the talk of "potential" sales when BD now has the *proven* sales numbers

read my signature. those are the sales figure for BD and HD DVD disks Since inception till 4th April !! ... BD sold <>60K more disks than HD DVD. BD as <>2mil players in the market as compared to <.0.2mil HD DVD players. BD has several times more releases than HD DVD since January. :D

So, it's a fire sale.

Going out of business! Everything must go! :D

so is the Amazon 50% off BD disks .. ALL MUST GO !!!

I'd rather spend the $500 for a PS3 than $300 for an HD DVD player considering that all the studio support is on the Blu-Ray side of things. What's the point of a cheap player if you don't have any movies being released to play on it?

*Disclaimer: I had and returned the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player, since then I have stayed out of the Great Format Wars as it seems clear to me that I would have thrown in with the losing side had I kept the 360 add-on.

There are 17 stores with the D1 in stock on pricegrabber and 5 of them are sub $299. Even if they are on closeout thats a bunch in the channel.

if you buy a blu ray player for only 300bux, you can get a ps3 for only 200!

I'd rather spend the $500 for a PS3 than $300 for an HD DVD player considering that all the studio support is on the Blu-Ray side of things. What's the point of a cheap player if you don't have any movies being released to play on it?

*Disclaimer: I had and returned the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player, since then I have stayed out of the Great Format Wars as it seems clear to me that I would have thrown in with the losing side had I kept the 360 add-on.


I think you have lost all sense of proportion when you are talking about studio support. On DVDempire, they list 19 studios as supporting HD DVD, while only 18 support BD. Of the major studios, BD has 2 more exclusive than HD DVD does. Sometimes, it's only one more, depending on how people consider Studio Canal, which appears to have reverted back to it's previous state of not publishing BD right now.

BD has about 10 more titles out right now. The score is 190+ to 180+ releases. About 60% of the releases are unique to each format. So, for example, if you have BD alone, you have access to 190 titles. If you pick up an HD DVD player to go with it, you have access to just over 300 titles.

So lets not get out of hand talking about BD's studio advantage. It's a bit more moderate than what you make it out to be.

I think you have lost all sense of proportion when you are talking about studio support. On DVDempire, they list 19 studios as supporting HD DVD, while only 18 support BD. Of the major studios, BD has 2 more exclusive than HD DVD does. Sometimes, it's only one more, depending on how people consider Studio Canal, which appears to have reverted back to it's previous state of not publishing BD right now.

BD has about 10 more titles out right now. The score is 190+ to 180+ releases. About 60% of the releases are unique to each format. So, for example, if you have BD alone, you have access to 190 titles. If you pick up an HD DVD player to go with it, you have access to just over 300 titles.

So lets not get out of hand talking about BD's studio advantage. It's a bit more moderate than what you make it out to be.It's not just the number of studios supporting the format. But the size of the studio and the strength of its films. Look at the top DVDs from last year:
Rank Title Studio Revenue*
1 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Buena Vista $293.8
2 The Chronicles of Narnia Buena Vista 282.3
3 Cars Buena Vista 269.0
4 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Warner 226.9
5 Wedding Crashers New Line 176.3
6 Walk the Line Fox 175.7
7 King Kong Universal 171.3
8 Over the Hedge DreamWorks 167.4
9 The Da Vinci Code Sony 133.7
10 Ice Age: The Meltdown Fox 132.8
11 Chicken Little Buena Vista 127.3
12 Click Sony 110.5
13 X-Men: The Last Stand Fox 109.8
14 Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Sony 102.8
15 Flightplan Buena Vista 101.1
16 Superman Returns Warner 92.1
17 The Devil Wears Prada Fox 85.6
18 High School Musical Buena Vista 82.2
19 Bambi II Buena Vista 77.1
20 Grey's Anatomy: Season 2 Buena Vista 67.5
Source: Rentrak; *$ in millions, includes DVD consumer spending on bricks-and-mortar purchases and rentals and online rentals

Blu-ray = 19
HD DVD = 5

Should all those indies HD DVD is wooing be counted as feathers in HD DVD's cap too?

I'd rather spend the $500 for a PS3 than $300 for an HD DVD player considering that all the studio support is on the Blu-Ray side of things. What's the point of a cheap player if you don't have any movies being released to play on it?

*Disclaimer: I had and returned the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player, since then I have stayed out of the Great Format Wars as it seems clear to me that I would have thrown in with the losing side had I kept the 360 add-on.

ALL the studio support huh? Man thats pretty good!

What plays in HDDVD players? 3DO games?

:D

I think you have lost all sense of proportion when you are talking about studio support. On DVDempire, they list 19 studios as supporting HD DVD, while only 18 support BD. Of the major studios, BD has 2 more exclusive than HD DVD does. Sometimes, it's only one more, depending on how people consider Studio Canal, which appears to have reverted back to it's previous state of not publishing BD right now.

BD has about 10 more titles out right now. The score is 190+ to 180+ releases. About 60% of the releases are unique to each format. So, for example, if you have BD alone, you have access to 190 titles. If you pick up an HD DVD player to go with it, you have access to just over 300 titles.

So lets not get out of hand talking about BD's studio advantage. It's a bit more moderate than what you make it out to be.

skogan -

Any perceived content production advantage depends upon the desires of individual users. Even though I am unashamedly Format Neutral, as anyone who reads my posts would know, I agree with FR's logic that it doesn't make sense to purchase a player supporting one format if a majority of the films one wants are released under the other format. Although I am not necessarily a BD supporter the marketing rights for most of the films that I would want to own in HD are held by BD-supportive studios. Thus, whether BD owns an advantage or not is up to the individual consumer.

I'd rather spend the $500 for a PS3 than $300 for an HD DVD player considering that all the studio support is on the Blu-Ray side of things. What's the point of a cheap player if you don't have any movies being released to play on it?

*Disclaimer: I had and returned the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player, since then I have stayed out of the Great Format Wars as it seems clear to me that I would have thrown in with the losing side had I kept the 360 add-on.

if you have problem with a $199 hd device that also came with a remote control and a hd dvd movie with that free, getting the hell of the hd in this early stage is an extremely smart move. ;)

It's not just the number of studios supporting the format. But the size of the studio and the strength of its films. Look at the top DVDs from last year:
Rank Title Studio Revenue*
1 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Buena Vista $293.8
2 The Chronicles of Narnia Buena Vista 282.3
3 Cars Buena Vista 269.0
4 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Warner 226.9
5 Wedding Crashers New Line 176.3
6 Walk the Line Fox 175.7
7 King Kong Universal 171.3
8 Over the Hedge DreamWorks 167.4
9 The Da Vinci Code Sony 133.7
10 Ice Age: The Meltdown Fox 132.8
11 Chicken Little Buena Vista 127.3
12 Click Sony 110.5
13 X-Men: The Last Stand Fox 109.8
14 Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Sony 102.8
15 Flightplan Buena Vista 101.1
16 Superman Returns Warner 92.1
17 The Devil Wears Prada Fox 85.6
18 High School Musical Buena Vista 82.2
19 Bambi II Buena Vista 77.1
20 Grey's Anatomy: Season 2 Buena Vista 67.5
Source: Rentrak; *$ in millions, includes DVD consumer spending on bricks-and-mortar purchases and rentals and online rentals

Blu-ray = 19
HD DVD = 5

Should all those indies HD DVD is wooing be counted as feathers in HD DVD's cap too?

you really need to read carefully before quoting people's post. He has already said that exclusivity of the titles in the USA would not quarantee BDA's goal of deprieving content to force consumers into accepting BD as the next gen movie format can be achieved. Want proofs, currently NUMEROUS exclusive BD titles are produced in other parts of the world that can be imported easily to the USA.

you really need to read carefully before quoting people's post. He has already said that exclusivity of the titles in the USA would not quarantee BDA's goal of deprieving content to force consumers into accepting BD as the next gen movie format can be achieved. Want proofs, currently NUMEROUS exclusive BD titles are produced in other parts of the world that can be imported easily to the USA.Where did skogan say this? You are such a liar! I mean this is so easy to check and still you're posting this lie!? Here is what he said and what I responded to:I think you have lost all sense of proportion when you are talking about studio support. On DVDempire, they list 19 studios as supporting HD DVD, while only 18 support BD. Of the major studios, BD has 2 more exclusive than HD DVD does. Sometimes, it's only one more, depending on how people consider Studio Canal, which appears to have reverted back to it's previous state of not publishing BD right now.

BD has about 10 more titles out right now. The score is 190+ to 180+ releases. About 60% of the releases are unique to each format. So, for example, if you have BD alone, you have access to 190 titles. If you pick up an HD DVD player to go with it, you have access to just over 300 titles.

So lets not get out of hand talking about BD's studio advantage. It's a bit more moderate than what you make it out to be.Where in this thread did skogan say what you said he said!?

Where did skogan say this? You are such a liar! I mean this is so easy to check and still you're posting this lie!? Here is what he said and what I responded to:Where in this thread did skogan say what you said he said!?

i knew it .. i knew i wasnt high. !!

Sometimes, it's only one more, depending on how people consider Studio Canal, which appears to have reverted back to it's previous state of not publishing BD right now.

i knew it .. i knew i wasnt high. !!From: Sometimes, it's only one more, depending on how people consider Studio Canal, which appears to have reverted back to it's previous state of not publishing BD right now.You got:...exclusivity of the titles in the USA would not quarantee BDA's goal of deprieving content to force consumers into accepting BD as the next gen movie format can be achieved.Jeez, I guess I owe you an apology.....NOT!

From: You got:Jeez, I guess I owe you an apology.....NOT!

if it makes you happy. sorry !! ;)

if it makes you happy. sorry !! ;)Apology accepted! :) Sorry for calling you a liar too. :o I see that you honestly read more into the post then was there. That's what happens when we wear colored glasses. I prefer the blu lenses myself. :cool:

if you have problem with a $199 hd device that also came with a remote control and a hd dvd movie with that free, getting the hell of the hd in this early stage is an extremely smart move. ;)

Hey, I can't argue with that logic. Though the remote was meaningless to me, since I had a launch 360 anyways which also came with a remote. A remote that I've never even taken out of the box, mind you. So having 2 remotes I will never use as opposed to just one wasn't a big selling point for me. And as much as I love Lord of the Rings, the truth is that Peter Jackson's Vanity Project was not a particularly good movie. I would rather have had the HD DVD movie of my choice for free as a redeemable voucher rather than Peter Jackson's Vanity Project packed in.

Plus obviously the add-on still has the messed up DD+ output which made Peter Jackson's Vanity Project sound worse on HD DVD than it did on DVD. That actually wasn't the most annoying, the audio-video sync issues on Batman Begins with the TrueHD soundtrack, that really annoyed me. I think the audio problems were what really made me send the add-on back, as the video was obviously perfect.

Even so, the point remains that the major studios on Blu-Ray's side is basically all of them, and the major studio on HD DVD's side is Universal. I have nothing against Universal personally, mind you, but one studio alone cannot fight the future.

Apology accepted! :) Sorry for calling you a liar too. :o I see that you honestly read more into the post then was there. That's what happens when we wear colored glasses. I prefer the blu lenses myself. :cool:

no worries .. blue looks good on some people anyway!! :p

Even so, the point remains that the major studios on Blu-Ray's side is basically all of them, and the major studio on HD DVD's side is Universal. I have nothing against Universal personally, mind you, but one studio alone cannot fight the future.

Studio Canal rings a bell? :p

all of the major studios are on BD's side while only Uni on HD DVd's side. Whatever happened to Paramount and Warner? maybe they are not major studios ;)

It's not just the number of studios supporting the format. But the size of the studio and the strength of its films. Look at the top DVDs from last year:
Rank Title Studio Revenue*
1 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Buena Vista $293.8
2 The Chronicles of Narnia Buena Vista 282.3
3 Cars Buena Vista 269.0
4 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Warner 226.9
5 Wedding Crashers New Line 176.3
6 Walk the Line Fox 175.7
7 King Kong Universal 171.3
8 Over the Hedge DreamWorks 167.4
9 The Da Vinci Code Sony 133.7
10 Ice Age: The Meltdown Fox 132.8
11 Chicken Little Buena Vista 127.3
12 Click Sony 110.5
13 X-Men: The Last Stand Fox 109.8
14 Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Sony 102.8
15 Flightplan Buena Vista 101.1
16 Superman Returns Warner 92.1
17 The Devil Wears Prada Fox 85.6
18 High School Musical Buena Vista 82.2
19 Bambi II Buena Vista 77.1
20 Grey's Anatomy: Season 2 Buena Vista 67.5
Source: Rentrak; *$ in millions, includes DVD consumer spending on bricks-and-mortar purchases and rentals and online rentals

Blu-ray = 19
HD DVD = 5

Should all those indies HD DVD is wooing be counted as feathers in HD DVD's cap too?

While I understand there will be some consistancy (sp?) year-to-year, I'm not sure that a particular year's "hit movies" should or would be the deciding factor for many people. What if Sony or Disney have a bad run at the box office in 2007? It certainly has happened. So yes, that list looks good for BR this year. I don't know the answer, but I wonder what a 3, 5 or 7 year run looks like? Anyone know? To me, that would be far more instructive/telling as to whether or not the specific studios being BR-only is a big advantage or a small one.

While I understand there will be some consistancy (sp?) year-to-year, I'm not sure that a particular year's "hit movies" should or would be the deciding factor for many people. What if Sony or Disney have a bad run at the box office in 2007? It certainly has happened. So yes, that list looks good for BR this year. I don't know the answer, but I wonder what a 3, 5 or 7 year run looks like? Anyone know? To me, that would be far more instructive/telling as to whether or not the specific studios being BR-only is a big advantage or a small one.The DVD top sellers are the same titles that will drive HD disc sales. Of the major studios, Blu-ray is only missing Universal. Here's a revised chart from a 2005 article covering the studio breakdown. http://www.dvdfile.com/news/viewpoints/editors_desk/2005/02_14.html

HD-DVD Number of Domestic Blu-ray Number of Domestic
Studios Titles Gross $M Studios Titles Gross $M

Universal 15 3530.6 Sony 7 1806.4
MGM 3 536.6
Disney 19 4261.2
Fox 17 4491.3
Warner 21 4970.4 Warner 21 4970.4
Paramount 13 3114.7 Paramount 13 3114.7

Totals 49 11615.7 80 19180.6Percent of Gross:
Blu-ray = 19180.6/22711.2 = 84.5%
HD DVD = 11615.7/22711.2 = 51.1%

Percent of Titles:
Blu-ray = 80/95 = 84.2%
HD DVD = 49/95 = 51.6%

The market share of both formats is similar to these over the past ten years. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/

Looking forward here's last week's chart:Top DVD Sellers For Week Ended 3/4/2007

1 FLUSHED AWAY (DW/PAR, $29.99) 64.5
2 THE DEPARTED (WB, $28.98) 131.1
3 STRANGER THAN FICTION (SONY, $28.95) 40.4
4 THE PRESTIGE (BV, $29.99) 53.1
5 BABEL (PAR, $29.99) 33.8
6 TENACIOUS D IN THE PICK OF DESTINY (NL/WB, $27.98) 8.3
7 A GOOD YEAR (FOX, $29.99) 7.5
8 MAN OF THE YEAR (UNI, $29.98) 37.4
9 LAND BEFORE TIME XII(UNI, $19.98) -
10 CINDERELLA III: A TWIST IN TIME (BV, $29.99) -
11 OPEN SEASON (SONY, $28.95) 84.3
12 LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (FOX, $29.98) 59.4
13 BRATZ: FASHION PIXIEZ (LG, $19.98) -
14 FLICKA (FOX, $29.99) 21.0
15 FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS (DW/PAR, $29.99) 33.6
16 CARS (BV, $29.98) 244.1
17 THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA (FOX, $29.99) 124.7
18 DISNEY'S LITTLE EINSTEINS (BV, $19.99) -
19 THE ILLUSIONIST (FOX, $29.99) 39.8
20 MARIE ANTOINETTE (SONY, $28.95) 16.0

Source: Rentrak’s Retail EssentialsBlu-ray = 18 (90%)
HD DVD = 7 (35%)

Here is Universal's top 10 movies of all-time1 E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial $359,197,037 6/11/1982
2 Jurassic Park $357,067,947 6/11/1993
3 Meet the Fockers $279,261,160 12/22/2004
4 How the Grinch Stole Christmas $260,044,825 11/17/2000
5 Jaws $260,000,000 6/20/1975
6 Bruce Almighty $242,829,261 5/23/2003
7 The Lost World: Jurassic Park $229,086,679 5/22/1997
8 King Kong $218,080,025 12/14/2005
9 Back to the Future $210,609,762 7/3/1985
10 The Mummy Returns $202,019,785 5/4/2001Four of the biggest Universal blockbusters ('Jaws,' 'Jurassic Park' and 'E.T.') were directed by Spielberg who is holding off their release in HD. Back to the Future was produced by Spielberg but directed by Zemeckis.

So you might be able to grab a cheap HD player but it may not be worth it to you if you're not a fan of the Fockers.

read my signature. those are the sales figure for BD and HD DVD disks Since inception till 4th April !! ... BD sold <>60K more disks than HD DVD. BD as <>2mil players in the market as compared to <.0.2mil HD DVD players. BD has several times more releases than HD DVD since January. :D


Ok, so BD is underperforming and outselling HD DVD, and that is good for HD DVD...

Just trying to figure out where you stand there.


You realize that they make money on the number of movies sold, not the percentage of movies per device right?

Jurassic Park would help HD-DVD, but really I'm not that sold that Jaws or E.T. would move units en masse.

You need newer releases than that, not stuff that's 20-30 years old and already has been out on DVD for years on top of that. Unless you're talking about the Star Wars movies.

Jurassic Park would help HD-DVD, but really I'm not that sold that Jaws or E.T. would move units en masse.

You need newer releases than that, not stuff that's 20-30 years old and already has been out on DVD for years on top of that. Unless you're talking about the Star Wars movies.

I think these would really move the enthusiasts (you know, US), but to really move large quantities new releases are the key.

I think these would really move the enthusiasts (you know, US), but to really move large quantities new releases are the key.

Yeah that's the problem. Universal is absolutely the wrong studio to have a movie format riding on. If it was Warner, Fox, or Disney/BV ... it might have a chance.

Universal really hasn't done anything since Spielberg left to form Dreamworks. The first Mummy film was fun, but The Mummy Returns, The Scorpion King, and then Van Helsing were basically duds (though I will give The Scorpion King extra marks for Kelly Hu).

Universal's more recent attempts to create a new big time franchise in The Hulk was a spectacular failure.

jHD DVD's cost affective advantage is showing.What cost-effective advantage? There's still zero evidence that it's cheaper to build an HD DVD player than a Blu-ray player. Yes, Blu-ray has a slightly more expensive optical unit. This is offset by Blu-ray's drastically higher volumes and the greater CPU power required in HD DVD (to support HDi).

Toshiba's price-cutting is strictly a response to the increasing volume and decreasing cost of Blu-ray players. Blu-ray pricing is being driven by competition. HD DVD pricing is being driven by desperation.

And, incidentally, every price cut by Toshiba just further guarantees you'll see no other mainstream CE vendors enter the market. There's only room (barely) for ultra-cheap no-names or high-end players (which will look increasingly less attractive with the increasing content gap).

- Talk

So, Talk, this means we can expect some chinese $199 Bluray players as well? I mean this year.

So, Talk, this means we can expect some chinese $199 Bluray players as well? I mean this year.


Not gonna happen, It's pretty funny to see people try and spin hd dvd's large price advantage as a negative.

What cost-effective advantage? There's still zero evidence that it's cheaper to build an HD DVD player than a Blu-ray player. Yes, Blu-ray has a slightly more expensive optical unit. This is offset by Blu-ray's drastically higher volumes and the greater CPU power required in HD DVD (to support HDi).

Toshiba's price-cutting is strictly a response to the increasing volume and decreasing cost of Blu-ray players. Blu-ray pricing is being driven by competition. HD DVD pricing is being driven by desperation.

And, incidentally, every price cut by Toshiba just further guarantees you'll see no other mainstream CE vendors enter the market. There's only room (barely) for ultra-cheap no-names or high-end players (which will look increasingly less attractive with the increasing content gap).

- Talk

If anything, it appears more CE's are jumping onto HD DVD. Meridian, Onkyo, Samaung, LG and the Chinese to name a few.

As for the blu-ray side, they've added LG and um, I can't think of any others.

The D1 is the discontinued black-faced version of the A1. (G1) It does have the attraction of brick s***-house construction and multichannel analog outputs.

The MSRP is actually down to $300.

They are being rather disingenuous to show $599 scratched out. It was never that much.

So, Talk, this means we can expect some chinese $199 Bluray players as well? I mean this year.I doubt it. There has been no apparent outreach by the Blu-ray side to the Chinese manufacturers since there are already plenty of manufacturers represented. LG, Samsung, and Funai (for starters) will ensure good price competition without immediately commoditizing the format and sucking all the profit out for manufacturers.

If anything, it appears more CE's are jumping onto HD DVD. Meridian, Onkyo, Samaung, LG and the Chinese to name a few.

As for the blu-ray side, they've added LG and um, I can't think of any others.Funai has been announced; there are other very interesting developments underway which haven't been.