Well guys, I started this thread to make sure that everyone has access to it prior to CEDIA and for the reason of "I told you" so when we finally hear the news starting Sept. 5th. Of course I might be wrong, but something tells me that we will hear very very positive HD DVD news.

1. Warner will go exclusive and I base this assumption with their open support for HD DVD on their hi-def website where under Tech Specs and In-Movie experience they don't mention B out of Blu-Ray but list HD DVD hardware and capabilities. The fact that they have stopped shipping hi-def titles until Sept. 5th when CEDIA starts and will most likely announce their exclusivity, thus shipping only HD DVD movies from that point. And a few other notices from 2nd hand insiders within either studio or HD DVD promoters.

UPDATE: And interesting article came out from USA Today that lists Harry Potter titles as HD DVD Only, another +1 to the Warner going exclusive HD DVD. http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/dvd/2007-08-27-download-side_N.htm

2. We will see great news about hardware, be it $149 chinese players or Walmart deal going through

3. SD DVDs being replaced with HD DVD/DVD combos or twin discs.

Next Wednesday we will see people saying the exact opposite then they are saying today. The format war will be close to over with these news and all articles would change the tone to favor HD DVD now as the ultimate winner, something we've all known since the beginning. It was just matter of time.

This will be a fun thread where we will quote Blu-bois with their illogical and PR fed conclusions. Let's see if anyone gets it right from them, but as they are usually just repeating what they are being told by BD PR, I think we are in for good laughs.

I'm going with 2 major studios going exclusive:

-Warner Bros. I think it's a done deal and they're just waiting for the show to formally announce it.

-New Line Cinema(a division of Time Warner) will follow with their announcement of supporting HD-DVD exclusively.

-Lionsgate goes neutral.

-Disney goes neutral. I highly doubt it but it's getting some talk. If Disney went neutral, I'd say this is *almost* as big as Warner going exclusive.

-$150.00 HD standalone player via Walmart. If Walmart backs HD-DVD with these supposed players, it'll be huge.

Sony / BDA will announce that the war is over and that they won (again).

I 100% agree with you Nfinity!

I do believe very strongly about Warner and New Line going HD-DVD exclusive!

I also know the Chinese players will be making a big impact in the market and if Walmart comes through then it's going to be one sweet deal!


Also Martijua that will also be true!

One thing is certain.. somewhere a nerd will be crying.

I have no idea what's going to happen but it certainly does make you think something is going to happen since they're not shipping any hi-def titles until after that date. Way, way too coincidental. I'll hold off my excitement because until they say it, it's 50/50 that HD-DVD will be the format they go exclusive to.

If New Line Cinema follows Warner to wherever they go, that is absolutely huge. Those 2 things alone would put either side in total meltdown mode.

If indeed Warner/New-Line go HD-DVD exclusive like a lot of people are thinking, to me that will be a tough, tough mountain for Blu-Ray to climb. If you're looking at Paramount, Universal, Warner, and New Line ALL being exclusive to HD-DVD, those are some heavy hitters and a lot of great movies that will be HD-DVD only. Match that with the steadily dropping prices of players, and it would be amazing to see the literal 180 degree turn this whole "war" would take in terms of public perception of which format is "dying."

Oh and I will be surprised if this thread even makes it to Sept. 5th lol. Should be some interesting responses.

I would guess any major HDDVD announcements will be hardware related.

Sony / BDA will announce that the war is over and that they won (again).

This is the most likely thing to happen that has been listed thus far.

Hope I'm wrong.

Because of the new chinese player announced today, I'm thinking the big CEDIA announcements will be software or studio related. If after all this they just announce one new player that's not the aforementioned chinese player from Venturer, I think many people are going to be quite disappointed. If I had to bet on one thing, it's Warner announcing exclusivity. I think it's too early for blu-ray studios to announce neutrality, but if Warner goes, we may see those dominos fall a short time later.

i've been saying this for weeks already

1 major will go exclusive
1 minor will go neutral

lots of new ce's for hddvd because of the static price of 199 for entry level

wal mart
xbox 360 a/o price cut to 129
xbox360 further price reduction with combo a/o for 99 bucks

big bang announcement which is 50/50 currently but if it happens will make blu ray drop to nothingness causing a tidal wave of defections

I agree ,CEDIA will show players no major announcements (Paramount magnitude).

Art

I predict both sides announcing cheap players. Since it's a hardware convention, I'm not exactly predicting studio announcements...

I agree ,CEDIA will show players no major announcements (Paramount magnitude).

Art

I agree, no software stuff really.

I predict the following:

1) BDA holds a party on an Aircraft Carrier and announces Blu-Ray has won the war again with a Mission Accomplished banner in the background.

2) Warner dropping Total HD and Blu-Ray and going HD DVD Exclusive.

3) Lionsgate could go neutral.

4) Chineese HD DVD Player assault for holiday season.

5) Transformers and Shrek release date announcements.

6) Universal/Warner/Paramount announce future HD DVD titles will start shipping in DVD/HD DVD hybrid format starting next year.

Well guys, I started this thread to make sure that everyone has access to it prior to CEDIA and for the reason of "I told you" so when we finally hear the news starting Sept. 5th. Of course I might be wrong, but something tells me that we will hear very very positive HD DVD news.

1. Warner will go exclusive and I base this assumption with their open support for HD DVD on their hi-def website where under Tech Specs and In-Movie experience they don't mention B out of Blu-Ray but list HD DVD hardware and capabilities. The fact that they have stopped shipping hi-def titles until Sept. 5th when CEDIA starts and will most likely announce their exclusivity, thus shipping only HD DVD movies from that point. And a few other notices from 2nd hand insiders within either studio or HD DVD promoters.

2. We will see great news about hardware, be it $149 chinese players or Walmart deal going through

3. SD DVDs being replaced with HD DVD/DVD combos or twin discs.

Next Wednesday we will see people saying the exact opposite then they are saying today. The format war will be close to over with these news and all articles would change the tone to favor HD DVD now as the ultimate winner, something we've all known since the beginning. It was just matter of time.

This will be a fun thread where we will quote Blu-bois with their illogical and PR fed conclusions. Let's see if anyone gets it right from them, but as they are usually just repeating what they are being told by BD PR, I think we are in for good laughs.

I think you are going to hit 2 for 3, but my gut tells me that you are going to hit 3 for 3.:D

One thing is certain.. somewhere a nerd will be crying.

My only laugh-out-loud moment so far today. Thanks.

I agree ,CEDIA will show players no major announcements (Paramount magnitude).



I agree.
I'll go further and predict that the hardware announcements will be on the whole, fairly underwhelming.

and I go even further that Warner will not go exclusive this year.
They can make money with the Bd format this Xmas season and they will.
But next year is when things start to coalesce.

and nerds start to weep

Well guys, I started this thread to make sure that everyone has access to it prior to CEDIA and for the reason of "I told you" so when we finally hear the news starting Sept. 5th. Of course I might be wrong, but something tells me that we will hear very very positive HD DVD news.

1. Warner will go exclusive and I base this assumption with their open support for HD DVD on their hi-def website where under Tech Specs and In-Movie experience they don't mention B out of Blu-Ray but list HD DVD hardware and capabilities. The fact that they have stopped shipping hi-def titles until Sept. 5th when CEDIA starts and will most likely announce their exclusivity, thus shipping only HD DVD movies from that point. And a few other notices from 2nd hand insiders within either studio or HD DVD promoters.

2. We will see great news about hardware, be it $149 chinese players or Walmart deal going through

3. SD DVDs being replaced with HD DVD/DVD combos or twin discs.

Next Wednesday we will see people saying the exact opposite then they are saying today. The format war will be close to over with these news and all articles would change the tone to favor HD DVD now as the ultimate winner, something we've all known since the beginning. It was just matter of time.

This will be a fun thread where we will quote Blu-bois with their illogical and PR fed conclusions. Let's see if anyone gets it right from them, but as they are usually just repeating what they are being told by BD PR, I think we are in for good laughs.

We're pretty close (if not there already) to #2, with today's VENTURER player!:cool:

I predict the following:

1) BDA holds a party on an Aircraft Carrier and announces Blu-Ray has won the war again with a Mission Accomplished banner in the background.

That cracked me up :D

So is the BD coalition going to start trying to come up with an exit strategy?

Last time there was a show where we all thought there would be announcements out the wazoo was EMA, and nothing got announced.

Thus, I expect nothing significant on the software side to be announced at this show.

Here's my prediction:

A good time had by all!

I predict the following:

1) BDA holds a party on an Aircraft Carrier and announces Blu-Ray has won the war again with a Mission Accomplished banner in the background.

2) Warner dropping Total HD and Blu-Ray and going HD DVD Exclusive.

3) Lionsgate could go neutral.

4) Chineese HD DVD Player assault for holiday season.

5) Transformers and Shrek release date announcements.

6) Universal/Warner/Paramount announce future HD DVD titles will start shipping in DVD/HD DVD hybrid format starting next year.

:D

Here's my prediction:

A good time had by all!

Awwwww. That is so cute.

Let's all hold hands and sing "Kumbaya". :D

Thanks- I try.

My expectations are with big software and hardware announcements. Maybe a studio announcement but that is less likely.

1. It will be confirmed or denied whether the triple layer HD DVD will be used for movies. Other fall out announcements will come from this, i.e. SL17/DL34 discs, 1.5X bandwidth.

2. The triple layer hybrid disc is complete and ready DLHD/SLDVD or SLHD/DLSVS

3. Some form of inexpensive Chinese HD DVD player in addition to the Venturer which was just announced.

4. Official prices for the A3/A30/A35 + sales promotion on all remaining A2/A20 players (XA2 remains Toshiba's flagship)

5. XBox 360 HD DVD add-on price drop to $150

Since new Line is part of Warner do they have an option of staying format nuetral if Warner goes hddvd exclusive. I don't think so but I could be wrong. They also distribute HBO and BBC titles. So if Warner goes hddvd exclusive those 4 studios should follow. Now if only they wouldn't have gone format nuetral and lost MGM before the war started!

Hookers will make a ton of money.

There is also no doubt in my mind a studio announcement will happen. Either Warner hddvd exclusive or Disney format neutral.

Mighty bold claims in this thread.. can't say I don't want to agree tho :D

One thing is certain.. somewhere a nerd will be crying.

I LOL'd.

Again I ask, why would Disney be traveling around the US right now as we speak to educate people of Blu-Ray? But then suddenly go neutral or exclusive to HD-DVD? It makes no sense, but wishful thinking. Why would Warner go exclusive when 300 on Blu-Ray absolutely SMOKED the HD-DVD release? Warner is something that CAN happen for HD-DVD. Disney going neutral is a LONG LONG way off.

Hookers will make a ton of money.
My first and last LOL moment today. Thanks.

My only laugh-out-loud moment so far today. Thanks.

+1 nerd:D

At first I didn't think Warner would really go exclusive, but I can see the link being made between not shipping anymore HD releases until the 5th and CEDIA also being on the 5th, so I do think they might go exclusive to HD-DVD. I, too, also think a small studio like Lionsgate will go neutral.

And of course with the announcement of the Chinese player today, we'll probably hear a lot about HD-DVD holding the lowest prices through the end of the year.

One thing is certain.. somewhere a nerd will be crying.

LOL :D:D:D

I have no idea how I missed this one earlier!:)

Again I ask, why would Disney be traveling around the US right now as we speak to educate people of Blu-Ray? But then suddenly go neutral or exclusive to HD-DVD? It makes no sense, but wishful thinking. Why would Warner go exclusive when 300 on Blu-Ray absolutely SMOKED the HD-DVD release? Warner is something that CAN happen for HD-DVD. Disney going neutral is a LONG LONG way off.

With their very problematic BD-J features (I still can't get the Pirates features to work on my 94HD) no BD 1.1 players in site I don't think it is as far off as people think.

I think a lot of you guys are confusing CEDIA with CES.

I don't expect any big software or studio announcments other than maybe something offhand (as in "this unit will be promoted heavily with ads featuring the Transformers HD DVD" etc)

Disney will be going neutral so that they can stop drooling over all the interactive features they wanted from day one, and helped develop along with Microsoft, yet canot use on their current "exclusive" format.

Again I ask, why would Disney be traveling around the US right now as we speak to educate people of Blu-Ray? But then suddenly go neutral or exclusive to HD-DVD?

For the same reason that Paramount had announced and prepped promotional materials for Blades of Glory, Top Gun and Transformers on BD and then suddenly went exclusive to HD DVD. Sometimes plans change. Sometimes they change mid-stream. Sometimes signed contracts have to be seen to their conclusions before new strategies can be employed.

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Industry_Trends/Venturer/Hardware/Venturer_to_Release_Budget_HD_DVD_Player_for_the_Holidays/905

It appears that the $150 mark is about to be a reality on the HD DVD side.

Again I ask, why would Disney be traveling around the US right now as we speak to educate people of Blu-Ray? But then suddenly go neutral or exclusive to HD-DVD? It makes no sense, but wishful thinking. Why would Warner go exclusive when 300 on Blu-Ray absolutely SMOKED the HD-DVD release? Warner is something that CAN happen for HD-DVD. Disney going neutral is a LONG LONG way off.

The Blu-Ray version of 300 didn't do any better than any other dual format release. Most releases kept a 2:1 ratio favoring Blu-Ray including Paramount releases. Also from what I understand Disney isn't promoting Blu-Ray, it's Pioneer or Panasonic using Disney movies.

Again I ask, ... Why would Warner go exclusive when 300 on Blu-Ray absolutely SMOKED the HD-DVD release? Warner is something that CAN happen for HD-DVD. ...

From David Vaughn's post @ HTSpot ...

We are at the point now that major releases have the ability to sell over 100,000 copies on each format (look at 300 for example). The cost to produce and release a title on a BD50 is higher than a HD30...this is a fact, not speculation. Sony's deal with Paramount was to subsidise the cost in order to get them to go neutral...that deal is now over with and Paramount has to bear the cost, which makes it much harder to turn a profit on the BD discs. That is the one thing that everyone keeps forgetting in this...profit is what keeps businesses alive, not formats. The cost of manufacturing a HD DVD is much lower than a BD50 disc and now that we are talking about 100,000+ discs and not 10,000 discs, it is becoming an issue.

If you're interested, read the entire "Paramount now exclusively supports HD DVD! " (http://www.***************.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/138273/tp/1/) thread. Some very informative including comments from John Kotches (Secrets of Home Theater).

Phil

One thing is certain.. somewhere a nerd will be crying.

Come on......I think I just pissed myself!!! :):D:eek:

Freddy

I think the Warner exclusivity is a real possibility (I hope so anyway and New Line announcing some of their great titles!).

However, I also think Toshiba will unveil their Holidays package. IMO this will include a Paramount title free with the player. Some people would say Transformers. However, I think it will be one of the Shrek movies (not necessarily Shrek the Third). Reasoning; Holidays, kids have pester power and will want Shrek. Transformers is a big movie but Paramount will want to make lots from this. Shrek had luke-warm responses generally, but the kids will love it.

Tosh's 1080p/24 update will probably be announced.

A few more cheap players will be unveiled and the Onkyo player will get a price/release date (before the holidays).

One thing is certain.. somewhere a nerd will be crying.

LMAO!

Sony / BDA will announce that the war is over and that they won (again).


This is awesome and whats really funny is that most BD fanbois will take it seriously!!!:D:D:D:D:D

As much as I would like WB to go HD DVD XC, I have my doubts...

Just spoke with my contact at WB and she confirms that "Return to House on Haunted Hill" will show a more complete version for Blu-ray (seamless branching). Look for this release to favor the Blu-ray version vs. the HD-DVD version.

All of this on the heels of Nickerson's departure from WB. I wonder what's cooking ;)

Also she says to expect to see "Batman Begins" in November and possibly a new release (new encode/special features) on "300" on Blu-ray.

~Josh

I know, I know, a lot of people don't believe what he says, and I did not pay much mind to the "what else is cooking" comment, but at what he said about Batman Begins, and Return to House on Haunted Hill, if those turn out to be true, it only means that WB is still staying neutral. Just to be realistic anything can happen, 2 weeks ago no one thought P/DW could go HD DVD, but if WB for some reason goes BD XC by CEDIA, that would really suck :mad:, so let's not jinx it :p

2 weeks ago no one thought P/DW could go HD DVD, but if WB for some reason goes BD XC by CEDIA, that would really suck :mad:, so let's not jinx it :p

You just might have just jinx it!!!! :mad:

Another possibility is that a BD CE company will go neutral. Reasoning:

Sony has nigh on all of the hardware sales. The other CE co's get a very small share of the pie thanks to the PS3. The CEs want a bigger pie. To this, I saw a news article that Pioneer are to release a dual format PC drive. If this is true, then it is not a big stretch to think Pioneer will be the next BD CE manufacturer to go dual format in the standalone market.

You just might have just jinx it!!!! :mad:


:(

Warner announces 3 significant things:
-The abondonment of TotalHD
-HD DVD exclusivity (showing off Harry Potter movies)
-New Line HD DVD exclusivity and releases (showing off LOTR movies)

Venturer HD DVD player full specs, release date, and pricing (for SOON)
on display, fully functional showing above movies

Onkyo HD DVD player full specs, release date, and pricing (for SOON)
on display, fully functional showing above movies

Walmart announces BIG deal with HD DVD (maybe not exclusive due to PS3, but heavily favoring Venturer players and HD DVD software)

Blockbuster changes its stance and returns to neutrality due to Paramount/Dreamworks/Warner

Toshiba announces 3 significant things:
-FW for all players activates DTS-HD Master Audio
-FW for 2nd gen players activates 1080p/24fps
-announces that 3rd gen players are Triple Layer ready

Microsoft announces a black HD DVD add-on to match the new XBOX 360 Platinum Edition

Warner, Universal, Paramount (and all subsidieries) announce that all NEW releases will be HD DVD combo ONLY. No more SD only releases (this was hinted at with the specs for Star Trek, but ignored...as was HD DVD exlusivity)

In general the HD DVD promotions group welcomes and thanks all new (and old) partners, touts recent upswing in player and software sales, illustrates cost advantages of HD DVD to companies/manufactureres, announces some new surprising titles with release dates sooner rather than later (Back to the Future Trilogy, LOTR Trilogy, Harry Potter 5, Godfather Trilogy...one triology for each studio:)

Obviously this is a wish list for me. Based on not really any fact. Just thinking these things will all be announced between Cedia and CES. I figure Cedia would be better to jumpstart the holiday season.

disney is not going neutral because there is no region coding

I *hope* WB goes neutral...if they do, it's game over for bluray.

WB, Paramount, Universal > Disney, Fox, Sony.... The former make good movies and the latter just put out summer time big budget popcorn trash.

Well guys, I started this thread to make sure that everyone has access to it prior to CEDIA and for the reason of "I told you" so when we finally hear the news starting Sept. 5th. Of course I might be wrong, but something tells me that we will hear very very positive HD DVD news.

1. Warner will go exclusive and I base this assumption with their open support for HD DVD on their hi-def website where under Tech Specs and In-Movie experience they don't mention B out of Blu-Ray but list HD DVD hardware and capabilities. The fact that they have stopped shipping hi-def titles until Sept. 5th when CEDIA starts and will most likely announce their exclusivity, thus shipping only HD DVD movies from that point. And a few other notices from 2nd hand insiders within either studio or HD DVD promoters.

2. We will see great news about hardware, be it $149 chinese players or Walmart deal going through

3. SD DVDs being replaced with HD DVD/DVD combos or twin discs.

Next Wednesday we will see people saying the exact opposite then they are saying today. The format war will be close to over with these news and all articles would change the tone to favor HD DVD now as the ultimate winner, something we've all known since the beginning. It was just matter of time.

This will be a fun thread where we will quote Blu-bois with their illogical and PR fed conclusions. Let's see if anyone gets it right from them, but as they are usually just repeating what they are being told by BD PR, I think we are in for good laughs.

You are setting yourself up for major embarrasment and to look like a fool.

blu-ray IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE.

You are setting yourself up for major embarrasment and to look like a fool.

blu-ray IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE.

Of course it isnt, the PS3 is still missing good games.

Sept 6 maybe the day I jump into HD DVD then :D

1. Warner will go exclusive.


I am a HD DVD supporter but I don't think this is happening.

Penton Man at bluray.com confirmed that House at Haunted Hill will be released on both BD and HD DVD, with the BD version having seamless branching. If that's the case, then WB does not appear to be going HD exclusive in the near future.

Unlike some other pro-BD posters/rumor-mongers, from every indication Penton Man has legitimate insider sources and, regardless of whether you agree with his pro-BD position or not, his information has been accurate AFAIK.

I really wish people would not be making these (IMO) overly optimistic predictions of CEDIA announcements such as WB exclusive + Disney & Lionsgate neutrality, as we are setting ourselves up for disappointment if/when they do not happen.

Case in point - do you remember when the overly optimistic predictions for CES did not pan out? Many HD DVD supporters went from ecstacy to agony in record time, and the unmet (unrealistic) expectations contributed mightly to the post-CES HD DVD funk for most of the 1st half of the year, while giving BD supporters much to gloat about.

I urge my fellow HD DVD supporters to not let history repeat itself please - if major announcements happen, great, but let's not set ourselves up for disappointment.

One thing is certain.. somewhere a nerd will be crying.

I've been reading this forum for years, and as you can probably tell by my post count, am not compelled to post much. But damn, this slayed me. LOL.

You are setting yourself up for major embarrasment and to look like a fool.

blu-ray IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE.

Originally Posted by dildatonr
One thing is certain.. somewhere a nerd will be crying.:D

The BDA will announce that mandatory compliance for profile 1.1 will be delayed until sometime in 2008.

(If not at CEDIA prior to November 1st)

:D


LOL

As much as I would like WB to go HD DVD XC, I have my doubts...



I know, I know, a lot of people don't believe what he says, and I did not pay much mind to the "what else is cooking" comment, but at what he said about Batman Begins, and Return to House on Haunted Hill, if those turn out to be true, it only means that WB is still staying neutral. Just to be realistic anything can happen, 2 weeks ago no one thought P/DW could go HD DVD, but if WB for some reason goes BD XC by CEDIA, that would really suck :mad:, so let's not jinx it :p

You know what..let's put this to rest once and for all. I will try to get in touch with high-up person in WB and confirm whether or not this is true. I worked with WB on numerous ocassions and I will get the confirmation if these titles are indeed coming to Blu-Ray as these guys are saying especially as I worked with WB on 300 title promotion.

Fortunately I have access to this, so I can double check and discredit them once and for all.

One thing is certain.. somewhere a nerd will be crying.

LoolllLLLl:D

Best response on any of this.

1) Fox will announce neutrality and not release movies on both formats
2) Sony will announce that they will release single sided disks with both a DVD and Blu Ray layer readable by the PS3 (but not anyone else's players) History will repeat itself and like the SACD no one will care except a small niche population of geeks who are stuck with a proprietary format
3)Sony will come to the sad realization that most PS3's were bought for games and now that software developers actually have figured out the programing and good games become plentiful that no one is spending any money on overpriced movies.
4) The total times someone on this forum proclaims that a minor event will result in HD-DVD winning the war becomes 95,632 vs. Blu Rays paltry 87,400 times.

HD DVD supporters need to get a handle on their expectations - this optimisim is nuts! Same thing happened last year and basically nothing was announced. Do you really think Sony doesn't have something up its sleeve? Paramount was nice - be very happy with that!

Cheers,

Grant

Since new Line is part of Warner do they have an option of staying format nuetral if Warner goes hddvd exclusive. I don't think so but I could be wrong. They also distribute HBO and BBC titles. So if Warner goes hddvd exclusive those 4 studios should follow. Now if only they wouldn't have gone format nuetral and lost MGM before the war started!


Well I agree that it would've been best if Warner would've remained HD DVD exclusive. I think this "war" would have wrapped up by now if they did that. A bit of a correction on the MGM thing:

Warner did not lose MGM they still have the pre-1986 MGM catalog of over 3,000 films.

Sony/Fox did not gain MGM, they gained about 350 post-1986 MGM catalog titles and the rights to release future MGM titles, but even that isn't 100% accurate. TWC has agreements with MGM on some films and those agreements state that many titles are distributed on home video exclusively by TWC/ Genius, which is why Lucky Number Slevin and many other films associated with MGM are HD DVD exclusives. Other projects are all MGM/UA, which is why the Bond franchise id Blu-ray exclusive.

Back on topic: I think something must be up with Warner based on the fact that they are not releasing anything until September 5th. I guess we'll see.

As I said in the sales thread I think most of the studios with big, diverse film catalogs are backing HD DVD because it is the only HDM option that has a diverse audience. Paramount knows they can't sell many copies of Titanic to 15 year-olds with a PS3 hooked up to a 27-inch SD CRT. The only studio with a large, diverse catalog that does not show a preference towards HD DVD is the one (Columbia) owned by Sony. Paramount and Universal are HD DVD exclusive and Warner favors HD DVD in both the number of released titles (over 20 HD DVD exclusives) and the content (IME, TrueHD, et al) on some HD DVDs when compared with the BD releases.

As a general rule TV series, Documentaries, Chick-flicks and classics sell better on HD DVD. The studios also know that all other things being equal you can grow an installed base faster with $150-$250 players than you can with $300-$500 players. That's why I think there will be a software announcement to coincide with the hardware announcements. I'm hoping for something along the lines of:

Today Warner announced exclusive support for HD DVD in the on-going HDM format war. According to one Warner spokesman, " Consumers that want access to the over 18,000 films in the Universal, Paramount and Warner catalog now only have one choice for High-Definition Media and that's HD DVD. Fortunately with the announcement of HD DVD players for less than $100 today HD DVD is within reach of every consumer that has an HDTV."

I can dream can't I?

HD DVD supporters need to get a handle on their expectations - this optimisim is nuts! Same thing happened last year and basically nothing was announced. Do you really think Sony doesn't have something up its sleeve? Paramount was nice - be very happy with that!

Cheers,

Grant


Grant, it's of course speculation in general, but you have to admit that there's quite a few things here that don't add up and point into the direction of these speculations.

It's not like that we are just going wild with assumptions. You know what I'm talking about.

And let's not forget only 2 days ago did we talk about Chinese players, and bam today we see that Venturer is indeed coming. So it's not speculation anymore.

Then we see delay from Denon, Warner stops shipping of hi-def titles, and so many hints from insiders that the twin or combo discs might be replacing SD DVDs.

What I'm talking about is very close to reality and not wild imagination. Don't you agree?

Forget about Disney and Fox, I know first hand that they will definitely not go neutral. At least for now. They've invested too much money into promo sites and other marketing for Blu-Ray and simply have strong deals with Sony. They won't break those deals unless somethign drastic happens like $149 players + Warner/New Line exclusive + combos/twins replacing SD DVDs. Now if these happen, they will definitely start considering neutrality because everythign would be against them and BLu-Ray would be the one losing. Unlike HD DVD, who managed to fight with BD thanks to Universal only, Blu-Ray can't figh that fight even if it has Sony/Fox/Disney by their side because the player prices and unfinished specs go against them.

What I said for example, are ALL very possible things that might happen at CEDIA.

Originally Posted by dildatonr View Post
One thing is certain.. somewhere, nerds will be crying

Fixed.

Is there any history at all of studios or similar non-ce companies making such announcements at past Cedia expos? I poked around a little, but don't really have the time to spend doing such research. Anyone have any recollection of such events taking place?

I agree with those who think folks should just relax and not get hopes up on either side of this skirmish. I do recall the funk after CES.

From David Vaughn's post @ HTSpot ...



If you're interested, read the entire "Paramount now exclusively supports HD DVD! " (http://www.***************.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/138273/tp/1/) thread. Some very informative including comments from John Kotches (Secrets of Home Theater).

Phil

Great post/link. Thanks!

I could see warner going exclusive some day. But I'm thinking more like after the Holidays. And I also see some of the smaller studios going neutral. To much money for them to be passed up. They probably figured they had no choice since the PS3 was supposed to cream everything in sales. But now it's a different picture. They may even have a contract with Sony for 1 year. We dont know when their contracts are up. Maybe soon though! I hope there is an announcement at CEDIA but who knows. But by the end of the year I bet for sure we hear something big.

One thing is certain.. somewhere a nerd will be crying.

LOL

I still say new 5 HD DVD rebate, with new movies to choose from to entice G1 and G2 owners. OK, maybe back to three movies, but with an even better selection.

Also, new players announced, some ugly mock-ups, both uber-cheap and high-end, and maaaaybe HD-34 (17GB layers) assuming it's backwards compatible to G1s (with or w/o FW update).

I should ask my sister to find out what's going on at Warner. She is an actress and has worked out of Warner studios several times this year.

who would want to buy a chiniese player that is a joke. if you want a cheap pos player that will break in 6 months go and buy the $150 player

Thank you thank you!

I'm here all night!


and morning.
and afternoons.
and
have I slept yet?
wait.. am I crying?

blu-ray IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE.
I agree, Blu-ray is not going anywhere. It's stuck where it is and has stagnated. But HD DVD on the other hand is GOING THROUGH THE ROOF! :p So far this year HD DVD has gained CE support. Blu-ray has lost exclusive CE support (LG and Samsung). So far this year, HD DVD has gained exclusive studio support. Blu-ray has lost studio support.

Having said that, let's keep in mind that CEDIA is all about electronics. We'll see new player announcements, but I've thought about this and as far as studios going exclusive etc. I don't think CEDIA will be the place it would be announced. Any studio that announces exclusivity will probably just issue a press release "out of the blu." ;)

Of course it isnt, the PS3 is still missing good games.

BluMD? :D

Also, could there be studio related news at IFA? Has IFA started?

After CEDIA, 9/5 will be the new 9/11 for Blu-Ray fans.
That's my prediction. Well that's what I hope at least.
It will probably end up being just like CES, big expectations and nothing significant happens.

Just to be realistic anything can happen, 2 weeks ago no one thought P/DW could go HD DVD, but if WB for some reason goes BD XC by CEDIA, that would really suck :mad:, so let's not jinx it :pI personally don't believe Warner would even consider Blu-ray exclusivity. Why would they? Blu-ray does not offer a complete, uniform platform for developing titles. Or Warner has been putting out HD DVDs that are substantially more complete than their Blu-ray counterparts (if on Blu-ray at all) just to get all that interactivity out of their system because they know they can't do as much on Blu-ray??...;)

If beatboy's sources know his information is showing up on public forums immediately, they might be feeding him incorrect information to help him rally the troops for an even bigger disappointment...:p

The point of cheap Chinese players isn't to entice members of AVS. Its to entice the likes of Wal-Mart to promote cheap HD players so they can sell them to the masses of people shopping in their stores. Its a new revenue generating avenue and the movies they'll sell are what everyone in the movie/retail industry was hoping for when these HD formats were announced. That is why cheap players are so wanted and why if these Venturer players are really dirt cheap HD DVD will have a really big plus for the format's continued success.

Please guys, don't feed the trublu troll. Apparently reading isn't his strong suit, because he came in here despite the "If you're not here for HD DVD, move on" sign.

Anyway, look guys, I am HD DVD as much as anyone else here. I'm not Tier 0 yet, but I'm working on it! :) But I think those of you looking for that magic Warner announcement are going to be really let down, because I just don't think it's happening. Warner has been pushing neutrality and still believes that is the way to go. I just don't see them budging until HD DVD regains it's footing. I do believe that is going to happen this fall, but that would be the point when Warner moves.

As for Disney, I just don't know what to make of them. Blu-ray faithful, but putting their movies on Xbox Live Marketplace? That doesn't make much sense to me, and I am sure Sony gave them a stern talking-too about it. I don't expect it to happen, but I wouldn't be totally shocked.

Now, CEDIA isn't going to be where software is talked about anyway. I think the focus will be on the lower priced HD DVD players, the in-car stuff like Alpine is going to show, and the new set of laptops and PC's with built-in drives. I'm not sure we're going to get any big blockbuster announcements now that we have confirmation of the Venturer player.

I see this as just another passing show. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

You know what..let's put this to rest once and for all. I will try to get in touch with high-up person in WB and confirm whether or not this is true. I worked with WB on numerous ocassions and I will get the confirmation if these titles are indeed coming to Blu-Ray as these guys are saying especially as I worked with WB on 300 title promotion.

Fortunately I have access to this, so I can double check and discredit them once and for all.

beatboy, is that you?


;)

After CEDIA, 9/5 will be the new 9/11 for Blu-Ray fans.
That's my prediction. Well that's what I hope at least.


You hope at CEDIA the HD-DVD camp annouces a bunch of planes being piloted by terrorists will crash into Sony??

:confused:

beatboy, is that you?


;)

I sense something. A presence I haven't felt since... last week when something "big" was supposed to happen. ;)

After CEDIA, 9/5 will be the new 9/11 for Blu-Ray fans.
That's my prediction. Well that's what I hope at least.
It will probably end up being just like CES, big expectations and nothing significant happens.


woah rkelly!!! evoking 9/11 for a HDM metaphor? Why stop their and just say it will be the new slow crucification of handicapped baby jesus wearing a backpack full of kittens that hold the cure for all cancer and mole hair - to Blu-Ray fans?

Cuz I know that's what you're thinking. Don't hold back. Tell us how you really feel.

You know what..let's put this to rest once and for all. I will try to get in touch with high-up person in WB and confirm whether or not this is true. I worked with WB on numerous ocassions and I will get the confirmation if these titles are indeed coming to Blu-Ray as these guys are saying especially as I worked with WB on 300 title promotion.

Fortunately I have access to this, so I can double check and discredit them once and for all.


Why didn't you do that before starting this "I told you so" thread in the first place?

You guys are setting yourself up for a fall. NO BR studio will be going neutral at CEDIA, I don't see Warner going neutral one way or another....they are the only ones making $$ at HD right now, and with both sides selling players, they will continue to keep doing what they are currently doing.

There will be some hardware announcements (other than Toshiba), and you may see some titles announced, that is the extent of the news.

On the BR front I expect to see some additional titles announced and one or more V2.0 players shown. Just trying to be a realist. One beatboy is enough.

You hope at CEDIA the HD-DVD camp annouces a bunch of planes being piloted by terrorists will crash into Sony??

:confused:


Jeez man, don't take it QUITE so literal. I just meant it would be a day long remembered by the BD folk, and not remembered in a good way.

HD DVD supporters need to get a handle on their expectations - this optimisim is nuts! Same thing happened last year and basically nothing was announced. Do you really think Sony doesn't have something up its sleeve? Paramount was nice - be very happy with that!

Cheers,

Grant

HD DVD has learned its lesson from last year so they will be the big newsmakers.

Perhaps Warner knew this sale at Amazon was about to happen. Perhaps Toshiba told Warner they could sell x amount of players before CEDIA. Perhaps Warner held off all new titles until they could see if Toshiba could pull it off. Maybe to make Warner exclusive, or maybe to keep Warner neutral.

The timing of events seems to indicate there is much more going on behind the scenes, and aside from Fox saying they were still someday planning on releasing titles on BD there hasn't been another word from the Blu-Ray side. Weird.

Why didn't you do that before starting this "I told you so" thread in the first place?

Because you know, there's something called professionalism and courtesy so I don't pry with people I work with there. It's not like it is something that will affect my relationship with them.

Second, this claim came to my attention after I started the thread, and third what's the point?

I'm hoping to hear from an acquaintanceof mine who is managing Warner Home Marketing and if she doesn't I'm hoping that someone even higher up at WBHV will give me a hint of what's going on. In any case I'm hoping to get an answer by tomorrow.

HD DVD supporters need to get a handle on their expectations - this optimisim is nuts! Same thing happened last year and basically nothing was announced. Do you really think Sony doesn't have something up its sleeve? Paramount was nice - be very happy with that!

Cheers,

Grant

I agree there is a lot of overly optimistic predictions. I don't expect any major studio announcements.

You are right Sony will pull out all the stops. Expect a major annoucement through the BDA... the profile 1.1 mandate will be delayed! Oh and the HD format war is over (again).

I truly don't think sony will allow Warner/Newline to go Hd-dvd exclusive, they can't afford another Paramount/Dreamworks debacle specially of that magnitude. I'm sure Sony is keeping a close eye on Warner/Newline at the moment and will do anything for them not to go HD exclusive in fact Sony might be working on them to go BR exclusive...who knows!!

1. Warner will go exclusive and I base this assumption with their open support for HD DVD on their hi-def website where under Tech Specs and In-Movie experience they don't mention B out of Blu-Ray but list HD DVD hardware and capabilities. The fact that they have stopped shipping hi-def titles until Sept. 5th when CEDIA starts and will most likely announce their exclusivity, thus shipping only HD DVD movies from that point. And a few other notices from 2nd hand insiders within either studio or HD DVD promoters.

I'm an HDDVD fan, but in all fairness, the Sept 5th thing is due to a system upgrade. NOTHING is shipping for anyone.

Are you sticking with the WB exclusive thing? I just dont see it.

In any case I'm hoping to get an answer by tomorrow.

Shaweet mate!

Originally Posted by beatboy77
Just spoke with my contact at WB and she confirms that "Return to House on Haunted Hill" will show a more complete version for Blu-ray (seamless branching). Look for this release to favor the Blu-ray version vs. the HD-DVD version.

All of this on the heels of Nickerson's departure from WB. I wonder what's cooking

Also she says to expect to see "Batman Begins" in November and possibly a new release (new encode/special features) on "300" on Blu-ray.

~Josh

Posted by akbled
Wow, I really doubt that "Return to House on Haunted Hill" will feature seamless branching as it is a title where the movie has to pause and then prompt for the watcher to make a selection as to which direction to proceed. Unless of course it can read movie watchers minds and automatically know what you want to see and then implement that. Maybe I'm wrong, I just don't see how this is possible.

You know he has a very good point. Seamless branching is useless while using Warners new Cinema Navigational Technology which allows you to make choices during the film. Unless all choices are made from the very start which I highly doubt. The more I read beatboy's posts the more I realize how full of $h!+ this guy really is.

I truly don't think sony will allow Warner/Newline to go Hd-dvd exclusive, they can't afford another Paramount/Dreamworks debacle specially of that magnitude. I'm sure Sony is keeping a close eye on Warner/Newline at the moment and will do anything for them not to go HD exclusive in fact Sony might be working on them to go BR exclusive...who knows!!

I don't think Sony has any control over what Warner does or doesn't do! The decision will be Warner's and Warner's alone.

I really wish people would not be making these (IMO) overly optimistic predictions of CEDIA announcements such as WB exclusive + Disney & Lionsgate neutrality, as we are setting ourselves up for disappointment if/when they do not happen.

Case in point - do you remember when the overly optimistic predictions for CES did not pan out? Many HD DVD supporters went from ecstacy to agony in record time, and the unmet (unrealistic) expectations contributed mightly to the post-CES HD DVD funk for most of the 1st half of the year, while giving BD supporters much to gloat about.

I urge my fellow HD DVD supporters to not let history repeat itself please - if major announcements happen, great, but let's not set ourselves up for disappointment.
"Winner, Best Supporting Post"

This is what I would read when opening the sealed envelope. I agree that it's fun to dream, but no need to worry if any/all of these speculations do not happen at CEDIA.

Don't get me wrong, I've been an HD DVD supporter since the floodgates opened over a year ago, and truly want a single hi-def format to succeed (can you guess which one? :)). I'll gladly take any good news in HD DVD's favor, but will continue to enjoy this great format if nothing new happens...

Geez, and I just ordered a bunch more HD DVDs due to the current Amazon 3-fer-2 deal, and they'll be here for the long holiday weekend! My apologies if I don't post for a few days... :D

You are not going to hear anything from anyone until Warner decides to release a public statement if they do. Toshiba reps and Amir have made very strong hints that something studio involved is in the works for hddvd. Yes his comments concerning cedia were studio specific. Which studio was not said. Beatboy's comments about Batman Begins, 300, House on Haunted Hill 2 are irrelevant. Remember the article from Bluray.com where Paramount is now favoring bluray. Face Off to have additional special features, etc. None of it turned out to be true. Warner helped develop hddvd so if it succeeds that means royalty checksd for Warner.

I don't think Sony has any control over what Warner does or doesn't do! The decision will be Warner's and Warner's alone.

you know that saying 'money talks and BS walks' ;)

I'm a Blu-ray supporter but even I will admit that Sony will not be able to recover if Warner/Dreamworks decide to go HD exclusive.
I guess now it all depends on Warner/Newline to pretty much end the war.

I'm a Blu-ray supporter but even I will admit that Sony will not be able to recover if Warner/Dreamworks decide to go HD exclusive.
I guess now it all depends on Warner/Newline to pretty much end the war.

Dreamworks is already exclusive no?

Granted Sony could offer them some money or subsidize BD-50 costs, but Warner helped develop hddvd so I think if the format succeeds royalty checks are a far larger benefit in the long run. Isn't royalties or Toshiba's making a killing in royalties on every dvd and dvd player sold why there is a format war in the first place. Sony didn't want to be left out in the cold on this one. Toshiba has made fortunes on dvd and hence the BDA was born.

Because you know, there's something called professionalism and courtesy so I don't pry with people I work with there. It's not like it is something that will affect my relationship with them.

Second, this claim came to my attention after I started the thread, and third what's the point?

I'm hoping to hear from an acquaintanceof mine who is managing Warner Home Marketing and if she doesn't I'm hoping that someone even higher up at WBHV will give me a hint of what's going on. In any case I'm hoping to get an answer by tomorrow.

I hear you, but professionalism, courtesy and "I told you so" don't go hand in hand anyway...

Sony/Fox did not gain MGM, they gained about 350 post-1986 MGM catalog titles and the rights to release future MGM titles, but even that isn't 100% accurate. TWC has agreements with MGM on some films and those agreements state that many titles are distributed on home video exclusively by TWC/ Genius, which is why Lucky Number Slevin and many other films associated with MGM are HD DVD exclusives. Other projects are all MGM/UA, which is why the Bond franchise id Blu-ray exclusive.

Granted as Warner releases such as Mutiny on the Bounty, GrandPrix, etc. are MGM titles. The mistakes was letting the United Artists titles go and they are some of my favorite films, James Bond, Pink Panther, Leone spaghetti westerns, Rocky films, etc.

I hear you, but professionalism, courtesy and "I told you so" don't go hand in hand anyway...

Well that's a difference, even though I can ask, I am assuming based on other factors. I told you so is intended for the fun of it on a forum. Professionalism with people I worked with or will work with has to be on the level that is beyond my preference for HD DVD.

When I work with these guys I have to be 100% neutral and I can tell you that I'm hard cold professional when I do this. I worked for both side HD DVD and BD and when I do my job I do it 300%.

Imagine how ridiculous and unprofessional it would sound from me if I exchange an email with executive director for marketing at Warner Home Video where he thanks me for the successful project and I go and reply "Oh btw, can you tell me what's the deal with you guys and Blu-Ray". You understand what I'm talking about. I told you so, is more my personal opinion on AVS Forum as anyone else's.

Dreamworks is already exclusive no?

ooops!!! I meant Newline!

:D

Toshiba has made fortunes on dvd and hence the BDA was born.
And Toshiba deserve to make fortunes again :-)

You picks your your sides, you makes your bets... there's always going to be winners and losers :-)

This time the consumers (the majority of them) are the real (long-term) winners :-)

ooops!!! I meant Newline!

:D

Ahhh gotcha. I thought maybe I was the one thats losing it:p

Guys! Warner sits on the board of directors of the BDA.

They also have royalty interest in Blu-ray. No one here knows this?

Also they just fired their top executive who spent his entire career at Toshiba before.

Warner is the one studio that really wins no matter which format prevails.

looks liek we have found the HD-DVD version of beatboy! :p

hes name nfinity

Mods, Please lock this thread temporarily until some announcement is being made. I want both formats to survive as so far they have been offering me reasonable hi-def experience.

looks liek we have found the HD-DVD version of beatboy! :p

hes name nfinity

I find that remark very insulting..did I say that I was told by anyone what I claim? Please read my comments and don't put words in my mouth please. That Blu-ray approach of lies and FUD doesn't play well with me.

Mods, Please lock this thread temporarily until some announcement is being made. I want both formats to survive as so far they have been offering me reasonable hi-def experience.

Why because it upsets YOU? Let me enlighten you, the world DOESN'T revolve around you and if this thread upsets you then don't read it.

And as far as I remember you weren't saying that only while ago. You were very fluent in support Blu-Ray.

Guys! Warner sits on the board of directors of the BDA.

They also have royalty interest in Blu-ray. No one here knows this?

Also they just fired their top executive who spent his entire career at Toshiba before.

Warner is the one studio that really wins no matter which format prevails.

First of all please show me the link where they FIRED him. He left and EVERYONE confirmed that it was not related to HDDVD/Blu-Ray. You know people leave positions for different reasons not because you think they left.

Second, you line of reasoning is illogical. So Disney is on board with HD DVD Group yet they are Blu-Ray exclusive, so? Don't make me laugh please.

Guys! Warner sits on the board of directors of the BDA.

They also have royalty interest in Blu-ray. No one here knows this?

Also they just fired their top executive who spent his entire career at Toshiba before.

Warner is the one studio that really wins no matter which format prevails.

Did warner help develop bluray? No, I didn't think so. They were the last major studio to jump on board. The royaltly checks for bluray will clearly be going to Sony! The only thing the BDA added for Warner to jump on board is BD-9.

The Dodo lasted more than 50 years after its discovery before it became extinct...

The BetaMax format lasted more than 10 years before it became extinct...

The Blu-ray Disc format could well become more notorious in its demise than both BetaMax and the Dodo!

Did warner help develop bluray? No, I didn't think so. They were the last major studio to jump on board. The royaltly checks for bluray will clearly be going to Sony! The only thing the BDA added for Warner to jump on board is BD-9.

Warner is actually a member of the HD DVD promotion group and yes they went with BD very late (maybe the last one).
http://www.hddvdprg.com/eng/about/member.html

http://www.imageviper.com/displayimage/95678/0/avs2.jpg

Pacific Time

Xylon, I take that screeny to imply there's a plethora of new HD DVD owners.

Xylon, I take that screeny to imply there's a plethora of new HD DVD owners.

Nah, It can't be. After all HD DVD is dead.

*stomps foot*

Nah, It can't be. After all HD DVD is dead.

*stomps foot*

That would be excellent news.

I'm hoping to hear from an acquaintanceof mine who is managing Warner Home Marketing and if she doesn't I'm hoping that someone even higher up at WBHV will give me a hint of what's going on. In any case I'm hoping to get an answer by tomorrow.

I find that remark very insulting..did I say that I was told by anyone what I claim? Please read my comments and don't put words in my mouth please. That Blu-ray approach of lies and FUD doesn't play well with me.

I am not trying to call you out, but come on? I hope you are right, even more so than the next guy, but you are making the same claims that got BeatBoy torn apart. Now the big kicker was BeatBoy DID NOT deliver. If you are right you will most likely be vindicated and praised, but if you are wrong you will likely be ridiculed and chastised for such claims. Either way, it is your call but are you claiming all of this off of your instincts or off of your knowledge? Their is quite a difference.

I am not trying to call you out, but come on? I hope you are right, even more so than the next guy, but you are making the same claims that got BeatBoy torn apart. Now the big kicker was BeatBoy DID NOT deliver. If you are right you will most likely be vindicated and praised, but if you are wrong you will likely be ridiculed and chastised for such claims. Either way, it is your call but are you claiming all of this off of your instincts or off of your knowledge? Their is quite a difference.

I'm not sure what you are saying.. again you are putting words in my mouth.

I'm not predicting anything BASED on any sources or contacts I might have. I as anyone else am drawing conclusions from information we have so far from the public. There's a big difference. All I said was that I will try to ask around to see if the new Beatboy's information is another FUD or not that's all in regards to 300 BD republish and Return to House on Haunted Hill. I am so sick and tired of that crap is that I would actually ask around at Warner about those titles, especially since I was involved with 300 promotion on DVD/HD/BD. It is completely out of place for me to ask any of the execs at Warner Home about whether or not they go exclusive nor did I claim I have information like that.

If I wanted to be an insider I would register in the Insider thread as I worked with Universal, Fox, Warner and even Paramount on several projects, but I value my relationships with all studios because I don't want this stuff to interfere with my work.

Hope that makes it crystal clear.

I second Grants post- rachet down the speculation (and the presumptuous gloating) fellas. It's getting unseemly. This is just the kind of behaviour that made the prospect of ever supporting Blu-ray so unappealing.

like the advice handed out to curb obnoxious end zone celebrations- "act like you've been there before, and like you expect to be there again"

I see WB going HD DVD exclusive.
Weinstein switching sides, BD exclusive.
Pricing for Venturer around $150-180MSRP.

As much as I would like to see an end to this format war (owning both formats is truly annoying), I sincerely doubt this will be over anytime soon.

And, I also must point out how unlikely it will be for WB to go HDDVD exclusive. They have announced Q4 Blu-ray releases--namely, Troy: Director's Cut will be released on Blu-ray on 9/18/07. Announcing an exclusivity to HDDVD that close to a powerhouse release would cost them a bundle of money considering that the bulk of cost production for the BD Troy would have already been burned by 9/5/07, and like Paramount they would pull current BDs off shelves in support of their new allegiance.

1. Warner will go exclusive and I base this assumption with their open support for HD DVD on their hi-def website where under Tech Specs and In-Movie experience they don't mention B out of Blu-Ray but list HD DVD hardware and capabilities. The fact that they have stopped shipping hi-def titles until Sept. 5th when CEDIA starts and will most likely announce their exclusivity, thus shipping only HD DVD movies from that point. And a few other notices from 2nd hand insiders within either studio or HD DVD promoters.

UPDATE: And interesting article came out from USA Today that lists Harry Potter titles as HD DVD Only, another +1 to the Warner going exclusive HD DVD. http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/dvd/2007-08-27-download-side_N.htm


So for you the 3 hints to Warner HD DVD exclusivity announcement at CEDIA are:

- they have stopped shipping hi-def titles until Sept 5th when CEDIA starts

- USA Today article lists Harry Potter titles as HD DVD Only

- Warner web site under Tech Specs and In-Movie experience doesn't mention B out of Blu-Ray but lists HD DVD hardware and capabilities

Humm... I don't think this is enough to conclude anything.
I really hope you are right BTW.

As much as I would like to see an end to this format war (owning both formats is truly annoying), I sincerely doubt this will be over anytime soon.

And, I also must point out how unlikely it will be for WB to go HDDVD exclusive. They have announced Q4 Blu-ray releases--namely, Troy: Director's Cut will be released on Blu-ray on 9/18/07. Announcing an exclusivity to HDDVD that close to a powerhouse release would cost them a bundle of money considering that the bulk of cost production for the BD Troy would have already been burned by 9/5/07, and like Paramount they would pull current BDs off shelves in support of their new allegiance.

Paramount had upcoming BDA releases as well and that didn't stop 'em

Hookers will make a ton of money.

+1

Post (s) deleted

Be nice guys, otherwise thread goes Bye Bye and troublemakers get points (points are not good)

Paramount had upcoming BDA releases as well and that didn't stop 'em

...a valid point. But they did slow production of BDs in the time leading up to the switch and were offered their 'incentive' to cover ads/production costs. Unless the mysterious wallet man rears his head to WB, it seems unlikely they will convert. :confused:

Of course, with this war, it's hard to tell some days wth is actually going on. That's why I bought both. Now I can get the movies I want no matter the format.

I just really wish the market would shift 1 direction so the potential of either will be maximized. Right now we are getting minimalist products partly because of uncertainty and partly because of split industry support. :(

I believe we will see announcements of several players at CEDIA. HD DVD will announce low priced players in time for the holidays. Possibly from several manufactures. I predict street price for the cheapest at $149. BD will anounce a cheaper player. Street price $350. Cant see any other manufactures making cheaper BD players. Unless they are from China. Thats still up in the air.
Dont believe we will see any retailers go "exclusive". That may happen after the holidays, but dont think it will before. Holiday time is a huge money maker for any retailer.
Studios? Maybe one goes neutral. One may announce going exclusive at CES but not at CEDIA. However, I could be wrong.

That I can believe Tzone7. With the upcoming holiday season, it was even a shocker the the HDDVD community that an exclusive came this late in the season. I'll be surprised if another big player studio goes exclusive (for either camp) before the holidays.
I think their will be announcements of 'economy' players from both sides though, with HDDVD bringing in the bar-setter.

... Unless the mysterious wallet man rears his head to WB, it seems unlikely they will convert...

CEDIA breaking news: Microsoft buys Time Warner - not buys exclusive support - buys the whole damn TWX!

In follow-up news: Sony announces PS3 firmware update to support HD DVD add-on drives :-)

http://www.imageviper.com/displayimage/95680/0/avs3.jpg
Pacific Time


Bring on the cheap HD DVD players!

CEDIA breaking news: Microsoft buys Time Warner - not buys exclusive support - buys the whole damn TWX!

In follow-up news: Sony announces PS3 firmware update to support HD DVD add-on drives :-)


LOL!! If that happens, I'll laugh until milk spews out my nose, then hop a plane to your house and buy you a drink.

That cracked me up :D

So is the BD coalition going to start trying to come up with an exit strategy?

That would increase the risk of civil war.

Guys! Warner sits on the board of directors of the BDA.

They also have royalty interest in Blu-ray. No one here knows this?

Also they just fired their top executive who spent his entire career at Toshiba before.

Warner is the one studio that really wins no matter which format prevails.

Incorrect, they hold some rights with HDDVD.

I just want to interject that if anyone goes back and reads nfinity's OP, nowhere does he mention that "my insider at Warner Bros" told him anything. That's what Beatboy likes to do, throw FUD and lies out there but then try to legitimize it by calling it information from his inside sources. Sorry, but nfinity was pointing to his own observations.

On that topic, I hope you're right nfinity, but I just don't see it right now. Unless Warner came to the same conclusion as Paramount, and they believe the new Venturer player and the A-30 are going to drive sales, I see them staying put for the time being and at least seeing how the holiday season shakes out. I'll be happy to eat crow next week, but I just don't see it at this point.

I swear if Warner/Newline go HD exclusive, I will return my PS3 back to the store.

I did some googling and wiki-ing, and I couldn't find sources stating Warner Bros were invested in, on the board of, or in bed with HDDVD or Blu-ray. Could the posters who claim they are 'allied' with one side or the other please post sources.

So for you the 3 hints to Warner HD DVD exclusivity announcement at CEDIA are:

- they have stopped shipping hi-def titles until Sept 5th when CEDIA starts

- USA Today article lists Harry Potter titles as HD DVD Only

- Warner web site under Tech Specs and In-Movie experience doesn't mention B out of Blu-Ray but lists HD DVD hardware and capabilities

Humm... I don't think this is enough to conclude anything.
I really hope you are right BTW.

For the 999999999999th time!!! WB is not shipping ANYTHING because of a system change over. Read the site.

GEEZ!

Well guys, I started this thread to make sure that everyone has access to it prior to CEDIA and for the reason of "I told you" so when we finally hear the news starting Sept. 5th. Of course I might be wrong, but something tells me that we will hear very very positive HD DVD news.

1. Warner will go exclusive and I base this assumption with their open support for HD DVD on their hi-def website where under Tech Specs and In-Movie experience they don't mention B out of Blu-Ray but list HD DVD hardware and capabilities. The fact that they have stopped shipping hi-def titles until Sept. 5th when CEDIA starts and will most likely announce their exclusivity, thus shipping only HD DVD movies from that point. And a few other notices from 2nd hand insiders within either studio or HD DVD promoters.

UPDATE: And interesting article came out from USA Today that lists Harry Potter titles as HD DVD Only, another +1 to the Warner going exclusive HD DVD. http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/dvd/2007-08-27-download-side_N.htm

2. We will see great news about hardware, be it $149 chinese players or Walmart deal going through

3. SD DVDs being replaced with HD DVD/DVD combos or twin discs.

Next Wednesday we will see people saying the exact opposite then they are saying today. The format war will be close to over with these news and all articles would change the tone to favor HD DVD now as the ultimate winner, something we've all known since the beginning. It was just matter of time.

This will be a fun thread where we will quote Blu-bois with their illogical and PR fed conclusions. Let's see if anyone gets it right from them, but as they are usually just repeating what they are being told by BD PR, I think we are in for good laughs.

Jumping back to this original posting...

I WANT to believe so badly! I do, I do.

With WB, I think the worst thing that can likely happen is continued neutrality. Too many people have posted too many reasons why they will NOT go Blu-ray exclusive.

I really hope they move to HD DVD exclusive.

Now...worrying about BR moves. Without pissing into the wind, what giant BR news could possibly come up that would be remotely "war ending?"

Surprises are just that, for a reason, but what could BR and Sony announce?
A cheaper player would be nice (for them), but can they even get down to $299, much less lower?

So hit me with it, guys: what major move can they pull off that will make us redboys gasp? Let your imaginations run wild!

I swear if Warner/Newline go HD exclusive, I will return my PS3 back to the store.
Noted!

1. Warner will go exclusive and I base this assumption with their open support for HD DVD on their hi-def website where under Tech Specs and In-Movie experience they don't mention B out of Blu-Ray but list HD DVD hardware and capabilities. The fact that they have stopped shipping hi-def titles until Sept. 5th when CEDIA starts and will most likely announce their exclusivity, thus shipping only HD DVD movies from that point. And a few other notices from 2nd hand insiders within either studio or HD DVD promoters.

UPDATE: And interesting article came out from USA Today that lists Harry Potter titles as HD DVD Only, another +1 to the Warner going exclusive HD DVD. http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/dvd/2007-08-27-download-side_N.htm
The only problem with your logic here is that The Twilight Zone: The Movie, The Shining, Smallville Season 6, and Full Metal Jacket are listed for release after Sept. 5 on both formats, according to the link you provided for Harry Potter. And Warner distributes those.

-1.

Noted!

I swear if Warner/Newline go HD exclusive, I will return my PS3 back to the store.

Can you take mine when you go :)

I swear if Warner/Newline go HD exclusive, I will return my PS3 back to the store.

That is about as reliable as you saying you will smash it on YouTube. :rolleyes:

For the 999999999999th time!!! WB is not shipping ANYTHING because of a system change over. Read the site.

GEEZ!


I know URZA what you are saying , but doesn't matter. You see for them to clean up Blu-Ray for example from their databases, they have to put everything on hold. It's not like they have different databases for each one. The way it works is that they have most likely 1 database that has IDs next to SKUs.

Title: MediaID: SKU#:
300 HD DVD 1234
300 Blu-Ray 2355
300 DVD-FS 4568
300 DVD-WS 1434

Get it?

So, pay attention that the dates also mean a lot..so they DO ship DVDs in the certain time frame as stated on the site:

The exception is DVD titles with release dates of August 28th or September 4th

So only DVD titles WILL be shipped.

Ok, but if Warner is going neutral, then why is a rep from Warner a presenter at the BDA's IFA press conference??

Believe

That is about as reliable as you saying you will smash it on YouTube. :rolleyes:

I bought mine from Target and they have a 90 day return policy and I haven't sent for the 5 free movies yet, I'm not into gaming that much so I might return it if I feel BR might end up loosing.

I bought mine from Target and they have a 90 day return policy and I haven't sent for the 5 free movies yet, I'm not into gaming that much so I might return it if I feel BR might end up loosing.

I don't think we have to worry about either side losing anymore. At this point, it would take something pretty catastrophic on either side for them to lose.

I think the Harry Potter thing in USA Today is the key point in this whole thing. Its very reflective of Paramount announcing Trek on hd dvd then saying nothing about bluray.

Ok, but if Warner is going neutral, then why is a rep from Warner a presenter at the BDA's IFA press conference??

A very INTERESTING question.

Ok, but if Warner is going neutral, then why is a rep from Warner a presenter at the BDA's IFA press conference??

Maybe to give a formal goodbye...:p

Ok, but if Warner is going neutral, then why is a rep from Warner a presenter at the BDA's IFA press conference??

IF, WB goes exclusive, the pee-on's don't know about it yet, and if it was a big announcement why not send the new lady in who's taking over for Nicholson?. There might be some rumors floating around the office, but only the guys who do the least amount of work and wear the most expensive suits will know for sure. ;) My company got bought out, I had heard a rumor about it exactly 3 days before it happend. It took the ENTIRE company by surprise, and my company is global. So that tells you if there's something serious in the works that no one but the big wigs know about it.

2nd. Supposedly the guy who wrote that article in USA today has said it was an error and it was being corrected.

That said, I still think WB will go exclusive to HD DVD. :)

blu-ray IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE.


Exactly, it stagnates and goes absolutely no where. :D

What the hell??? Kosty, you got Tier 0 already??? Shoot me an updated list. I am every bit the Zealot you are!

What the hell??? Kosty, you got Tier 0 already??? Shoot me an updated list. I am every bit the Zealot you are!

Yo Mike!! I got put in zero, I beat you to it!!!:p

1. I think there will be no major announcements at CEDIA from either side.
2. We'll be right back here next year predicting another final blow to Blu Ray.


Craig

Yo Mike!! I got put in zero, I beat you to it!!!:p

What what??? You have to be kidding me!! First they spell my name wrong, then they don't have the common courtesy to even bump me up to Tier 0 despite my recent postings?

This is NOT fair. :mad:

I swear if Warner/Newline go HD exclusive, I will return my PS3 back to the store.

You better start looking for your reciept. ;)

Hunt is claming Warner will stay neutral:

http://thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents

Warner remains committed to retaining their format neutral stance, and will continue to support BOTH Blu-ray and HD-DVD for the foreseeable future.

I'm skeptical.

I swear if Warner/Newline go HD exclusive, I will return my PS3 back to the store.

Don't forget to tell Target WHY you are returning it too. :D ;)

Hunt is claming Warner will stay neutral:

http://thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents



I'm skeptical.

As well you should be with anything Hunt says.

They may in fact remain neutral, but his incredible bias has kept me off his site for quite some time now. Which is a shame because his was the first DVD site I went to 10 years ago when DVD first came out. I really loved going there every day and reading up on what was happening in the DVD world. But he's really blown it with this Bluray bias of his. He isn't being a journalist anymore - he's just a fanboy now. Unfortunate situation.

Cheers.

Jason

Hunt is claming Warner will stay neutral:

http://thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents



I'm skeptical.


I'll tell you one thing. I asked Warner Home customer service (as a customer) whether or not they will still offer Blu-Ray when the "system" gets back online with shipping from Sept. 5th.

Guess what, they haven't responded. If it was no doubt, I would get an answer from them saying "Yes, you will be able to order Blu-Ray titles without any problems" don't you think?

I'll tell you one thing. I asked Warner Home customer service (as a customer) whether or not they will still offer Blu-Ray when the "system" gets back online with shipping from Sept. 5th.

Guess what, they haven't responded. If it was no doubt, I would get an answer from them saying "Yes, you will be able to order Blu-Ray titles without any problems" don't you think?

I assume this was via email, but how long ago did you ask them?

I dont think Warner is going HD DVD exclusive just yet. I think that they are definitly entertaining the idea and you know that HD DVD and associates have made WB an offer. My bet is that WB waits to see what happens this holiday season and if things go very well for HD DVD, which I for one expect, they will announce thier defection to HD DVD at CES 2008. I have to say the bit about WB not shipping any more titles until after the sept 5th is very onteresting but it could be that they are going forward with the TrueHD plan and that all future discs sold after the 5th will be TrueHD discs. If not I really cant imagine why they would hold all shipments until then, its very very interesting and I am sure has every single BD supporter very uneasy.

I think the major announcments coming out of CEDIA will definitly be on the hardware side. I expect Toshiba to announce thier holiday prices for thier 3rd Generation machines as well as thier older lines. I also expect to hear the whole story on the chinese players and the prices those will be starting out at. We might even hear something regarding the Wal-Mart rumors that have been circulation for far too long now. Either way I think the major announcments will definitly be hardware releated and I am sure alot of people will be disappointed due to them thinking they were going to get another sotware announcment. Once that disappointment wears off however, everyone will realize that the hardware news is huge because its the opening move for this holiday seasons chess match between BD and HD DVD and there will likely be some moves that BD simply cannot match.

Still the fact that WB has stopped shipping all titles until the show is very very interesting, very very interesting indeed.

I'll tell you one thing. I asked Warner Home customer service (as a customer) whether or not they will still offer Blu-Ray when the "system" gets back online with shipping from Sept. 5th.

Guess what, they haven't responded. If it was no doubt, I would get an answer from them saying "Yes, you will be able to order Blu-Ray titles without any problems" don't you think?

More likely they just haven't responded like more and more CE companies are doing these days with customer communications.

woah rkelly!!! evoking 9/11 for a HDM metaphor?

After being on the BR.com forum, I see a plane piloted by shadblz veering towards Paramount Studios, holding Bill Gates at boxcutter-point.

Have we gotten completely tasteless yet?

.....Lionsgate goes neutral....

I'll buy Basic Instinct when Lionsgate puts it out on HD DVD, and do a comparison.

I'll tell you one thing. I asked Warner Home customer service (as a customer) whether or not they will still offer Blu-Ray when the "system" gets back online with shipping from Sept. 5th.

Guess what, they haven't responded. If it was no doubt, I would get an answer from them saying "Yes, you will be able to order Blu-Ray titles without any problems" don't you think?


I can only hope this is one further sign that your predictions will come to fruition.
:)

I'll tell you one thing. I asked Warner Home customer service (as a customer) whether or not they will still offer Blu-Ray when the "system" gets back online with shipping from Sept. 5th.

Guess what, they haven't responded. If it was no doubt, I would get an answer from them saying "Yes, you will be able to order Blu-Ray titles without any problems" don't you think?

What is the story behind this delay of shipments thing. What multibillion dollar company stops shipments/sales for that long? Any company would have IT working 24/7 to fix it or heads would roll.

Something smells fishy. Like they are preparing to do something.

What is the story behind this delay of shipments thing. What multibillion dollar company stops shipments/sales for that long? Any company would have IT working 24/7 to fix it or heads would roll.

Something smells fishy. Like they are preparing to do something.

I was curious about this too. I try to keep a rational head when it comes to these matters and not get caught up in the gossip, but this seems very odd. Exactly how long has the site been unable to ship now?

Cheers,

Jason

One may announce going exclusive at CES but not at CEDIA.

Since CEDIA isn't (technically) open to the public, I doubt anything like this would be announced. Too little impact to a crowd that is hard to impress.

That said, you WILL hear a convincing amount of scuttlebutt about PROBABLE future events if this is true. Guys I'm telling you--the BS filters are going to be smoking after 9/5 because you will have every nobody on the planet with a claimed industry connection "leaking" some vital news.

My advice is wait for a real press release or CES, whichever comes first.

I have to say that all of the Warner news adds up to some interesting speculations. There are a few things that some people haven't mentioned:

Weren't there reports of 'The Lost Boys' coming on 9/4 a while back, and then disappeared?

Also, wasn't 'Poltergeist' announced for DVD/HD/Blu (even talked about in the HTF chat way back in the early part of the year) and then suddenly the HD/Blu versions were pulled without explanation? (and the 'Spielberg' excuse doesn't seem to explain anything since It's not directed by him, and I don't think he owns the rights.... does he?)

I think there were a few other instances that I can't remember at this time... but taken with the WB shipping delays, and ALL of the rumblings lately about WB possibly going HD-exclusive... well, if it were only 1 or 2 things.... but it seems to be a lot of small items, possibly snow-balling into one BIG shocker...

I really hope so... I've been wanting HD-DVD to be the dominant format since before the formats even came out...

here's hopin'...

A lot of people here keep saying they want just one format so here we have a situation where one studio could pretty much end this war by a simple announcement. I hope Warner does it so we can all move on and let BD remain as a PS3 game format.

What is the story behind this delay of shipments thing. What multibillion dollar company stops shipments/sales for that long? Any company would have IT working 24/7 to fix it or heads would roll.

Something smells fishy. Like they are preparing to do something.

How long have they not been shipping titles?

How long have they not been shipping titles?


since somewhere around august 10th

edit update
*avs search for 'warner voucher' shows some posts from august 8th*

my memory was only 2 days off... sigh

One thing I can say is the Paramount announcement took all their employees by surprise. If Warner is doing something similiar only the big wigs no about it.

My advice is wait for a real press release or CES, whichever comes first.

Yes very true - how likely is it that this sort of announcement would be made at CEDIA (by anyone)?

I.e. wouldn't a very public press release at 9am on Monday morning make more sense (i.e. two days before CEDIA)?

If I was Warner - that would be what I would do ;-)

There are some of members in the BR forums who say that HD DVD players would be used as paper weights and that HD DVDs would be used as drink coasters:

I say BD's are scratch resistant and therefore would make better drink coasters, or Frisbees. :D

Tosh announces they're working on a Vardia-style HD DVD-R (DL) with HDD deck for the U.S. market (I wish...).

I see announcements for cheaper players. That's it. Maybe some studios will announce titles (at a hardware convention), but some of this talk is crazy.

1. Warner Bros. will not go HD-DVD exclusive. Their sales are too strong for Blu-Ray, and by staying neutral, they are reaping the most benefits in the format war.

2. Disney will not go HD-DVD exclusive, nor will it become a neutral studio. Iger (Buena Vista's top shareholder) is a strong supporter of Blu-Ray. Nothing will change his mind for a while.

3. Fox is obviously staying with Blu-Ray. Their newly announced titles confirm this.

Frankly, I see many of you setting yourselves up for disappointment. CEDIA is a hardware convention, not a software convention.

*I'm typing this while Army of Darkness plays on my HD-DVD player.

Granted Warner does stand to make money, but with Sony no longer subsidizing BD-50 costs, BD-50 yields that are attrocious and Warner standing to make a mint in royalties if HDDVD succeeds I think that would withstand any profits they are making off Bluray.
Even if 300 sold on Bluray 2:1 warner did not make twice the profits as BD-50 costs are far higher than HD-30.

Warner nor any other studio is making a profit on HDM yet. What they have to be looking at is BD-50 production problems and if they think the BDA can get this fixed this year. If not, they can't release many of their high profile titles and that could certainly push them to the HD DVD side.

Another thing is that I believe that the Oct 31 deadline for 1.1 will be pushed back yet again and that will certainly piss a lot of studios off. No one is releasing 1.1 players and the deadline is only a month away. Something is up in BR town and this could seriously hurt them.

Warner nor any other studio is making a profit on HDM yet.

I dont believe this to be true. I dont believe any studio is loosing anything by releasing HDM.

Right, I'll make a toned-down Warner prediction.

I think Warner will announce it's given up on BD 1.1 ever happening, and that it's fed up with the headache with Java (cited by Paramount) and the extra cost of BD50s (also cited by Paramount).

So, Warner will announce that it will continue to be dual-format, but that all discs will be BD25s, and with absolutely no extras.

That would make sense.

They by-pass Paramount's criticisms, and remain dual-format. '300' sold well on BD without the PinP extras, so they can justify the lack of extras that way.

And if a 3 hour+ 'King Kong' can fit on a HD DVD 30 with PinP extras, then I'm sure most films (2hrs 30 minutes-ish) can fit on a BD25, as long as they have no extras and no lossless audio.

This way WB continue to make money from both formats, whilst limiting their costs and encouraging people to buy HD DVD - which is pretty much what they're doing now.

Steve W

A lot of people here keep saying they want just one format so here we have a situation where one studio could pretty much end this war by a simple announcement. I hope Warner does it so we can all move on and let BD remain as a PS3 game format.

When BRD appeared to be winning, the blu-bois said, "I just want one format. HD DVD is just prolonging the war and preventing mass adoption."

Now, with HD HVD regaining momentum, it is "I'm BR to the death!"

Reminds me of the Woody Allen bit: "If a man said that to me...!"

"I am a man!"

"Well...I meant a much smaller man."
:p

Ok, but if Warner is going neutral, then why is a rep from Warner a presenter at the BDA's IFA press conference??

this would be cold hearted but... If (BIG HUGE IF) warner is going to go format exclusive where would be a better place to make headlines then to announce it for the first time during a BDA presentation.

Warner walks on stage. Taps the mic. "As of today we are going to exclusively support HD DVD. That is all. Thank you for coming." Warner walks off stage without any further comments leaving behind a big empty spot that will have to be filled. Just imagine the outcry...

Thats the way i would do it. hehehehe

this would be cold hearted but... If (BIG HUGE IF) warner is going to go format exclusive where would be a better place to make headlines then to announce it for the first time during a BDA presentation.

Warner walks on stage. Taps the mic. "As of today we are going to exclusively support HD DVD. That is all. Thank you for coming." Warner walks off stage without any further comments leaving behind a big empty spot that will have to be filled. Just imagine the outcry...

Thats the way i would do it. hehehehe

Man, that would be ruthless!!
But alas… it will never happen. You guys are all dreaming. If Warner goes exclusive, it won’t be till sometime in 08… if then.
My guess is we’ll be right back here, same time, same spot contemplating on whether Blu Ray will concede the war.

Craig

The Dodo lasted more than 50 years after its discovery before it became extinct...

The BetaMax format lasted more than 10 years before it became extinct...

The Blu-ray Disc format could well become more notorious in its demise than both BetaMax and the Dodo!

psst

need to clarify that betamax post ;)

Betamax "died" in the consumer market but ironically it FLOURISHED in the business market and specifically the post production facility where it was making A LOT OF MONEY for Sony.

Consumers are not the be all end all in money spending when it comes to consumables ;)

I see announcements for cheaper players. That's it. Maybe some studios will announce titles (at a hardware convention), but some of this talk is crazy.

1. Warner Bros. will not go HD-DVD exclusive. Their sales are too strong for Blu-Ray, and by staying neutral, they are reaping the most benefits in the format war. NO: they can go HD DVD exclusive and sway side liners to jump to HD DVD and sell more disk. HD DVD/DVD combo will be their gold mine if they use it well.

2. Disney will not go HD-DVD exclusive, nor will it become a neutral studio. Iger (Buena Vista's top shareholder) is a strong supporter of Blu-Ray. Nothing will change his mind for a while. Disney is MS' bed buddy in HDi :p

3. Fox is obviously staying with Blu-Ray. Their newly announced titles confirm this. I thought we should have been wise enough when it comes to announcements and comments from studio or CE reps ? :p

Frankly, I see many of you setting yourselves up for disappointment. CEDIA is a hardware convention, not a software convention.

*I'm typing this while Army of Darkness plays on my HD-DVD player.

read the lettes in bold thankies

One thing I can say is the Paramount announcement took all their employees by surprise. If Warner is doing something similiar only the big wigs no about it.

That is typical negotiations, it never involves the peons. VP's are peons ;)

only the CXO (where X = E, I, T O, F) know anything. Perhaps a Pres or two but that is about it. So in otherwords it is business as usual UNTIL the lawyers sign everything and then let the new become public.

Insider information? Not unless 1 of the CXO is loose liped and believe me, when it might affect the "incentives" they could recieve, "insider" information is just more speculations and rumors and nothing more.

Granted Warner does stand to make money, but with Sony no longer subsidizing BD-50 costs, BD-50 yields that are attrocious and Warner standing to make a mint in royalties if HDDVD succeeds I think that would withstand any profits they are making off Bluray.
Even if 300 sold on Bluray 2:1 warner did not make twice the profits as BD-50 costs are far higher than HD-30.

I was docked "points" for stating BD-50 yields are low and the cause of blu title delays. You're lucky you can say this without penalty .... of course it doesn't matter that I pointed to the insider thread where I gleaned my information.

Is it possible that Warner will announce the release date of TotalHD at CEDIA and that all of their October 2nd "reissues" are actually TotalHD releases?

October 02, 2007

* The Ant Bully (Re-Issue) (Warner)
* The Departed (Re-Issue) (Warner)
* The Fountain (Re-Issue) (Warner)
* Good Night, and Good Luck (Re-Issue) (Warner)
* Happy Feet (Re-Issue) (Warner)
* Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Re-Issue) (Warner)
* Lady in the Water (Re-Issue) (Warner)
* The Lake House (Re-Issue) (Warner)
* Letters from Iwo Jima (Re-Issue) (Warner)
* Rumor Has It... (Re-Issue) (Warner)
* Superman Returns (Re-Issue) (Warner)

Some fanciful thinking around here.....

1.) Inexpensive players from both sides (This is the big blu-ray announcement)
2.) No studios change alliances
3.) Warner presents a date for TotalHD which of course makes the Nielsen thread completely watered down.

Coolman-very good point.

harry potter will be on blu-ray...sorry to burst your guys' bubble.

Is it possible that Warner will announce the release date of TotalHD at CEDIA and that all of their October 2nd "reissues" are actually TotalHD releases?Doesn't really make sense... why would Steve Nickerson quit Warner just as his pet project was coming to fruition?

Well, unless Warner wants to go back on what they just said at IFA 2007, they will not be going exclusive any time soon. They are planning to release more titles in Q4 for Bluray than Q1,2,3 combined!

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=65741

Opps, sorry to rain on your little parade. Facts do suck somehow.

1. Warner will go exclusive and I base this assumption with their open support for HD DVD on their hi-def website where under Tech Specs and In-Movie experience they don't mention B out of Blu-Ray but list HD DVD hardware and capabilities. The fact that they have stopped shipping hi-def titles until Sept. 5th when CEDIA starts and will most likely announce their exclusivity, thus shipping only HD DVD movies from that point. And a few other notices from 2nd hand insiders within either studio or HD DVD promoters.


Warner bros has committed to BD that they are going to release more titles for BD in Q4 than Q1, Q2, and Q3 combined! I don't see any hint of them going exclusive to HD-DVD

there goes that.

OMG WTF teh moneyhats!!!!111! Quick, somebody find out who paid who!!!

Hehehe. Well, it was a fun little dream while it lasted.

Well, unless Warner wants to go back on what they just said at IFA 2007, they will not be going exclusive any time soon. They are planning to release more titles in Q4 for Bluray than Q1,2,3 combined!

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=65741

Opps, sorry to rain on your little parade. Facts do suck somehow.

psst

just an FYI (AGAIN)

"IF" there are any negotiation taking place, the announcements are current day and nothing else. If tehy do manage to strike a deal with whoever, things do change, regardless of what was announced. The questions is, will they? Who knows as I not privy to such info.

Welcome to the Corporate world folks!

Is it possible that Warner will announce the release date of TotalHD at CEDIA and that all of their October 2nd "reissues" are actually TotalHD releases?

October 02, 2007

* The Ant Bully (Re-Issue) (Warner)
* The Departed (Re-Issue) (Warner)
* The Fountain (Re-Issue) (Warner)
* Good Night, and Good Luck (Re-Issue) (Warner)
* Happy Feet (Re-Issue) (Warner)
* Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Re-Issue) (Warner)
* Lady in the Water (Re-Issue) (Warner)
* The Lake House (Re-Issue) (Warner)
* Letters from Iwo Jima (Re-Issue) (Warner)
* Rumor Has It... (Re-Issue) (Warner)
* Superman Returns (Re-Issue) (Warner)

Or they can be re-releasing them as non-combos.

I think those are all combos, if not, than I apologize.

Hey plasmalover. You can take the giddy little Blu-ray fanboy-ness and go back to the Blu-ray forums. Bye.

I was docked "points" for stating BD-50 yields are low and the cause of blu title delays. You're lucky you can say this without penalty .... of course it doesn't matter that I pointed to the insider thread where I gleaned my information.

Avsforum owners/mods etc are fully in the BD camp IMHO. I have also been docked pints for stuff. Critique BD at your peril.

Well, unless Warner wants to go back on what they just said at IFA 2007, they will not be going exclusive any time soon. They are planning to release more titles in Q4 for Bluray than Q1,2,3 combined!

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=65741

Opps, sorry to rain on your little parade. Facts do suck somehow.

And just so we can kick another rumour into the log grass:

Question to BDA: it's about Paramount/Dreamworks. People speculated that Paramount were given 'sweeteners''. The person asking wants a Yes or No answer from all of the studios - have you been 'sweetened' to stick exclusively with Blu-ray?
Answer: Nobody wants to answer this.

The FOX exec is given the mic: "We were given very good content protection" (smiles).

(They continue passing the mic around).

Question to BDA: The guy who originally asked the question wants a definite confirmation that NO studio has received any sweetener to stay with Blu-ray.

Answer from Buena Vista: "That's not what I said. I said no comment".


I think that's finally crushed the idea that Paramount were offered money to create an un-even playing field.

Not one single studio, be it BD-only or dual-format could stand up and say "We've not been paid".

Steve W

Well, unless Warner wants to go back on what they just said at IFA 2007, they will not be going exclusive any time soon. They are planning to release more titles in Q4 for Bluray than Q1,2,3 combined!

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=65741

Opps, sorry to rain on your little parade. Facts do suck somehow.

True. Say...when are you getting that Blu-Ray Blades of Glory? They were up for pre-order on Amazon.

there goes that.

Here forgets to notice that the Warner person is talking about Europe. And I am still sticking to my view of Warner going exclusive. Europe has had like 20 titles from Warner so if they release 21 more titles it might be something they already mastered and it might be region 2 anyways so none of the US can use it.

Let's just wait for a bit longer before you make Warner is staying neutral assumption. This chick is nothing.

I have received NO ANSWER from Warner when I asked them if Blu-Ray titles will still be available at their online store after Sept. 5th. Believe me, if they did, they would reassure me that I can order Blu-Ray titles.

Here forgets to notice that the Warner person is talking about Europe. And I am still sticking to my view of Warner going exclusive. Europe has had like 20 titles from Warner so if they release 21 more titles it might be something they already mastered and it might be region 2 anyways so none of the US can use it.

Let's just wait for a bit longer before you make Warner is staying neutral assumption. This chick is nothing.

I have not received NO ANSWER from Warner when I asked them if Blu-Ray titles will still be available at their online store after Sept. 5th. Believe me, if they did, they would reassure me that I can order Blu-Ray titles.


Massive failure by nfinity and others here that predicted Warner exclusivity for HD-DVD. Have we found the new beatboy???

Warner: more titles for BD in Q4 than in Q1, Q2, and Q3 combined!

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=65741

Oh yeah, and I told you so! :p

Massive failure by nfinity and others here that predicted Warner exclusivity for HD-DVD. Have we found the new beatboy???

Warner: more titles for BD in Q4 than in Q1, Q2, and Q3 combined!

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=65741

These are also announcements specific to Europe not the US.

-warnings sent by PM
-some posts deleted

the personal attacks must stop

Massive failure by nfinity and others here that predicted Warner exclusivity for HD-DVD. Have we found the new beatboy???

Warner: more titles for BD in Q4 than in Q1, Q2, and Q3 combined!

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=65741


Greg are you reading posts at all?

True. Say...when are you getting that Blu-Ray Blades of Glory? They were up for pre-order on Amazon.

You beat me to it. A week or so before launch no less.

6 more days

These are also announcements specific to Europe not the US.


respectfully aaron I believe you are wrong.

The person making these announcements at IFA:

Marticorena has been promoted to the senior VP of high-def post and will move into her role upon Nickerson’s departure. Reporting to Horak, Marticorena will take the reigns in WHV efforts to promote the mainstream adoption of high-def formats.

She is the one to replace Steve Nickerson who was from Toshiba. :D:D:D

I have not received NO ANSWER from Warner

Ok... double negatives confuse the hell out of me. Can you like edit it or explain to me what the heck that means?

Ok... double negatives confuse the hell out of me. Can you like edit it or explain to me what the heck that means?

Grammatical math dictates that he has received an answer. Because if he has not received 'no answer', then the negatives cancel.

Ok... double negatives confuse the hell out of me. Can you like edit it or explain to me what the heck that means?

Not and NO. You could have said "I have not received an answer from Warner"

Not and NO. You could have said "I have not received an answer from Warner"

I corrected the wording..I made a mistake...

I corrected the wording..I made a mistake...

No problem, we all do :D

respectfully aaron I believe you are wrong.

The person making these announcements at IFA:

Marticorena has been promoted to the senior VP of high-def post and will move into her role upon Nickerson’s departure. Reporting to Horak, Marticorena will take the reigns in WHV efforts to promote the mainstream adoption of high-def formats.

She is the one to replace Steve Nickerson who was from Toshiba. :D:D:D

Again you are wrong:

17:29: Monica Juniel from Warner Home Video Europe.

The best selling WB titles on BD: Blood Diamond, Superman Returns, Flags of our Fathers, The Departed.

WB in Q4 2007: more titles in Q4 than in Q1, Q2, and Q3 combined!

"300" is mentioned. It's already out in America though, and in 3 European territories. This one is expected to rake in the megabucks (megaeuros?)

Marticorena did not say that about WB titles, Monica Juniel did. Please stop spreading FUD.

Clear enough for you?

I corrected the wording..I made a mistake...

thanks. that reads much better. :)

thanks. that reads much better. :)

What is with the attacks on Nfinity? He stated clearly when he started this thread that THESE WERE ALL OPINIONS BASED ON THINGS HE WAS SEEING. None of his comments are facts, which he acknowledges.

Are we not allowed to make predictions anymore? That's all he was doing.

Cheers,

Jason

I for one appreciate Nfinity's info and opinions and do not consider him to be anything like beatboy. Preach on my brotha! :)

Nfinity is NOTHING like beatboy77. He clearly states that these are his opinions. Beatboy77 treats his opinions and conjectures as facts.

Is the HD DVD group supposed to have a press confrence tommorrow?

Anyone have a list of all that was promised at the last CES by both formats, i'd like to see what was and kept and what is still missing

Is the HD DVD group supposed to have a press confrence tommorrow?

YES! Can't wait for it..Warner announcement might happen there.

Is the HD DVD group supposed to have a press confrence tommorrow?

What context? World-wide? US? Europe?

Is the HD DVD group supposed to have a press confrence tommorrow?

yes

YES! Can't wait for it..Warner announcement might happen there.
Well...it won't! They are neutral! :rolleyes:

Is the HD DVD group supposed to have a press confrence tommorrow?

European HD DVD Promotion Group Press Conference (31 August 2007, 2pm-3:30pm UK time)

Well guys, I started this thread to make sure that everyone has access to it prior to CEDIA and for the reason of "I told you" so when we finally hear the news starting Sept. 5th. Of course I might be wrong, but something tells me that we will hear very very positive HD DVD news.

1. Warner will go exclusive and I base this assumption with their open support for HD DVD on their hi-def website where under Tech Specs and In-Movie experience they don't mention B out of Blu-Ray but list HD DVD hardware and capabilities. The fact that they have stopped shipping hi-def titles until Sept. 5th when CEDIA starts and will most likely announce their exclusivity, thus shipping only HD DVD movies from that point. And a few other notices from 2nd hand insiders within either studio or HD DVD promoters.

UPDATE: And interesting article came out from USA Today that lists Harry Potter titles as HD DVD Only, another +1 to the Warner going exclusive HD DVD. http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/dvd/2007-08-27-download-side_N.htm

2. We will see great news about hardware, be it $149 chinese players or Walmart deal going through

3. SD DVDs being replaced with HD DVD/DVD combos or twin discs.

Next Wednesday we will see people saying the exact opposite then they are saying today. The format war will be close to over with these news and all articles would change the tone to favor HD DVD now as the ultimate winner, something we've all known since the beginning. It was just matter of time.

This will be a fun thread where we will quote Blu-bois with their illogical and PR fed conclusions. Let's see if anyone gets it right from them, but as they are usually just repeating what they are being told by BD PR, I think we are in for good laughs.I'm just replying to this to have a stable version of it so I can compare it with next week's developments.

What is with the attacks on Nfinity? He stated clearly when he started this thread that THESE WERE ALL OPINIONS BASED ON THINGS HE WAS SEEING. None of his comments are facts, which he acknowledges.

Are we not allowed to make predictions anymore? That's all he was doing.

Cheers,

Jason
Speculation is healthy, having all you hopes set on it is not.
People here (back on that fateful red Monday) didn't believe the paramount announcement until there was proof.

Nfinity is providing speculation and his reasons supporting it. A big difference from what BB did, who now claims Warner is not leaving blu after announcing last week it would be HD exclusive.
Besides it was higher ups in the BDA that told their people Warner was leaving. Thats what started the speculation.

Nfinity give us his opinion and the facts he believes to support it. After Paramount it is impossible to say what a studio will or wont do. I still think it sucks they pulled the releases of titles they were pre-selling.

Any way what give me some pause is the analysts, some of who say they encouraged warner to go dual format, back tracking on Blu.
If the industry wants one format as the Blu bois claimed they wanted , the HD is the format to back given there are some who have doubts about either format replacing DVD, HD has the upper hand on this front.

I have also been docked pints for stuff.

Points???

ummm where is that in. I want to see if I have points or been taken points away or even to know what you guys are talking about..

These are also announcements specific to Europe not the US.

and again they are present day also and nothing more. The Ink is mighter than the sword and in this case, the CEO and boardmembers ink is where the buck stops.

Warner MANAGEMENT stated (VP is manaement and not part of the executives) the release dates of the movies. To make it perfectly clear (for the third time), management knows as much as the low level mail clerks on the dealings of the company (ASSUMING such thing are taking place, which at this point is conjecture on my part), and until the news goes public, they won't know any more.

Reason is to minimize "leakage" of information that can lead to insider trading and nothing to do with who wins a format war.

I'm just replying to this to have a stable version of it so I can compare it with next week's developments

If you are going to start saving all the posts of everyone's speculations, you'll need a bigger hard drive. Or are you restricting it to just HD DVD supporters' speculations?

What is with the attacks on Nfinity? He stated clearly when he started this thread that THESE WERE ALL OPINIONS BASED ON THINGS HE WAS SEEING. None of his comments are facts, which he acknowledges.

Are we not allowed to make predictions anymore? That's all he was doing.

Cheers,

Jason

dont really know why you called me out on that. Im not attacking him. I only asked for a correction to a sentence he made due to the fact that it was using a double negative and was throwing me for a loop. You may have read that in my posts. ( I have a hard time wrapping my brain around a double negative.) But, anyway, he has some good opinions as do most here. Hope this helps. :)

oppo to unveil HD DVD player HD1080 msrp 399.00.

oppo to unveil HD DVD player HD1080 msrp 399.00.

NICE...:rolleyes:

NICE...:rolleyes:

yes, but i stated it so if it does come true i get the joy of saying "I told you so. I told you so..." hehehe.

beatboy, is that you?


;)


Look, I don't mean to brag, but I have bought a few Warner titles in the last year so we are pretty tight. I am going to call their reception and randomly punch in a couple extension numbers and see what I can find out.

I will get back to you shortly...

Seriously, Para/Dream does not make the move they made if they think they are going it alone. They know something. Maybe Warner still has time left in a commitment or other, but as far as I am concerned they were already half way exclusive as it is and I see no reason why the same economics that drove Paramount over would not apply to Warner.

It makes absolutely no sense for Paramount to isolate itself on the lower end of the Hi-Def studio split unless they know that will be changing. They need to be sure there will be lots of reason for HD-DVD players to end up being in the vast majority. Its a no brainer.

Add to that the "delay" of TrueHD, which really wouldn't be needed if they were going HD-DVD exclusive now would it etc, etc, etc.

Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but I doubt it would be very long before this becomes official.

As with others, while I would be thrilled, I think we need to temper our expectations for the upcoming show.

Cheers,

Richard.

I hope it's true, too. If only to see what Shill Hunt has to say about it. :) He seems to think Disney is the only reason people buy HD media according to his latest comments about the new Venturer players. It's not like Blu doesn't have it's own shortcomings when it comes to studio support now.

My prediction:

The HD-DVD group will show sales figures (players and discs) that prove Blu-ray is losing the stand-alone player battle and prove Blu-ray is all wet with regard to the much-touted 2:1 disc sales lead.

HD-DVD sold a crap-load of players and discs in August. My guess it was the best month ever for HD-DVD and easily eclipsed the sales by Blu.

Mark

Isn't that the EUROPEAN Blu-ray Association?

Nice post, Richard. I agree; the Paramount move was such a surprise, it had to be motivated by something more. They must know something, and soon, so will we.

Change of momentum from HD DVD to Blu Ray. And you better bookmark this post.