I heard on another forum that they are becoming HD DVD exclusive starting next week. Is this true?

Hi Kian,

You should have done a cursory search before making this post in a hard-core enthusiast's forum. It takes nanoseconds between a news item materialising in the cosmos and its appearance here, so yes - we've all heard about this.

Is it true? Of course, nobody knows yet ...

Although I hope it is true, you must realize that it is purely speculation at this point. We have heard this same rumor several times before.

We can only hope, but carry on as usual. If it happens, great. If not, it'll be just another day.

Oh, and to add my dearest (HD related, anyway) wish - I really do hope it is true. I want HD DVD to assume its rightful place as video overlord. Though I've got a PS3 and some BD's, I've got an A1, A35 and Xbox add-on and about 110 HD DVD's - my allegiance is always to HD DVD.

I heard on another forum that they are becoming HD DVD exclusive starting next week. Is this true?

It's pure speculation at this point!

The main reason, is because WB's Blu-Ray membership will expire on October 31st.

It is still up in the air if they will renew it or not!

Word is the decision has already been made and Warner will soon be supporting only one high def format. ;) That's all I am saying as I expect this thread to be shut down at any moment. LOL:D

YEAH... For the inevitable!

I haven't been this excited for Halloween since I was 10! Even if it doesn't happen, it's fun to look forward to "something". :)

i hope this happens, but to be honest who here pays their bills before the due date???

I was speaking to GOD a few mins ago, and he asked me if Warner was going HD DVD exclusive. I asked him where he heard that, and he replied that word travels fast.

WB will eventually go HD-DVD exclusive. I personally don't think that it will happen this year. Next year seems more likely.

It would be great if they went HD-DVD exclusive starting November 2007.

what is this blu-ray membership that is being talked about? what does it cost to renew? Why is a membership needed to produce a format? Is there a membership renewal for HD-DVD?

The sooner they pick a side the better, If they wait for Q1 2008 think about howmany people will be screwed as they just dropped all that money on a format for christmas just to have WB drop support the next month. If they anounce now then everyone will go into the holiday shopping season knowing and will buy accordingly bringing this war to an end that much sooner.

All the news inquiring minds want to know; Toshiba/WB Interviews (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=929319)

The blu membership cost around $40-50k. I don't know any more than that about it, except that Paramount didn't find it necessary to wait for their membership to expire. I don't expect it to be weighing so heavily on the WB's decision process .
$50k is nothing to the studio's, if there were trying to keep a decision quiet, if there area any, $50k would be a cheap price to cut out insider trading.

then again $150 million is too much incentive for the humble,hard working, simple folks of Hollywood to resist ;)

Reported A3 $169at Sears black Friday. Amazon, CC, and Wal-mart already pushing $198 players, it is just starting to get interesting.

The sooner they pick a side the better, If they wait for Q1 2008 think about howmany people will be screwed as they just dropped all that money on a format for christmas just to have WB drop support the next month. If they anounce now then everyone will go into the holiday shopping season knowing and will buy accordingly bringing this war to an end that much sooner.

I agree with your thinking. It would be a better decision for the consumer who is planning to venture into high-defintion media for the first time this Christmas.

Warner should announce HD-DVD exclusivity starting Novemer 01, 2007 to end this once and for all. Warner is a studio that has looked out for the consumer so far in this HDM war so maybe an early decision is more beneficial to the consumers.

We've had almost constant rumors about Disney, Fox, Lionsgate, Weisnstein, Universal and most recently warner. Not one of the rumors have ever been right. The only studio that has moved is Paramount (and Dreamworks) and pretty much no one expected that.

So while if Warner havn't renewed that is a little strange I wouldn't get my hopes up at all.

Despite saying that, I probably will check these forums a little more on the 31st and 1st just in Case.

That fact that anyone knows about this, probably means it isn't going to happen.

This rumor and the few pics online of press materials with HD-DVD and WB logos again with no mention of Blu-ray add fuel to the fire. When the BD membership expires I expect them to work out a deal as I don't think Warner would go HD exclusive at the moment. It seems though that Warner has shown and continues to show an HD-DVD friendly position. Perhaps WB even prefers HD for many reasons, but sales are up over there so why go exclusive? I would prefer to see FOX support both formats in the long run(won't happen anytime soon). Still its something to watch for come Oct 31 :)

I agree with your thinking. It would be a better decision for the consumer who is planning to venture into high-defintion media for the first time this Christmas.

Warner should announce HD-DVD exclusivity starting Novemer 01, 2007 to end this once and for all. Warner is a studio that has looked out for the consumer so far in this HDM war so maybe an early decision is more beneficial to the consumers.

It is far fairer to the consumer to announce now versus after they buy a player and then drop support.

With the Walmart deal in place this is the only missing link.

It is far fairer to the consumer to announce now versus after they buy a player and then drop support.

One could say it would be fair to the consumer to announce exclusivity to Blu-ray for the same reason.

One could say it would be fair to the consumer to announce exclusivity to Blu-ray for the same reason.

It won't be fair to the Blu-Ray consumers in any case as Profile 1.1 becomes mandatory from October 31, 2007 onwards. New Blu-Ray players released after this deadline have to be 1.1 compliant so that they can take advantage of all the Blu-Ray features. The existing Blu-Ray players will not be able to utilize all Blu-Ray features.

The same cycle takes place again in May 2008 when Profile 2.0 kicks in.

I want to see this happen just for the meltdowns that would occur.:D

Its all about who is the cheaper format. HDDVD. The cheaper the up front cost to the consumer the more the faster they will migrate from dvd to high def.

Bluray is more expensive to EVERYONE. To make the discs down to making the players.

I see sub $100 players for christmas 2008. I see BD players $200 at the same time or maybe none. If WB goes HD DVD then I think others will jump ship and go neutral or exlusive HDDVD.

I do believe the end of BD is here. The player price is what will make mass adoption. And you have Toshiba and Microsoft in bed. Microsoft alone could buy the entire format with cash.

I also forgot to mention all the hd dvd drives being built into toshiba laptops. After all toshiba is the largest laptop manufacture in the world. My next laptop will be able to play my hd collection while I am traveling.

I want to see this happen just for the meltdowns that would occur.:D

if it did happen there would be no melt down on these or an forums. just in the adoption of massses.

On AVS, BD.com and TDB you would hear..."things are even", "besides tittle X what does WB have?", rumours of a pay out and time line and people saying "just wait until 20XX when the imaginary contract expires and WB comes out on BD".

no melt down... just damage control.

Although I hope it is true, you must realize that it is purely speculation at this point. We have heard this same rumor several times before.

Weeeellllllll it's more like weak inductive reasoning rather than pure speculation, given the morsels 'pon which this rumor is based. I'm talking about published quotations and/or interviews with WB big wigs which point a certain way.

EDIT:

I'd like to add that it cannot have escaped WB that moving to HD DVD exclusivity before Black Friday with it's jaw-droppingly low player prices would give HD DVD player sales an enormous boost and possibly be the "two" in the "one-two" punch to knock down BD. WB doesn't have petty fanboy allegiances, they only care about getting the most hardware in homes to sell more discs. Toshiba can go broke giving the players away for all WB cares, as long as they have a way to sell discs.

But it's not without risk, since there *is* a competing format with several staunch studio supporters. Not to mention the BD movies WB has already scheduled for this year. Would they do a Paramount and just stop shipping them out, then cancel all future BDs? Or would they deliver what they promised until the end of the year?

WB can't remain neutral forever.

One could say it would be fair to the consumer to announce exclusivity to Blu-ray for the same reason.

That's true. At the same time Warner is not packing 300 with BD Drives and they are packing it with HD DVD drives. In other words, if they went exclusive Blu they would have more difficulty extricating themselves from that than if they went HD DVD exclusive. We should also remember that Warner favors HD DVD in releases and was HD DVD exclusive at one time. That being the case Warner going HD DVD exclusive would be the return of the (second, Paramount cam back first) Prodigal Son.

The intersting thing would be that Warner didnt release BB or Matrix in their catching up, but they did release T3.

It could be interesting to know why

BB, its better to release it close to Dark knight so that aint much of an issue.

The Matrix could have been released now, but I can find 3 reasons why they would wait.

1. It doesnt sell that well, so they can wait for bigger market penetration.
2. They don want to make the PiP with branching for 3 movies, they rather wait until they can make it with real PiP
3. They are going exclusive, and dont want to throw out its Gem on Blu before they leave

But if its reason 3, why would they release T3 on blu?

And the only thing I can find is that its not a really an attractive movie that it will make any difference.

Of course just speculation, but Warner seems to always prefered Red.

I want to see this happen just for the meltdowns that would occur.:D
+1 it'll be the stuff of legends. im actually hoping they go br exclusive tho, i can see the hd fanboys screaming about buyouts, conspiracies, and how sony, wb, and satan formed an evil alliance to kill off "the people's format"

the paramount news was some of the best entertainment on avs ever. so many people saying theyre going to quit hd altogether, or giving farewell posts saying they're "retiring" from avs because they can't stand the news.

either way, itll be awesome stuff

+1 it'll be the stuff of legends. im actually hoping they go br exclusive tho, i can see the hd fanboys screaming about buyouts, conspiracies, and how sony, wb, and satan formed an evil alliance to kill off "the people's format"

the paramount news was some of the best entertainment on avs ever. so many people saying theyre going to quit hd altogether, or giving farewell posts saying they're "retiring" from avs because they can't stand the news.

either way, itll be awesome stuff

I just spilled my coffee... LOL!

But I agree 100%

+1 it'll be the stuff of legends. im actually hoping they go br exclusive tho, i can see the hd fanboys screaming about buyouts, conspiracies, and how sony, wb, and satan formed an evil alliance to kill off "the people's format"

the paramount news was some of the best entertainment on avs ever. so many people saying theyre going to quit hd altogether, or giving farewell posts saying they're "retiring" from avs because they can't stand the news.

either way, itll be awesome stuff

You can't buy that type of entertainment!!! Free of charge with a membership to AVS god bless em!!

You can't buy that type of entertainment!!! Free of charge with a membership to AVS god bless em!!

tell me about it. my sleep schedule has been screwed up pretty bad the last week or so, so i havent been able to fall asleep until 8am or so. an 120 page meltdown thread would be awesome right now.

tell me about it. my sleep schedule has been screwed up pretty bad the last week or so, so i havent been able to fall asleep until 8am or so. an 120 page meltdown thread would be awesome right now.


Those meltdowns make my 18:00 to 06:00 shift go much faster. Abusing 17-year-old PS3 owners with their circular logic and bad grammar is fun, but it gets dull after a while. A big blow-out would make my evening go much faster

new line isnt that's all that matters

Close please, this should be posted in the rumor section. Blu-Ray thread was closed, this one should too

i hope this happens, but to be honest who here pays their bills before the due date???

I do.

But if its reason 3, why would they release T3 on blu?.

Because blu guys yet have T1 and T2, blus goes to T3 to complete colection and WB make a lot of money.

Word is the decision has already been made and Warner will soon be supporting only one high def format. ;)

Links? Source? A couple biased persons insinuating this under cover of forum anonymity do not constitute "word" of anything.

You'll notice that in the closed HD DVD software thread, I asked very politely for the first person giving "word" to provide even a smidgen of insight as to how he or his source could be in a position to know. You'll notice there's no response. That should be a far bigger indicator than any amount of winking.

If I had any say, there'd be a rule against this "I know something you don't know" horsecrap. If you know it and can say it, then say it. If you know it and can't say it, then don't say anything. If you don't know it, don't make things up.

Mods should start a sticky thread entitled "Hall of Shame" filled with quotes by people claiming to know something who didn't.

Links? Source? A couple biased persons insinuating this under cover of forum anonymity do not constitute "word" of anything.

You'll notice that in the closed HD DVD software thread, I asked very politely for the first person giving "word" to provide even a smidgen of insight as to how he or his source could be in a position to know. You'll notice there's no response. That should be a far bigger indicator than any amount of winking.

If I had any say, there'd be a rule against this "I know something you don't know" horsecrap. If you know it and can say it, then say it. If you know it and can't say it, then don't say anything. If you don't know it, don't make things up.

Mods should start a sticky thread entitled "Hall of Shame" filled with quotes by people claiming to know something who didn't.


I've always said it's not if WB would go HD DVD exclusive but when. And I'm not sure about this timing, however, it might be more than a coincidence that WalMart has started to announce and carry HD DVD players in a big way. Given that fact it seems quite feasible that Warner would throw all of its weight behind HD DVD sooner than later. The one caveat being WB saying they would be watching the 4Q closely and in order to do that you have to wait the quarter out to assess.

Warner going neutral and HD DVD players under $200 = death for blu ray.

Time for some one to start up a Blu Ray dethclok.

+1 it'll be the stuff of legends. im actually hoping they go br exclusive tho, i can see the hd fanboys screaming about buyouts, conspiracies, and how sony, wb, and satan formed an evil alliance to kill off "the people's format"

the paramount news was some of the best entertainment on avs ever. so many people saying theyre going to quit hd altogether, or giving farewell posts saying they're "retiring" from avs because they can't stand the news.

either way, itll be awesome stuff

No doubt....the blu ray fan boys totally lost it when paramount bailed on blu ray.
letters and petitions, conspiracy theories,..........I hope warner goes hd dvd exclusive just so we can see the blu boys act like little girls again.

Fortunately, we have a case study of "How A Defection Occurs in the HDM Format War". It's called Paramount/Dreamworks.

1) NOBODY specifically called it outside the company.
2) Nobody below the highest levels of management knew about it inside the company.
3) Disc authoring and production, marketing, etc. continued as usual (since anything different would have tipped employees off, which would have led to leaks) up until the moment of the defection.
4) Films were being announced, pre-release evaluation copies of BD films like "Blades of Glory" were sent to reviewers, and discs were pressed and readied for shipment (BOG - evidenced by the fact that some people actually bought BD Blades of Glory discs at retail).
5) And then one day, we found out that Paramount was saying "Bye Bye to Blu".
6) Previously announced Blu-ray releases were all canceled (even if discs were already being manufactured and marketed)
7) Titles previously released on Blu-ray were never manufactured again.

Let's check on the forums on the 31st/1st and see what happens!

I've always said it's not if WB would go HD DVD exclusive but when. And I'm not sure about this timing, however, it might be more than a coincidence that WalMart has started to announce and carry HD DVD players in a big way. Given that fact it seems quite feasible that Warner would throw all of its weight behind HD DVD sooner than later. The one caveat being WB saying they would be watching the 4Q closely and in order to do that you have to wait the quarter out to assess.

That's fine, but I don't know what it has to do with my quote. Talking about what you think will happen based on your own insight is one thing. Claiming to have inside knowledge of an upcoming announcement is something else entirely.

If they do it I would expect it after Harry Potter is released. That is a Cash Cow they exploit.

Ok, if this did happen, when would they make the announcement? If the contract expires on October 31st, would they announce it on November 1st, or could they continue releasing on both for a couple months?

If they do it I would expect it after Harry Potter is released. That is a Cash Cow they exploit.

HD media makes up about 1% of the marketplace.

Let's not be unrealistic - while we all believe this stuff is eternally important, the dollars made off HDM sales at this point are completely insignificant.

If this was a big deal, Paramount would have waited until after "Transformers" to go exclusive.

Ok, if this did happen, when would they make the announcement? If the contract expires on October 31st, would they announce it on November 1st, or could they continue releasing on both for a couple months?

If they were truly going exclusive, you'd hear about it from the HD DVD Promotions Group before the ink on the contract was dry :)

So...immediately after it was a done deal.

If it does happen on Nov. 1st, I would not expect to see any more BD releases from WB at all, even on previously announced titles.

HD media makes up about 1% of the marketplace.

Let's not be unrealistic - while we all believe this stuff is eternally important, the dollars made off HDM sales at this point are completely insignificant.

If this was a big deal, Paramount would have waited until after "Transformers" to switch sides.

You mean to drop Bluray? They were neutral before that.

You mean to drop Bluray? They were neutral before that.

Yes. Edited for clarity.

You mean to drop Bluray? They were neutral before that.

Correct, they dropped one and kept the other.

HD media makes up about 1% of the marketplace.

Let's not be unrealistic - while we all believe this stuff is eternally important, the dollars made off HDM sales at this point are completely insignificant.

If this was a big deal, Paramount would have waited until after "Transformers" to go exclusive.

I agree with that. I think like Paramount they want to just pick a side to get this war over with. A year has went by with no progress and if WB picked any side I consider this war to be over. I am sure like us they are getting sick of the war and just want to focus on 1 format and get it over with.

If Paramount and WB both went HD-DVD I think it would be only a matter of months before Lions Gate, Disney, Fox to all follow or at least go neutral.

HD media makes up about 1% of the marketplace.

Let's not be unrealistic - while we all believe this stuff is eternally important, the dollars made off HDM sales at this point are completely insignificant.

If this was a big deal, Paramount would have waited until after "Transformers" to go exclusive.
Oh, I know that, it's a drop in the bucket, but this drop will be a littler bigger. With 5 individuals movies plus box sets, Potter will be the biggest money maker yet.

Here's my theory:

Do you really think THD was that problematic? It was said so people would forget about it for a little while. So, they have the "ability" and patents to do so. So how can they start selling it?

If they go BD exclusive, it will kill THD. The war will begin to trickle away but very slowly.

Now, if the go HD exclusive, things will heat up quite a bit. It will not end the way but rather fuel it even more. It will be to the point where the other studios will finally rethink their stance and finally cave in. Cave in what way? neutrality. and who will be the hero that swoops down from the heavens to save us all? THD!

So whatever decision they make, it will not end this war immediately. that can't happen. BD had their chance to take the crown in 2007 but failed. BD will not go away and neither is HD. So if you're still on the fence because of this war, pick a side. Any side. you're media is still going to be played for years to come...

ahhhh figures. HD-DVD loses to BD again with transformers and all this FUD starts again. Truly hilarious and pathetic.

tell me about it. my sleep schedule has been screwed up pretty bad the last week or so, so i havent been able to fall asleep until 8am or so. an 120 page meltdown thread would be awesome right now.

:D

They ARE fun to read: "Yikes, there's 800 posts to read yet!"

Warner announces HD DVD exclusivity this week, and subsequently announces the NEWEST Harry Potter will be HD DVD exclusive (Another BIG title for HD DVD in '07).

The New Harry Potter has been missing from pre-ordering at Warner.

the paramount news was some of the best entertainment on avs ever. so many people saying theyre going to quit hd altogether, or giving farewell posts saying they're "retiring" from avs because they can't stand the news.

What made the Paramount news so great was that it caught both sides off guard in a time where all the 'good' news was swirling around Blu Ray on this forum for weeks and HD DVD'ers had to deal with the constant 'HD DVD is dead', 'HD DUD' comments, fleshwound and domino effect pictures...etc.

The Paramount announcement without a question slammed the brakes on all that talk.

As for Warner... Swallow that red pill and send the smurfs into hiding.

Funny how we get the other one locked, then someone comes in and makes essentially the same post. I don't envy the mods.

I wouldn't hold my breath.

time