NY Times: Warner to release BR/HD-DVD Hybrid Discs

It's all getting silly. Hybrid players and discs too? Can they add Video CD on them too?

Just seems like a waste. Stupid format war, and it looks like it'll last only a year or so in hardware, but the formats themselves will stay seperate for a long time for no reason. They should be using that space to add capacity, not more formats.

I wouldn't buy that. I'm not paying extra for something I don't need or want.

I don't know why we keep seeing the following piece of misinformation in news articles.

However, among its perceived advantages, HD-DVD players are less expensive and also play standard DVDs, while Blu-ray players do not.

Twilight zone all of the sudden.

Let's see:

BD owners: Don't need the HD DVD
HD DVD owners: Don't need the BD
Universal owners: Only need one

Absolutely EVERYONE would be paying for something they don't need.

Gary

Dumbest idea yet. But, maybe it would work if they also include a laserdisk in the package as well. You could charge $50 a pop for something like that.

Nothing whatsoever was said in that news bit about these disks costing extra.

Warner is pushing it as means to consolidate both formats into a single disk for retail purposes. These disks are intended to replace both HD-DVD and Blu-ray disks, not supplement them.

We are probably reading too much into this this quote from the article.

"Jeffrey L. Bewkes, the president of Time Warner, said the Total HD disc has a better chance of catching on than dual players. Research commissioned by Warner indicates that consumers are willing to pay several dollars more than current high-definition DVDs for a disc that works on both players. At the Web site for Best Buy, Warner's Superman Returns DVD was selling yesterday for $19.99 in its standard format, $29.99 for Blu-ray and $34.99 for HD-DVD."

Then I have a great idea. Since people would be willing to pay several dollars more for something that plays in both, how about giving the consumer basically the same thing by having one format step aside so that all discs work in all players from now on (maybe replacing some current players) and then that side could just be given that several dollars per disc from now on.

Okay, I'm kidding.

I personally really dislike the idea of these dual format discs. Kind of like the combo discs where I don't even want the DVD side, but end up paying for it since I don't have the option of buying the disc without it, except that in this case they limit the size of at least the Blu-ray side. If Blu-ray was going to be limited to 25GB then I would want HD DVD to win with their 30GB and not pay extra for the other side.

--Darin

If Warner really wanted to I think they could almost decide this war. Maybe not in favor of HD DVD just yet, but if they pulled their support for Blu-ray it would really hurt that side and that might really tip things to the HD DVD side. Even though it might take a while for things to work themselves out. But, if Warner truely wanted to end the war real soon and was willing to give something, pulling support for HD DVD right now would almost be a death knell for it with Universal and the Weinstein's as the only major ones left along with the neutral Paramount. I think the war wouldn't last that much longer if Warner did something that drastic. I'm not saying they should or will, but if Warner really wanted to end it I think they just about could. Just not in the direction they would prefer (since I think they favor HD DVD overall). Universal and Sony could probably also end it just by themselves, but not in the direction they favor.

I could see some Time Warner guy asking Sony what they would give Warner in the way of royalties going forward if Warner would switch to only Blu-ray (and take New Line too).

--Darin

Great post dad1153. You've managed to stay above the fray and make a clear observation. This really is depressing.

After all, this is the studio that kept on packaging everything in snapper cases despite everybody hating them just because it earned additional money on them.

It seems to me that these announcements by Warners and LG will have impact depending on several factors.

1. What will the cost of the Warner disks be?
2. How will they compare in quality with the current disks?
3. Will Warner be gready and charge the other companies to use the dual disks?
4. Will LG come in with a low price for the dual player.

5. Probably most important. Will the average consumer be more confused and decide to wait for things to settle. This could quickly end the format war.

DAMN IT WARNER!!!!!

LG and WARNER are the ****ing biggest party poopers EVER!!

HD-DVD is hanging by the slimmest of thread, its time for BDA to go for the kill. Now all these stupid hybrid **** have to ruin the plan

I refuse to buy all these gimmicks HD. Blu-ray all the way

Shouldn't this be in the software section?

Wouldnt mind having these discs if the prices remain the same or lower than they are now (probably an impossible condition) and they dont come dual sided (I dont know how they were intending to make these TotalHD discs - I hate dual sided discs. I like discs with the artwork on one side).

Yeah but now you split up the discussion, works vice versa for people that frequent the software section more than the hardware. It's much easier to click on one thread and read everything; i'd imagine some pretty intelligent posts are going fall through the cracks due to the two threads. Only replying to this one since it's the last section i was reading.

Anyways, if these discs do go live and become the "norm" won't Blu-ray lose it's one advantage, storage capacity? This isn't specific to this new disc and WB since WB was already gimping it's Blu-ray releases by using the same video transfers for Blu-ray releases as it does HD-DVD, while leaving off the DTS-HD audio track (i guess since it would go over the 25gb limit on a single sided BD). However, if other studios were to follow suit wouldn't that make the Blu-ray audio gimped compared to it's HD-DVD counterpart everytime?

Personally i think this is a terrible idea, while i lean towards the Blu-ray camp, if HD-DVD wins then whatever i'll go with that. I just want one format to win ASAP then for it to be refined as much as possible. If both formats stick around it's going to take much longer for either format to mature and for the quality bar to be raised exponentially.

For the record i won't be buying any of these discs unless it's something that ranks as one of my all time favorites.

Hybrid discs = fewer MPEG2 titles = bad news for Sony. They'll be using VC-1 for BD/HD DVD. I think it's a good idea, as long as we do not see an increase in cost, and to keep costs down, I think they'll use a single-layer BD side while maintaining a dual-layer HD DVD side (I'm assuming it'll be a flipper). This will definitely put a lot of pressure on Disney and Fox. They'd be crazy to ignore a huge customer base by sticking with BD-only. This is a step in the right direction, kudos to Warner.

Someday BD and HD DVD will be of the same option vein on a disk as DD and DTS is or like English and Spanish.

Hybrid discs != everyone will release on hybrid discs.

If Sony/Disney/Fox/Whatever don't support HD DVD today they'll probably not do it because of hubrid discs.

I disagree. With studios like Disney and Fox, there is one universal language. Money. And supporting both = more money for them. They may perceive a hybrid as a logical step towards supporting both formats.

Not if no one buys them. I won't buy any.

Sounds like this thread is the twilight zone!

dad1153 was there really a need for you to create this thread in the Blu-Ray Hardware, Blu-Ray Software, HD DVD Hardware and the HD DVD Software forums? Once would have sufficed

Both sides lose with this disc because it is most likely single layer HD DVD and Blu-ray. I own a PS3 and I really don't care who wins. I want both formats delivering the highest quality possible and not dumb downed like DVD is today.

I'm just loving every moment of it. The fanatics are all screaming.

HD-DVD hanging on by the slimmest of thread?!? Then where, exactly, is Blu-Ray? Already fallen off the thread? HD-DVD has led all along in sales, in customer satisfaction, and in PQ reviews.

This is why CES will see dual-format players. This is also why Warner is unveiling this combo disc. And it's also why Circuit City is now stocking HD-DVD players in its stores after dismissing the format for nearly a year.

Every major retailer, CE company, and most of the studios have been giving BD every opportunity in the world to blow HD-DVD away in sales by pushing Blu-Ray, giving it more exclusive support and ridiculing HD-DVD as a format. But despite these HUGE advantages, HD-DVD has continued to lead the format war by offering a better product, more consistent titles, and better prices.

Blu-Ray has been botched from the start -- software with poor PQ the norm early on, hardware delayed for months on end, 50GB discs nowhere to be seen at launch (and when finally debuted, accounting for less than 5% of titles), interactive BDj still among the missing several months after launch, lossless audio that only one player on the market can even decode, and prices up to $1300 for players! And PS3's are now sitting on shelves in many locations (including mine) due to their ridiculous prices while the Wii devours Sony's sales.