Blockbuster Blu-ray announcement: Master Thread - Page 8

I think it's important for us to do this. Not to defend HD DVD, but to defend the choice of format that still exists.

As an HD DVD supporter - and more of a realist than you are it seems.

BB needs money as it's stock is down.

The masses don't want 2 HD video formats.

Shame on BB for cutting a deal that may prove out ot be an excellent decision in the future - like carrying DVD's in their stores for rental.

Oh . . and that "ton of money" is nothing more than an "enriched" revenue sharing program with the BDA studios.

The difference is a format battle isn't good for video retailers, so the sooner its over the better for them. If Blockbuster is a catalyst, and to its investors looks like an industry leader - stepping up ahead of all others - its a win for them. Watch their share price tomorrow and see if it moves on this news.

All I said was that I was curious about why someone who doesn't own a PS3 would be reading threads at the official PS3 forum. I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers and as a PS3 owner I was simply curious about that.



Trust me there will be people who will try to find a reason to blame Sony for this, in my experience most anti-Blu-ray posters hate Sony, but from what I can see it is simple economics. Blockbuster had more people renting Blu-ray movies and because of that they decided to stock Blu-ray movies in more of their stores. Obviously some will not like that logical explanation and as such will eventually convince themselves that there was more to it. In other words here is looking forward to conspiracy theories explaining a completely understandable decision.



Though Blockbuster has lost some market share to Netflix, and other online rental stores, they are still by far the largest company in the rental business. Personally I think the fact that they are going to offer Blu-ray rentals may even help them.



The end of the world of course . Seriously who knows when, or even if, Warner will actually attempt their TotalHD plan since we haven't heard anything about it for months.

Yep, the only good thing is to have ONE format that people can get behind. People have had enough time to make their choice and now it's time to head in one unified direction, so I'm glad for this development. The studios, CE manufacturers and, looking at sales ratios, consumers have made their choice, now it's time for the retailers to do so as well.

Double Ditto. I've been pro-HD DVD since its inception, I own the A1, the XA2 and about 50 HD DVD titles. However, I'd also become violently nauseous and weary regarding the format war in general since this past January.

I've always hated how anti-"what the consumer wants/deserves" Sony and its partners in the war have been (especially in recent years) but, IMO, this war has tested one's "early adopter mettle" like no other bleeding edge product I've ever invested in.

With the war, etc on - HD media in general was starting to look like it would end up about half as successful as laser disc - at best.

So, if "early and rash" announcements like these and "dirty tactics" like the PS3 trojan horse are what forces the public to take HD media on as a true mainstream product then I say: GOD BLESS, SONY!

I'm a Sony hater but if this and the other s*** they end up doing means that I'll be able to buy the Infernal Affairs trilogy, the Cowboy Bebop series, Futurama and god only knows what other amount of goodness that will fit in the space of a BD-50 with a VC-1 codec - then I say bring it on and let all else be damned.

i think most retailers would like to have a single format for xmas.

This deal likely involves more than just BlockBuster, though. "Controlling interests." All I'm saying. Also, remember, PS3 is also about games. Dig back far enough, you'll see what I mean. Or maybe it's time for me to get fitted for that tinfoil hat, one or the other.

I am shocked to see so many of HD-DVD's most passionate supporters such as Amiable-Akuma share a similar view-point as me, the sooner this format war is over the better it will be for over-all HD adoption. I applaud you for you updated view on this war

~Josh

Wow. Huge news. I must admit that I am slightly surprised by this. Although it is obvious that retailers would rather not carry two competing formats, I thought BB would still do it in order to give the customers more choice. What this tells me is that BB has done their research and concluded that it doesn't make good business sense to offer HD-DVD titles for rent.

I weep for the public. BD or HDDVD, many of those movies suck!

With all due respect, and not to turn this thread towards the gaming side, but you haven't been keeping up with PS3 sales then. They are abysmal, selling less than 100k per month the last 2 months. $599 is still a lot of money for mainstream America, and with 2 of those titles you mentioned either 1) Already out for a competing cheaper console or 2) Releasing day and date with said cheaper console, PS3 sales aren't going to magically take off because of the price.



What's funny is that my local Blockbusters didn't rent either. So I couldn't even be part of that statistic. So I think the experiment itself really has some questions attached to it. Especially since I, a HD media owner, couldn't rent said media at all.



And bonus points to JTYoung.

So let me ask this again, since no one answered me the first time. Other than drive away a segment of their business to a competing store that will rent HD DVD's, exactly what does this do for Blu-ray and Blockbuster?

It amazes me still that people are convinced that unlike Laserdiscs that never got past early adoption, somehow this and the destruction of HD DVD will mean everyone who wasn't going to spend $500 and up on a Blu-ray player was going to magically have a change of heart and run right out to Best Buy. Candy canes and gumdrops will fall from the sky as people rush right out to buy their BD players.

Of course, I am on an enthousiast site where money seems not to be an issue to most people. That's why there is a vast disconnect. That's why I see one format at this time becoming the next great Laserdisc. Those of us in the mainstream will simply be priced out of this and stick with renting regular DVD's from Redbox and downloading HD movies on Xbox Live. Congratulations BDA.

Let me take on your question.

The markets are different. Video games have a proven record of being able to support different game systems, which have different capabilities.

In the case of movies on video, this is much less so. Indeed, the two video formats are so similar that most people would not know the difference. The format war is also holding up adoption.

So, the situations are sufficiently different as to not support your analogy.

I think its great, there is no need for hd-dvd anyway. Smart move Blockbuster, I will have to start doing all my renting there again.

I would like to personally thank Rich Marty, Vice President of New Business Development at SPE for helping to enlighten Blockbuster that there was no need to wait for further "data" to make this decision.

Thanks Rich.

Are you serious here? If so, you aren't thinking.

It is about potential owners coming into the HD format.

If you are trying to decide which format to buy, and you just found out that your local Blockbuster will only carry Blu-ray, do you think that this just might play into that decision???

It is a lot higher than $599. It is $1200 per year:

By Colleen Bohen -- TWICE, 4/26/2007 12:59:00 PM
Arlington, Va. The average American adult spends $1,200 annually on consumer electronics products, according a recently released study by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).

The study also found teens spend $350 on CE products each year, which the CEA says represents about half of their total annual discretionary income. The study also concluded that households with children and teens tend to spend up to $500 more on CE products than the national average.

http://www.twice.com/article/CA6437122.html

Yes, why make your own decision when you can have it made for you.

For those that live outside of CA, this is yet another "name dropping" dude.

If I had a dime for everytime "names" were mentioned in the Hollywood area, I would be a rich man.

People don't seem to care that they don't have a choice when it comes to operating systems when buying a PC, why would they care what format their movies come on as long as it works?

Good point.

However, Toshiba sales have seemed to pick up dramatically with their current promotions. Toshiba is going to be under tremendous pressure to make those 50K+ recently acquired HD DVD customers feel that they didn't just buy a boat anchor.

Even though Blockbuster is making this announcement now, how long before these BD rentals show up in the stores mentioned? 30 days? 60 days? Longer?

Toshiba will try to counter somehow, and although it looks very grim for them now, I am wondering what they will try to pull out of their hat for the 4th quarter.

They do if they keep getting hit with malware, like rootkits....

Anyway, I'm not so worried since i just looked at those new BDPs streeting on the 18th, $499 and $599 respectively. Are they even profile 1.1? What about profile 2.0...?

I have to admit that putting a Blu-ray player in the PS3 was a very wise move. It certainly gives the impression that Blu-ray is kicking ass even if the standaone players haven't been selling well at all. Even the less than expected sales of the PS3 are still enough to create a software difference right now. Of course we really haven't seen the full effect that the less expensive HD DVD players might have on HD DVD software, but I guess the BDA is getting Blockbuster to make a pre-emptive move. It's a great move by the BDA and it will obviously help BD movie sales. It's also a good lesson for Toshiba to learn so that they will know where and how to spend their promotional budget---to pay off the other B&M stores to only carry HD DVD or at least push it to the forefront. Anything thing else spells doom for HD DVD.

Good question - wonder how many will return them IF they see the news


I believe the article says "next month" as that is in 2 weeks. Shipping 100 to 200 titles to 1450 stores overnight is no big deal.


Guessing a permanent MSRP of the A2 for $299. - Announcement tomorrow (really today)

new bd players are hitting the street tomorrow. don't you think this announcement will help with sales? thus far ps3 was only reliable bd player.

This deal is more complicated than that and involves more players than just BB, I suspect, but it essentially works out to the same thing, only not so shady. Just low. But this is business we're talking about. and this is Sony we're talking about, so....

the best part about this is it was so unexpected and NOT from sony. So even if toshiba tries to counter this is just one more ace for BDA that none of us or probably them for that matter was even counting on, so even if tosh tries something its not like theyre countering Sony, so sony is in a good position right now, as is the BDA.

IT WIRE

Blockbuster backs Blu-ray - HD DVD on the ropes?
By Adam Turner
Monday, 18 June 2007

In another blow to HD DVD, the giant Blockbuster video rental chain has thrown its weight behind Blu-ray in the fight to see which format is the high definition successor to the humble DVD.

After renting Blu-ray and HD DVD titles in 250 stores since late last year, Blockbuster has decide to stock only Blu-ray in its other 1250 US stores. Customers were choosing Blu-ray titles more than 70 percent of the time, reports Associated Press via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

The release of Sony's Blu-ray-enabled PlayStation 3 games console was also a factor in the decision, said Blockbuster senior vice president of merchandising Matthew Smith. Smith's comments comes after Microsoft conceded that the Xbox 360 games console may eventually support Blu-ray.

While Blockbuster is following market trends, its backing of Blu-ray as the format winner is possible a self-fulfilling prophesy - with other retailers likely to follow Blockbuster's lead. Blu-ray also has some heavy-hitting backers in Australia, with entertainment retail chain JB Hi-Fi declaring it will only stock Blu-ray.

It's true that Blu-ray players are more expensive than their HD DVD counterparts, but at this point I don't think price is a factor. Early adopters aren't too concerned about price tags. In 12 months time when prices fall and the tag becomes important, it will probably already be too late for HD DVD.

Things are staring to look grim for HD DVD, but the format war could drag on due to the release of dual format Blu-ray/HD DVD players from the likes of Samsung and LG. While this is might seem to be a good thing, it's just going to delay mass adoption of one format and thus stop hardware and movie prices falling. Blu-ray v HD DVD is a battle to the death, and the sooner one dies the better off consumers will be.###

Thanks, Josh. Yes, I've loved Toshiba/HD DVD from the start but I have to say that I definitely began to have an "updated view", especially since CES '07 ended. A lot was revealed there in what wasn't said and to be honest, since January I've been acting like a scared b**** regarding the format war and the health of HD media. Actually, I have not purchased another HD DVD title since January and I've turned desperately to SD anime and Asian movies to fill the time. That's how uncomfortable I've been. After CES, it became clear that the war would go down a drastically unpredictable, contentious, and "shady" path that the consumer had no control over what so ever. That scared me to death, to be frank.

And I say this as someone who's early-adopted everything from "doomed-from-the-start" videogame systems (oh, Neo Geo Pocket Color, how I hardly knew ye) to imported Japanese MP3 players 5 years before the iPod existed.

Something about the way I love movies and have been forced to triple-dip so often has just frightened something deep inside me. I've never felt so volatile toward an early product - ever.


Man, I thought Grindhouse was awesome. 3 friends and I had a ball with it at the theater. Your comments are probably one of the greatest examples of "different strokes for different folks" that I have ever felt.




LOL. Heh, quotes like these make me want to run out to my local stores and see what the hell is going on for myself... Seem like it fits with what I last saw at my Best Buys but can't recall - need to go check for the fun/hell of it!

PS3 can't be programmed into my Harmony remote = functionally incomplete (actually the only reason I didn't buy one last fall)