Paramount & DreamWorks Support HD DVD ONLY

[dreamcastrocks]

That's what I understand as well. That the title mentioned above will be HD DVD only. The studios don't have any contractual agreements that require them to release in any format if they have been supporting both. They could choose not to release in one format at will. So I would assume that if they feel they are saving money by ceasing any production on the other format then that's what they will do. I don't think there is any contractual obligation to release on Blu-Ray despite the timing of this announcement.

Also, the reason I am still torn is because from a movie standpoint I am more interested in HD DVD. However, I also have 2 young kids and a wife that are clearly Disney freaks and many of the movies and cartoons they want are clear in the Blu-Ray Camp. So, for me it's either get a standalone player for each or get a dual format player. So I am opting for a dual format player at this time.

I love Disney as well, but you know, when you put Toy story in an HD DVD drive that upconverts, my two year old really doesn't complain very much. My philosophy is this. HD DVD got me because of the price. They have a large library of content, and for the Blu-Ray exclusives I just buy the standard DVD if I need to have it. The only Blu-Ray exclusive I ever thought to buy was Rocky Balboa and believe me I don't lose sleep over not owning it. If Warner pulls Blu-ray support, it could mean death for the PS3 and maybe Sony as a company.

I already have most of the Disney movies on DVD. I won't be rebuying most of them to upgrade to Bluray. My children don't care all that much. The only ones that I will probably upgrade will be the Pixar ones.

 

[azsouthendzone]

The big rumor today is that warner is on the verge of going HD DVD exclusive, as they have talked about the advantages of HD DVD for months, as well as releasing Batman Begins, the Matrix, and V for Vendetta on HD DVD exclusively, and that there is more big HD DVD news on the horizon. If another studio switches, combined with the cheap Wal-Mart players, we may see the end of the PS3 and Blu-Ray. Consumers want the most bang for their buck and Blu-ray is a rip off compared to HD DVD. It always has been. The PS3 may go down in history as one of the biggest failures in electronics, ever. Just make sure Sony executives actually open the garage door when they get in their cars. The next couple of months will be great to see the blows exchanged.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

The big rumor today is that warner is on the verge of going HD DVD exclusive, as they have talked about the advantages of HD DVD for months, as well as releasing Batman Begins, the Matrix, and V for Vendetta on HD DVD exclusively, and that there is more big HD DVD news on the horizon. If another studio switches, combined with the cheap Wal-Mart players, we may see the end of the PS3 and Blu-Ray. Consumers want the most bang for their buck and Blu-ray is a rip off compared to HD DVD. It always has been. The PS3 may go down in history as one of the biggest failures in electronics, ever. Just make sure Sony executives actually open the garage door when they get in their cars. The next couple of months will be great to see the blows exchanged.

That's going extreme. I think that this would mean that both formats will be around for a long, long time.

 

[Covert Rain]

The big rumor today is that warner is on the verge of going HD DVD exclusive, as they have talked about the advantages of HD DVD for months, as well as releasing Batman Begins, the Matrix, and V for Vendetta on HD DVD exclusively, and that there is more big HD DVD news on the horizon. If another studio switches, combined with the cheap Wal-Mart players, we may see the end of the PS3 and Blu-Ray. Consumers want the most bang for their buck and Blu-ray is a rip off compared to HD DVD. It always has been. The PS3 may go down in history as one of the biggest failures in electronics, ever. Just make sure Sony executives actually open the garage door when they get in their cars. The next couple of months will be great to see the blows exchanged.

If Warner goes HD DVD exclusive, this could be the biggest turnarounds in a format war in history. That IMO will do one of 2 things. It will eventually put every studio in the HD DVD camp (minus Sony pictures) and doom the Blu Ray format or it could be the first time in history where 2 formats co-exists.

I don't see the latter happening because I think that in the end, the minority studios would buckle and Sony will be left with another format that didn't pan out. This fight is heating up and getting very interesting.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

If Warner goes HD DVD exclusive, this could be the biggest turnarounds in a format war in history. That IMO will do one of 2 things. It will eventually put every studio in the HD DVD camp (minus Sony pictures) and doom the Blu Ray format or it could be the first time in history where 2 formats co-exists.

I don't see the latter happening because I think that in the end, the minority studios would buckle and Sony will be left with another format that didn't pan out. This fight is heating up and getting very interesting.

Nah, Disney is pretty much Bluray. I don't think that Fox will be that hard to win over though, as they aren't releasing all that much on Blu anyway.

 

[azsouthendzone]

I think Warner will probably go HD DVD exclusive, and if the wal Mart players hit, I don't see how Disney could stay with Blu-Ray. Disney makes their money off family films. If those two things happen, and it is a big if, then the war is officially over, and Blu-ray movies will be side by side UMD movies. My opinion on the PS3's death is that they are getting drilled in sales of consoles and games. If the Blu-Ray factor is gone, there literally is no reason to own a PS3, not that there really is now.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I think Warner will probably go HD DVD exclusive, and if the wal Mart players hit, I don't see how Disney could stay with Blu-Ray. Disney makes their money off family films. If those two things happen, and it is a big if, then the war is officially over, and Blu-ray movies will be side by side UMD movies. My opinion on the PS3's death is that they are getting drilled in sales of consoles and games. If the Blu-Ray factor is gone, there literally is no reason to own a PS3, not that there really is now.

This is huge for HDDVD. Don't get me wrong, I actually prefer HD vs Blu, so I am excited by the news. I just don't think that this is going to make as big of a difference as you think it will, at least not for a few years. By then, it will be time to upgrade equipment anyway.

 

[Covert Rain]

I agree with Dream that it just means that both are here for some time. Although, that also assumes that other studios are not in the process of jumping ship. If that happens it changes everything and means something is happening behind the scenes we don't know about.

However, until then, here is the way it stacks up as of right now.

HD DVD
DreamWorks (owned by Paramount)
First Look Studios
HBO Films
Image Entertainment
Magnolia Pictures
New Line Cinema
Paramount
Studio Canal
The Weinstein Company/Dimension
Universal
Warner Brothers


Blu-Ray
Columbia Pictures (Owned by Sony)
FOX
HBO Films
Image Entertainment
Lionsgate
Magnolia Pictures
MGM (Owned by Sony)
New Line Cinema
Sony
Studio Canal
Walt Disney
Warner Brothers

 

[azsouthendzone]

If the market dictates it they'll switch. You have to remember that the masses have yet to really adopt either format. The war hasnt really begun. I think the cheap players will decide the war and Disney would easily switch. The only real company that has anything to lose is Sony. If this Blu-Ray thing fails, they may be done. Have you put your PS3 on Craig's List yet? You know you want that 360 back. By the way, Bioshock is UNREAL. It may be the best video game ever.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Nope. No plan to put it on Craigslist. I want to put pull the trigger on another 360 though.

 

[Covert Rain]

If they could get FOX or Warner Brothers to shift to HD DVD exclusive camp that would be huge IMO. I don't think Disney does so I didn't mention them. It would take both FOX and Warner both to send the Blu-Ray format sliding down the hill though.

I do not believe the sales of the players is what is going to win this format war. The sales of the software will. So people will base their hardware sales based on the types of movies they want are available on each format.

So as of right now (as scene in the list above) both formats have plenty to offer and I don't see one format having a significant edge over the other. HD DVD really needs at least one other studio to go exclusive or it's a wash at this point. 2 and I think that could be the end of Blu Ray.

However, until then any other studio switching at this point is just rumor.

 

[azsouthendzone]

If they could get Universal or Warner Brothers to shift to HD DVD exclusive camp that would be huge IMO. I don't think Disney does so I didn't mention them. It would take both Universal and Warner both to send the Blu-Ray format sliding down the hill though.

I do not believe the sales of the players is what is going to win this format war. The sales of the software will. So people will base their hardware sales based on the types of movies they want are available on each format.

So as of right now (as scene in the list above) both formats have plenty to offer and I don't see one format having a significant edge over the other. HD DVD really needs at least one other studio to go exclusive or it's a wash at this point. 2 and I think that could be the end of Blu Ray.

However, until then any other studio switching at this point is just rumor.

Universal is already HD DVD exclusive. They are the biggest backer of HD DVD.

 

[Covert Rain]

Universal is already HD DVD exclusive. They are the biggest backer of HD DVD.

My bad. I meant FOX. Fixed that. They have a ton of movies under distribution rights that means allot to either side. Warner is not going exclusive. They would need both to bury Blu-Ray. Since Warner Brothers is pushing their hybrid disc (Blu-Ray and HD DVD on one disc), there is no way they dump Blu-Ray. It's not going to happen.

So even if HD DVD manages to get FOX it still won't mean the end of Blu-Ray IMO.

 

[azsouthendzone]

Check out this....

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/format-w...hos-winning-the-studio-support-war-291361.php

 

[Covert Rain]

Check out this....

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/format-w...hos-winning-the-studio-support-war-291361.php

That highlights what I was saying. Only one major studio left supporting both formats. Warner Brothers. They have a vested interest to keep supporting both. All of the other small studios won't make an impact one way or another.

This is going to be a long format war unless one side gets an unexpected defection of some sort. I updated my list above to account for some of the small fries.

In terms of the exclusive heavy weights left in the Blu-Ray camp;

Fox
Walt Disney

 

[Chaplin]

If Warner goes HD DVD exclusive, this could be the biggest turnarounds in a format war in history. That IMO will do one of 2 things. It will eventually put every studio in the HD DVD camp (minus Sony pictures) and doom the Blu Ray format or it could be the first time in history where 2 formats co-exists.

I don't see the latter happening because I think that in the end, the minority studios would buckle and Sony will be left with another format that didn't pan out. This fight is heating up and getting very interesting.

Won't happen unless Microsoft is paying Warner Bros. even more than Dreamworks. Believe me. I know.

Fox and MGM shortly will probably be announcing that they will be blu-ray exclusive.

Think about WHY Paramount and Dreamworks is going this way. It isn't a conscious decision by the studio because one format is better than the other--it's simply a decision based on money. Microsoft bribed the studios and they took the bait.

The interesting thing is that the studios doing HD-DVD exclusive are the studios that consistently have the worst DVDs in the industry. That's pretty interesting in itself.

I think this makes the war even worse. This is probably the worst thing that could happen to this format war. It could prolong this format war and things will only get worse before they get better.

 

[Chaplin]

That highlights what I was saying. Only one major studio left supporting both formats. Warner Brothers. They have a vested interest to keep supporting both. All of the other small studios won't make an impact one way or another.

This is going to be a long format war unless one side gets an unexpected defection of some sort. I updated my list above to account for some of the small fries.

In terms of the exclusive heavy weights left in the Blu-Ray camp;

Fox
Walt Disney

Sony isn't exactly chopped liver, considering they and Fox are the big Marvel studios. Sony is better than Universal and is very comparable to Paramount.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Won't happen unless Microsoft is paying Warner Bros. even more than Dreamworks. Believe me. I know.

Fox and MGM shortly will probably be announcing that they will be blu-ray exclusive.

Think about WHY Paramount and Dreamworks is going this way. It isn't a conscious decision by the studio because one format is better than the other--it's simply a decision based on money. Microsoft bribed the studios and they took the bait.

The interesting thing is that the studios doing HD-DVD exclusive are the studios that consistently have the worst DVDs in the industry. That's pretty interesting in itself.

I think this makes the war even worse. This is probably the worst thing that could happen to this format war. It could prolong this format war and things will only get worse before they get better.

We may disagree on this one. The format war is good for consumers. The uninformed ones will obviously suffer, but then again they aren't buying anything either. If Bluray was the only player on the market for example, the PS3 wouldn't have dropped $100 so quickly, and the stand alone players would not be $500 anymore either. Once the prices are sub $200 for both players, I truly don't care who wins the war. Price is the biggest factor in the war, and because of the war, prices have plummeted. That's good for the consumer.

 

[Covert Rain]

Won't happen unless Microsoft is paying Warner Bros. even more than Dreamworks. Believe me. I know.

Fox and MGM shortly will probably be announcing that they will be blu-ray exclusive.

Think about WHY Paramount and Dreamworks is going this way. It isn't a conscious decision by the studio because one format is better than the other--it's simply a decision based on money. Microsoft bribed the studios and they took the bait.

The interesting thing is that the studios doing HD-DVD exclusive are the studios that consistently have the worst DVDs in the industry. That's pretty interesting in itself.

I think this makes the war even worse. This is probably the worst thing that could happen to this format war. It could prolong this format war and things will only get worse before they get better.

Warner doesn't go exclusive because they are to busy pushing their dual disc format. Warner needs to support both formats to continue to push that medium.

I am also not convinced that other studios signed on with Blu-Ray for their belief in that Blu-Ray is the superior format. Sony has made their own favorable back door deals to get studios to come on over as well.

Also, why wouldn't MGM go Blu-Ray exclusive? MGM is partly owned by a SONY partnership group. That's no big surprise there. That's like Sony saying hey..."we are going exclusive to ourselves".

To muddy the waters even more...guess who has exclusive distribution rights to those MGM titles???? FOX. Wow big surprise. So they are not going to go against the company that gave them exclusive distribution rights in a juicy deal. FOX cares more about that deal then which format they support.

I guess MS could bribe try and bribe the likes of Disney etc. and eventually FOX when the deal runs out. I wouldn't put it past MS at all. Especially, if this was just the first salvo and Toshiba decides to partner with MS on the bribing front.

We may disagree on this one. The format war is good for consumers. The uninformed ones will obviously suffer, but then again they aren't buying anything either. If Bluray was the only player on the market for example, the PS3 wouldn't have dropped $100 so quickly, and the stand alone players would not be $500 anymore either. Once the prices are sub $200 for both players, I truly don't care who wins the war. Price is the biggest factor in the war, and because of the war, prices have plummeted. That's good for the consumer.

I also happen to agree with dreamcastrocks here that in the SHORT TERM this format war is good for consumers. They are never good for the early adopter or for the average consumer base from a market clarity perspective.

However, if this format war accomplishes anything it will be that it established a good price point for entry level hardware much faster then if the industry had agreed on one format. Entry level players would still be in the $800-$1000 range if not for the competition.

This format will eventually take it's toll if not decided before too long. However, once the price points get down to $200 then I would say it's time for the format war to go one way or another.

 

[azsouthendzone]

Chaplin, I know you live in Hollywood or whatever, but I have a hard time believing your inside sources. You say that Fox and MGM will be announcing that they will be Blu-Ray exclusive shortly, when in fact they announced that a long time ago. You have constantly claimed that the industry insiders favor Blu-Ray, ("believe me, I know") even though Universal and now Paramount back HD DVD. And to discredit either one of those studios is completely strange. To say Sony is a better studio than Universal is downright blasphemy. The fact is that between Paramount and Universal, Blu-Ray owners now lack the ability to watch hundreds of classics on their machines. Classics, not Spiderman 3. There is a big huge dividing line now. For a movie lover, i don't know how you cannot back HD DVD, even if you have a Blu-ray player. The price is too good to pass up. As far as the money deal that Paramount recieved, it is a cash and promotional value deal. The same type of deal the Blu-ray camp has been making the past 8 months, except Microsoft and HD DVD knew how to make a deal that would have an impact, unlike the Blockbuster deal. Microsoft has so much money, if they want to end it with bribes, they probably could, and know comes rumors the 360 is going to include an HD DVD drive. If Christmas rolls around and you can buy an HD DVD player for under $200 with Shrek, and Sony is touting a $499 Blu-ray player with the promise that you can watch the crapfest Spiderman 3, they will get drilled. The PS3 alone won't save it with its lack of games. I think the holidays will help decide this once and for all, I could be wrong. But I don't see how Disney can ignore the big Wal Mart promotion if in fact it does happen. Family movies are there bread and butter. They know the numbers they push at Wal Mart. They also just made a deal with Microsoft to put their movies on Xbox Live, so they aren't as hardcore Blu-ray/Sony as people think. The fact is that the numbers right now indicate the war hasn't even been fought. Sales aren't even a blip on the radar. Once mass adoption happens, if it happens, the war will be decided swiftly, and thats why the Paramount news is so significant, and why if the cheap players come along I believe that will be the knockout blow.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

So Steeldog, when are you getting an HDDVD player?

 

[dreamcastrocks]

azsouthendzone, before this announcement, most people thought that Bluray was going to come out victorious.

I'm truly glad that the war will be extended at least another year, probably two. Bluray isn't going anywhere, as long as they are using it in PS3's.

 

[azsouthendzone]

Warner doesn't go exclusive because they are to busy pushing their dual disc format. Warner needs to support both formats to continue to push that medium.

Warner was scheduled to release Total HD in the fall 07 but they pushed it back to 08, saying they are in no rush to get it out.Hmmmmmmm.

 

[azsouthendzone]

azsouthendzone, before this announcement, most people thought that Bluray was going to come out victorious.

I'm truly glad that the war will be extended at least another year, probably two. Bluray isn't going anywhere, as long as they are using it in PS3's.

The victory cry by Blu-Ray was premature. I think everyone realizes this now. The reality is neither format has sold to the masses and their really hasn't been any significant victories that have lead to mass adoption. I think the PS3 is overvalued. The attach rate proves it. The sales aren't there yet for either format. Cheap players will provide true disc sales and the PS3 will not be a cheap player anytime soon. When people buy a machine because they want to buy movies, not games, the sales will come.

IMO saying the Blu-Ray movie would be around as long as the PS3 is around is like saying the UMD movie will be around as long as the PSP is around and we all know how that has ended up. Sont gambled on the trojan horse strategy, what they didn't count on was the Wii and the 360's success. It will be fun to watch how it plays out.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

The victory cry by Blu-Ray was premature. I think everyone realizes this now. The reality is neither format has sold to the masses and their really hasn't been any significant victories that have lead to mass adoption. I think the PS3 is overvalued. The attach rate proves it. The sales aren't there yet for either format. Cheap players will provide true disc sales and the PS3 will not be a cheap player anytime soon. When people buy a machine because they want to buy movies, not games, the sales will come.

IMO saying the Blu-Ray movie would be around as long as the PS3 is around is like saying the UMD movie will be around as long as the PSP is around and we all know how that has ended up. Sont gambled on the trojan horse strategy, what they didn't count on was the Wii and the 360's success. It will be fun to watch how it plays out.

Bad analogy. UMD was/is only competing with itself. Sony wasn't competing with another format.