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Warner Swayed by $500 million from the BDA

lostinlodos said:
Just random (possibly dumb) questions!

I still don't see what stops a company, especially smaller/independent/international ones, from putting out BR discs without AACS.
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Simple reason: Blu-ray players would not play them. As AACS is mandatory, a Blu-ray player *must not* play BDROM without AACS.
 
Adbear said:
For a small studio to make Blu-ray discs without AACS they'd have to use BD-r's and write them all themselves.
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This would not only be very high cost per disc, but a lot of Blu-ray players don't play BD-Rs either.
Publishing on Blu-ray means using AACS. (I am not sure about BDAV format, maybe this might be an alternative for small publishers)

As I said, I have a lot of protection free HD DVDs from European studios. Yes, even the German HD DVD version of the infamous "Fantastic Four - Rise of the Silver Surfer" - AACS MKBv4 & BD+ in the US on Blu-ray - has no protection at all.
 
DrinkLyeAndDie said:
So, I'm left wondering... will HD-DVD become the poor studios high definition format?
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No, I believe it's "game over" for HD DVD (unless some miracle happens). Congratulations to Sony & the BDA for winning Warner over, it was very close and could have gone the other way.
I am certain Sony was willing to pay more "incentives". Even if it hurts Toshiba if HD DVD fails, Sony would literally implode if Blu-ray fails.
 
Ok, James, truth time. What should we as consumers be doing now? Buy HD DVD to keep supporting it? Or, is it time to just give in, let the war end, and buy Blu?
 
James said:
Poor Toshiba... I would say the same. Maybe there'll be a miracle, but I have doubts.
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That's scary to hear you say such words as before you kept telling us to endorse HD-DVD so it'll win. Are you stating regardless of the situation to foresee the inevitable?
 
James said:
No, I believe it's "game over" for HD DVD (unless some miracle happens). Congratulations to Sony & the BDA for winning Warner over, it was very close and could have gone the other way.
I am certain Sony was willing to pay more "incentives". Even if it hurts Toshiba if HD DVD fails, Sony would literally implode if Blu-ray fails.
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Leaving me pissed off and wondering... What in hell will small studios do?!? This is one of the biggest displays of arrogance and stupidity I have ever seen. Mandating AACS is insane.

I'd love to see a smaller studio claim it's extortion and take it all before a court. It would be fun to watch.
 
SamuriHL said:
Ok, James, truth time. What should we as consumers be doing now? Buy HD DVD to keep supporting it? Or, is it time to just give in, let the war end, and buy Blu?
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I personally will continue buying HD DVD for a while, Blu-ray is more expensive (especially when you want more than one player / drive). The Toshiba HD-DVD ROM drive sells for 100$, the standalone players for 200$. The PS3 for 400$ is a good deal (well, Sony loses 200$ with each, but that's not my problem), but if you want 3 players / drives.... and I already have the players anyway. :)
Lucky for me, the Universal / Paramount / Warner (and Weinstein) movies attract me more than Sony / Fox / Disney, and a lot of them are available on HD DVD in Europe (Prestige, Terminator2, Resident Evil just to name a few). A lot great Warner movies aren't even released on Blu, like "Matrix", "Grand Prix", "Casablanca" or "Batman Begins". In the past, the HD DVD versions from Warner were often superior to the Blu versions (remember "300"?)

But if you ask me "what should we consumers do"... well... if Warner calls it a day, it is "game over" for HD DVD in the long run. Same would have happened to Blu-ray if Warner & Fox turned red. Paramount & Universal will have no choice but go neutral, Steve Ballmer will throw some chairs and Toshiba will start building dual format players.

As you said it: "It is time to just give in". (I need a beer now... sniff) I am sad... :(
But that's it, congrats to BDA & Sony, they have won, IMHO no doubt about it. Bye bye HD DVD, it was a fun ride while it lasted. Sad news for the little publishers who cannot afford publishing HighDef on Blu-ray, but could have on HD DVD. Sad news for consumers, who can't get fair use rights even if the publisher *wants* to grant them (leaving out AACS).

The good thing is really, that there will be only one format, so fence watching people will start to invest in the HD technology holiday season 2008, prices for players will drop, small companies (like SlySoft) will only have one technology to take care of... :)
 
If the "war" is over, do you all think the cost of BD drives/players will go down drastically as it has been? I believe with both format, the consumer win because each side was lowering their price to lure us in buying.

If you don't like BD, don't buy it. Just continue to buy standard DVD. Studios like Warner will know they;re losing money for supporting one format. In six months, they will see that they're making less money supporting one format, may be they will go back and support both.

Consumers are not confused about both format, they just want the cheapest format without the complications. I would like to be able to load a movie without having to wait two minutes or longer for the stupid player to download updates... I got a BD player for Christmas and it's collecting dust. $24 to $34 for a HD movie, KMA.
 
Thanks for the insight. You pretty much said all the things I've been thinking. So, as much as this pains me to say, I am indeed going to buy Blu from now on unless there is no choice. I can do either so I don't mind buying into a "dead" format. It is a sad day, I fully agree.
 
Yes I plan on getting a Plasma TV in few months then building from that shortly after as I sat on the fence.
 
Charlie said:
That's scary to hear you say such words as before you kept telling us to endorse HD-DVD so it'll win.
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It looks like it hasn't helped. Well maybe it has, Warner was really close to follow Paramount... to be announced on the CES press conference today, which, well, was canceled for obvious reasons. :eek:
Charlie said:
Are you stating regardless of the situation to foresee the inevitable?
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Well, we could all try to express our feelings in a friendly letter to the Time-Warner executives, but I don't think it'll help much.

A good player knows when he has lost, and I believe HD DVD has lost. Game Over. Only a miracle can save HD DVD.... Maybe Toshiba can make some bucks in the Chinese market, dunno ... :eek:
 
Defiant2TheEnd said:
If the "war" is over, do you all think the cost of BD drives/players will go down drastically as it has been? I believe with both format, the consumer win because each side was lowering their price to lure us in buying.

If you don't like BD, don't buy it. Just continue to buy standard DVD. Studios like Warner will know they;re losing money for supporting one format. In six months, they will see that they're making less money supporting one format, may be they will go back and support both.

Consumers are not confused about both format, they just want the cheapest format without the complications. I would like to be able to load a movie without having to wait two minutes or longer for the stupid player to download updates... I got a BD player for Christmas and it's collecting dust. $24 to $34 for a HD movie, KMA.
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Sorry, I disagree with two of your assertions. First, Blu now has to compete with DVD, so prices will need to come down. A lot of people are happy to buy an upscaling player (cough Toshiba HD DVD) and continue buying DVDs. Blu needs to overcome this and the only way to do that is with lower prices for both movies and players.

Second, I disagree that consumers aren't confused about the formats. There's a TON of confusion. People don't always understand that if they get a Blu-ray player they can't play HD DVD and vice versa. Now with HD DVD dying, consumers only have to worry about going Blu. It makes it easier, and because they have to compete with DVD, it will become cheaper.
 
Defiant2TheEnd said:
If you don't like BD, don't buy it. Just continue to buy standard DVD. Studios like Warner will know they;re losing money for supporting one format. In six months, they will see that they're making less money supporting one format, may be they will go back and support both.
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Problem is - I am infected with the HighDef virus. Once addicted, it is hard to turn back to standard def.

Defiant2TheEnd said:
Consumers are not confused about both format, they just want the cheapest format without the complications. I would like to be able to load a movie without having to wait two minutes or longer for the stupid player to download updates... I got a BD player for Christmas and it's collecting dust. $24 to $34 for a HD movie, KMA.
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At least you have the BOGO deals at amazon.com, so you can get a high-def movie for 12$. Not bad. But the question remains - will we get such great deals without a format war? I doubt it.
 
James said:
A good player knows when he has lost, and I believe HD DVD has lost. Game Over. Only a miracle can save HD DVD.... Maybe Toshiba can make some bucks in the Chinese market, dunno ... :eek:
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China has its own HD format that HD DVD can't compete against on price. So, unfortunately, HD DVD is going to become a footnote in history. Once all the titles have been converted to Blu, it's all over. It's likely that'll happen this year for Warner. Batman Begins is coming just before Dark Knight and Dark Knight will be Blu exclusive. They get Matrix onboard and they're unfortunately good to go. Universal will be next to fall and that's only a matter of time. I figure within 6 months they'll announce. Bourne on Blu will sell a lot of discs. Paramount/DW will have no choice but to get Transformers on Blu if they want to continue making money in HD. Yea, I think you're right, HD DVD is screwed.
 
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