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Michael Bay's best selling high-def movie is on HD DVD
Michael Bay says "I told you so" to all HD DVD faithful

Michael Bay’s high-definition preference is no secret. It seems that the flashy action director finds every opportunity possible to make it known that he is a strong believer in Blu-ray Disc.

This week, Netflix and Best Buy both expressed their intentions to favor Blu-ray Disc as their high-definition format of choice. Bay commented on the latest industry shift at the Visual Effects Society’s sixth annual award show, where he said, “Blu-ray’s better, and I told everyone ... I was very vocal about it. I knew HD [DVD] was not going to make it.”

Oddly enough, Bay’s best selling high-definition title to date, bring Transformers, is available only on HD DVD – a format that he is vehemently betting against.

“Am I thrilled? It really wasn’t my fight, but remember what I said in the press? I was kind of saying HD [DVD]’s going to lose,” he said. “No one believed me.”

Despite both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc just being storage mediums capable of supporting the same video and audio codecs, Bay says that he prefers the way his movies are presented on Blu-ray Disc. “It’s just sharper,” Bay added. “It’s just [that] the tools are better. I just think it’s closer to what it should look like.”

Bay’s views against HD DVD were first publicized at the time of Paramount signing exclusively with HD DVD, when the director exclaimed on his website his displeasure with the deal and threatened to cease work on Transformers 2.

“I want people to see my movies in the best formats possible. For them to deny people who have Blu-ray sucks! They were progressive by having two formats. No Transformers 2 for me,” said Bay in late August.

Likely after some pleasant meetings with Paramount executives, Bay retracted his comments and explained himself: “As a director, I'm all about people seeing films in the best quality possible, and I saw and heard firsthand people upset about a corporate decision. So today I saw 300 on HD, it rocks! So I think I might be back on to do Transformers 2!”

Months later, Bay was back with more choice words against Paramount’s HD DVD deal. “It's short-sighted and it has delayed consumers' moving to HD (home video). As a director, my critical eye is that Blu-ray is where my money is. Consumers are smart, and they are going to wait it out.”

Quickly after Warner Bros. announced its plans to go with Blu-ray Disc this summer, Bay wasted no time in giving his two cents on the development. “Well another studio down. Maybe I was right? Blu ray is just better. HD will die a slow death. It's what I predicted a year ago,” Bay said.

Bay’s words on the format war aren’t limited just on the consumer side. The director also expressed his conspiracy theory that Microsoft was intentionally backing HD DVD to further confuse the consumer into giving up physical media in favor of digital downloads.

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1+1=2
By omnicronx on 2/14/2008 10:28:00 AM , Rating: 4
quote:
“Am I thrilled? It really wasn’t my fight, but remember what I said in the press? I was kind of saying HD [DVD]’s going to lose,” he said. “No one believed me.”
Congrads Mr Bay.. I mean what were the odds were what, 50/50? You must be some kind of rocket scientist to have figured out that one.

BD won because the studios wanted to push a single format, not for the reasons he mentioned (because of format issues or space issues..) thats why 'No one believed you'.

Funny considering he is such a 'powerful director',(well he thinks he is, enough to take temper tantrums) and he still had no idea that studios were going to chose BD to push a single format. And if he did and he was not allowed to say, then it wasn't a guess in the first place, was it?

So in closing, Mr bay might as well have flipped a coin on the matter, as his reasonings or variables on which his guess was based upon had nothing to do with the outcome.




RE: 1+1=2
By maverick85wd on 2/14/2008 10:37:38 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
BD won because the studios wanted to push a single format, not for the reasons he mentioned (because of format issues or space issues..) thats why 'No one believed you'.


I think BD winning had more to do with the fact that there are more BD-capable players out there than there are HD-DVD players, and would like to think it's also because BD has a much greater potential. It did start off a little more expensive, but now with the cheaper BD lasers I think BD-drives for data backup purposes are going to get real popular real quick.

I agree that it wasn't exactly rocket science, I've been telling people BD is going to win since the PS3 came out. Even before that, two competing formats with different capacities seemed a no-brainer.


RE: 1+1=2
By maverick85wd on 2/14/2008 10:39:37 AM , Rating: 1
I'll also add I was extremely confused by Microsoft's decision to go with HD-DVD, it took me quite by surprise. Then again, who really knows why Microsoft does half the things they do? Those fools are crazy


RE: 1+1=2
By StevoLincolnite on 2/14/2008 9:37:13 PM , Rating: 2
I wouldn't call one of the largest companies in the world a "Fool" considering they have been turning a profit for the last couple of decades and continue to grow, those "Fools" must be doing something right.

One theory they may have gone with HD DVD was to hurt PS3 sales, but who knows.


RE: 1+1=2
By maverick85wd on 2/16/2008 7:39:55 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
I wouldn't call one of the largest companies in the world a "Fool" considering they have been turning a profit for the last couple of decades and continue to grow, those "Fools" must be doing something right.


or I was being facetious... obviously Microsoft has been quite successful and they have a lot of products that are great, I use Windows XP every day. My point is that sometimes they do things that don't make sense.

quote:
One theory they may have gone with HD DVD was to hurt PS3 sales, but who knows.


good call, I didn't think of that... but as Blu-Ray is more advanced I couldn't understand why the largest software company in the world didn't side with it... seemed counter to the end of technological advancement.

Some people take comments entirely too seriously


RE: 1+1=2
By omnicronx on 2/14/2008 10:58:02 AM , Rating: 4
quote:
I think BD winning had more to do with the fact that there are more BD-capable players out there than there are HD-DVD players
The Format was decided by the Movie production companies not the consumer! How can you tell me that having a choice of 5 players when they; do the exact same thing, cost the same, makes a difference? They only had two tiers of players, Both expensive. HD-DVD had a full 3 tier pricing, with low end, mid end and high end products. Price not what colour your player came in is what matters. HD-DVD still outsold in S/A players up to January, so i don't see why yuo would think other manufacturers would make a difference anyways.
quote:
I agree that it wasn't exactly rocket science, I've been telling people BD is going to win since the PS3 came out. Even before that, two competing formats with different capacities seemed a no-brainer.
It was never a no brainer, wow how many times must this be punched into your heads. I dont consider the ability to store uncompressed LPCM (pointless wasteful format) to be a major selling point. (thats like using BMP files when there are many lossless formats out there like tiff files, that look just as good, but save alot of space).

The Format-War was not decided by the consumer, if it were that easy of a decision, BD would have won outright, without the help of the studios


RE: 1+1=2
By maverick85wd on 2/14/2008 11:10:21 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
The Format was decided by the Movie production companies not the consumer!


And on what did they base their decision? Perhaps the format that had more players in homes. The fact that BD has a larger capacity may have held some attraction as well.


RE: 1+1=2
By omnicronx on 2/14/2008 11:47:24 AM , Rating: 3
quote:
And on what did they base their decision? Perhaps the format that had more players in homes. The fact that BD has a larger capacity may have held some attraction as well.
Perhaps they did, perhaps they didnt, regardless of the reason, both formats were in their infancy, neither format has more than 1% of the movie market, thus neither format was ever a clear cut winner.

Looking at other formats, the best does not always win. Just remember Beta, technically it displayed more lines and had better quality video, but price and licensing issues ended up being the ultimate factor in that war. In fact Sony was on the brink of winning when phillips and RCA decided to have no almost licensing fees for VHS.

I am not trying to be bias here, I own a PS3 and HD-DVD player, but i not agree for a second that the studios chose BD for the reasons you provided.

I personally think <-- notice the personally, that this format war was in the hands of the studios from day one. It seemed like half the studios could care less about either format, and only wanted the fastest possible route to the next-gen format. The best route turned out to be BD, and here we are. I'm not complaining either, it makes perfect business sense, I just personally liked HD-DVD better, less problems, more features, and they seem to always work. Either way, I am happy, we finally have one format. I just can't stand it when people come out and say 'BD won from the start' and start listing features, when it probably had very little to do with the outcome.


RE: 1+1=2
By Motley on 2/14/2008 11:52:53 AM , Rating: 2
They based it on profit potential of course. To think otherwise would be silly. See Bluray has these things called coding regions so they can negotiate exclusive distribution rights. HD-DVD does not. That right there is a huge difference in profitability to the studios. Of course that also means the movies will cost more for the consumer, but the consumer didn't get to pick what format would win.


RE: 1+1=2
By rninneman on 2/14/2008 1:19:28 PM , Rating: 2
No, some studios chose to release on only one format while others decided to release on both. After sales had consistently been much better for Blu-ray discs, the Warner gravitated towards Blu-ray because thats what consumers had chosen thus far. There was no reason to believe things were going to change anytime soon.

What 5 same players are you talking about? The same Toshiba players that keep showing up under different badges such as Venturer, RCA, Onkyo, etc? Last time I checked I can get a SA Blu-ray player anywhere from $250 to over $1k plus there is always the PS3. I can also look at didfferent companies like Panasonic, Pioneer, Sony, Sharp, Samsung, etc.

No, HD-DVD SA players did not outsell Blu-ray until January. By the end of November of 2007, Blu-ray had 40% more SA players in consumers' homes than HD-DVD.

While is was never a "no brainer" for Blu-ray, the deck was stacked in Blu-ray's favor. The combination of exclusive studio support, multiple hardware manufacturers' support, a nd marketing that gave Blu-ray the advantage from day one even though is was late to the party.

If HD-DVD's 30 gigs is more than enough space, why did Paramount have to sacrifice lossless audio from Transformers? Oh, because 30 gigs wasn't enough space for everything that they wanted to put on the disc and lossless audio didn't make the cut. For a format that was only 18 months old at the time, that is unacceptable. If the format is to be around for 10 years or so, I don't want compromised releases for the next decade.


RE: 1+1=2
By winterspan on 2/14/2008 8:58:55 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
The Format was decided by the Movie production companies not the consumer!


They didn't decide the war, they just pushed the winning side to victory. Blu-ray outsold HD-DVD EVERY SINGLE WEEK of 2007. Easy choice IMO.

quote:
HD-DVD had a full 3 tier pricing, with low end, mid end and high end products.


Get real, HD-DVD had a bunch of cheap players made with Pentium 4 Celerons and second rate components. Toshiba priced them below cost to win the war. The prices were NOT sustainable by any manufacturer if they actually wanted to make a profit, hence the reason TOSHIBA was pretty much the only real manufacturer, where as Blu-ray had 7-8 manuf's.

quote:
HD-DVD still outsold in S/A players up to January, so i don't see why yuo would think other manufacturers would make a difference anyways.


ugh.. the same old BS tactic from HD-DVD fanboys. Let's count "SA" players since the PRIMARY and MOST POPULAR Blu-ray player is the Playstation 3. Fact is, Blu-ray well outsold HD-DVD in players USED TO PLAY DISCS, as can be seen by media sales.

quote:
I don't consider the ability to store uncompressed LPCM (pointless wasteful format) to be a major selling point.


I must not have been aware storage capacity was limited to storing audio. Blu-rays 25GB per layer and much higher system bandwidth of 48mbps vs HD-DVD 30mbps allows for more hours of video per disc and 60% higher bit-rate video. All things the same, higher bitrate = better quality. Also will be important for future standards, aka 1440P/2160P


RE: 1+1=2
By JLN on 2/14/2008 11:23:41 AM , Rating: 5
I think that the inclusion of the Blu-Ray playability on the PS3 was a decisive factor in the format wars. Everyone who purchased the console immediately had access to the next-gen format, whereas 360 had an optional upgrade (which not as many would take advantage of compared to the latter). That initial user base propelled BD to gain more ground faster than HD. This shouldn't be new.

Some of you guys say that people that own PS3 don't buy it specifically for movies. This is not the case. I bought my PS3 for the MAIN reason of playing Blu-Ray films. Granted not everyone chooses this option, but I'm certainly not alone. Due to the player's reliance on the Cell processor instead of a standard graphics processor, the PS3 will easily be upgradeable via updates and will support Blu-Ray 2.0 firmware. I chose the console as it was the best player on the market, and playing games was just icing on the cake.


RE: 1+1=2
By Pandamon on 2/14/2008 2:18:49 PM , Rating: 3
same for me.
I was motivated to get an HD player so I could watch Planet Earth in all it's glory. After reading good PS3 reviews as a video player (in home theatre forums, of all places), I decided to go with Blu-Ray. I was also pleasantly surprised at the excellent job it did upconverting my old DVD movies, and at convenient fast access to the internet. This machine reeks quality, in contrast to the bad reputation of another console.
After recent firmware updates I can also load a DivX video file onto my 4GB USB flash drive, plug it in the PS3 and enjoy the show with no fuss.
Someday I will buy a game I promise.


RE: 1+1=2
By omnicronx on 2/14/2008 5:13:01 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
This is not the case. I bought my PS3 for the MAIN reason of playing Blu-Ray films.
Sorry.. but this is the case.. I also bought a PS3 just for the BD player, but that doesnt mean everyone did. Attach rates dont lie.. its 1 movie to 3 players for BD at max including Standalones. As people actually buy SA's to watch movies, you have to think the attach rate is really higher for SA's and even lower for the PS3 (probably closer to 1-5). Its pretty much simple division, movies sold / players sold, the numbers cant be wrong, peoples opinions can be.


RE: 1+1=2
By winterspan on 2/14/2008 9:06:48 PM , Rating: 2
He didn't say EVERYONE bought a PS3 for the Blu-ray player capability, nor did he say even a majority. With over ~11 million units sold worldwide, you don't even need 25% to represent a large number compared to SA high-def players.
I also am one of these owners who bought the PS3 for the Blu-ray capability. It also makes a great WiFi media extender using windows media player. It plays H264/Mpeg4/Dvix/Xvid/WMV/etc.
For $399, its quite an amazing deal.

And as far as BD profile 2.0, isn't 2.0 just 1.1 with mandatory ethernet. There are already many SA BD profile 1.1 players with a network connection on the market, so does that even matter?


RE: 1+1=2
By wallijonn on 2/14/2008 11:46:36 AM , Rating: 1
quote:
I think BD winning had more to do with the fact that there are more BD-capable players out there than there are HD-DVD players,


I tend to think that BD won because of the BOGOs. Now that they've won the BOGOs seem to have tapered off. The consequence is that most people now feel that they will not pay $25 to $30 per movie. I therefore expect BD movie sales to slow to a crawl and to reflect HD-DVD numbers.


RE: 1+1=2
By ATC on 2/14/2008 1:55:13 PM , Rating: 2
Everyone but the HD-DVD group wanted a single format. Which part of "two competing incompatible formats are not feasible for the DVD replacement to succeed" does the HD-DVD group or its supporters not get?


RE: 1+1=2
By Hiawa23 on 2/14/2008 11:44:35 PM , Rating: 2
Just read on Hi-def digest that Toshiba will be pulling the plug on HD-DVD, in the coming days to weeks...


RE: 1+1=2
By superdynamite on 2/16/2008 9:34:26 PM , Rating: 2
Look at this