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"Transformers" will be an HD DVD exclusive release this fall
The HD DVD group scores a major win in the high definition disc war

The back and forth between the HD DVD and Blu-ray camps took an interesting twist today. Paramount and DreamWorks Animation announced today that they will exclusively support the HD DVD standard worldwide. The two companies previously supported both high-definition disc formats.

Paramount and DreamWorks claim that the decision to go solely with HD DVD came after extensive research on market conditions as well as lower overall production costs for HD DVD discs. As a result, upcoming movie releases including "Blades of Glory," "Transformers" and "Shrek the Third" will only be available on HD DVD for those looking to get a high definition fix.

"Part of our vision is to aggressively extend our movies beyond the theater, and deliver the quality and features that appeal to our audience.  I believe HD DVD is not only the affordable high quality choice for consumers, but also the smart choice for Paramount," said Paramount Pictures Chairman and CEO Brady Grey.

"We believe the combination of this year’s low- priced HD DVD players and the commitment to release a significant number of hit titles in the fall makes HD DVD the best way to view movies at home," continued DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg.

The victory for HD DVD comes after a string of "wins" for the Blu-ray camp in recent months. Warner Home Video announced earlier this month that "300" set a record for the highest selling high-definition title for the Blu-ray and HD DVD disc formats. Market research released a few days later showed that the Blu-ray version of the movie outsold its HD DVD counterpart 2-to-1.

The 2-to-1 sales advantage was echoed last week when it was reported that Blu-ray movies outsold HD DVD movies 2-to-1 for the first six months of 2007 -- 1.6 million units for Blu-ray versus 795,000 units for HD DVD. Total sales to date of Blu-ray and HD DVD titles stand at 2.2 million and 1.5 million respectively according to Home Media Research.

The Blu-ray camp has also scored an exclusive deal with Target in the sale of high-definition players and Blockbuster announced in June that its 1,450 stores would only rent Blu-ray titles.

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) even wised up in late June with the announcement of free movie promotion. Customers who purchased new Blu-ray players (included the PlayStation 3) were eligible to receive five free movies via a mail-in promotion. The BDA promotion mirrored a similar offer made by Toshiba.

Despite the victories claimed by the Blu-ray camp, Toshiba has made efforts to make sure that its HD DVD format was not left by the wayside. The company announced its third generation HD DVD player lineup in early August with a starting price of $299. In addition, the Toshiba manufacturer Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on also got a price cut from $199 to $179.

Toshiba is also looking to add HD DVD players to its laptops to help boost HD DVD penetration.

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megan fox
By freakyshiat on 8/20/2007 4:18:33 PM , Rating: 6
.....is so freaking hot




RE: megan fox
By Brandon Hill (blog) on 8/20/2007 4:19:17 PM , Rating: 2
You're preaching to the choir :-)


RE: megan fox
By peldor on 8/20/2007 4:28:57 PM , Rating: 5
I'm highly dissappointed that pic didn't link to a high-res version.


RE: megan fox
By Brandon Hill (blog) on 8/20/2007 4:42:46 PM , Rating: 6
Ask and ye shall receive ;)


RE: megan fox
By Oregonian2 on 8/20/2007 4:53:49 PM , Rating: 3
Excellent! :-)


RE: megan fox
By jpeyton on 8/20/2007 5:11:19 PM , Rating: 4
Interesting move.

Especially considering the last big dual format release (300) had a 70/30 split in sales between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD (respectively).


RE: megan fox
By Locutus465 on 8/20/2007 5:58:19 PM , Rating: 5
what was this thread about again? I got distracted...


RE: megan fox
By AstroCreep on 8/20/2007 4:54:32 PM , Rating: 2
Wow, that's such a good shot you can literally see the pores on her lower back.


RE: megan fox
By noxipoo on 8/20/2007 5:07:40 PM , Rating: 2
i thought she has tattoos all over, where are in the movie?


RE: megan fox
By timmiser on 8/24/2007 2:09:58 AM , Rating: 1
I think tatoos are so not-sexy... Unless I am the one who is applying them. :)


RE: megan fox
By KristopherKubicki (blog) on 8/21/2007 2:42:20 AM , Rating: 3
Hey even I can get behind a +6 for that.


RE: megan fox
By Seemonkeyscanfly on 8/21/2007 10:54:08 AM , Rating: 5
Well after seeing that high-res photo, there was some Transformering going on in my pants :)
or to quote Garth from Wayne’s World, "I feel all tingly and funny inside."


RE: megan fox
By Eurasianman on 8/21/2007 3:08:13 PM , Rating: 4
Thanks... I got me a new background for my monitor :p


RE: megan fox
RE: megan fox
By wrekd on 8/21/2007 11:15:18 AM , Rating: 2
Your links set off my Auto-protect. What gives?


RE: megan fox
By Seemonkeyscanfly on 8/21/2007 12:16:49 PM , Rating: 4
She too hot for your Auto-protect to handle. :)


RE: megan fox
By johnsonx on 8/21/2007 4:38:52 PM , Rating: 2
I'm highly dissapointed that pic didn't link to a reduced-clothes version.


RE: megan fox
By Pitbulll0669 on 8/20/07, Rating: 0
RE: megan fox
By Amiga500 on 8/20/2007 6:38:44 PM , Rating: 3
She's all right... ye wouldn't chuck her out of the bed for farting would ye?

As the saying goes... out of 2...

I'd give her one :-D


RE: megan fox
By BillyBatson on 8/20/07, Rating: -1
RE: megan fox
By Gul Westfale on 8/20/07, Rating: -1
RE: megan fox
By FITCamaro on 8/21/2007 8:09:00 AM , Rating: 3
Yes it sucked so hard it was one of the highest grossing films ever in the first few weeks.

Seriously. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean it sucks.


RE: megan fox
By Gul Westfale on 8/21/2007 11:21:32 PM , Rating: 2
it means that it sucked for me, and since i paid the $5 matinee ticket my opinion is kinda important to me. just because you liked it doesn't mean it's any good. it just means it was good for you.

as far as equating making money with artistic quality is concerned, your theory doesn't fly:

- eminem, britney spears, boy bands, and other "special" people who cannot play an instrument are all making more money now than say, tom petty, or bob dylan.

- the da vinci code, one of the worst written most ridiculous, totally unbelievable mystery/suspense novels ever written made a lot more money than the name of the rose, or tom clancy novels.

- titanic made more than "the usual suspects".

i could go on, but that would be pointless. to each his own; and i would rather have dinner in a nice restaurant (or even a crappy one) with kate winslet than a night in a jacuzzi with the hollywood bimbo of the week.


RE: megan fox
By phusg on 8/21/2007 7:18:15 AM , Rating: 3
quote:
Her skin was as unhealthy looking and frekly as Lindsey Lohan


Welcome to the wonderful world of High-Definition video!


RE: megan fox
By FITCamaro on 8/21/2007 8:11:15 AM , Rating: 2
While I find her attractive, yeah I'm with you. I like chicks who aren't razor thin. There's just nothing back there to smack when they are.

As far as her skin, I wasn't really paying attention to it as much as other areas. ;) And whats wrong with freckles?


RE: megan fox
By djkrypplephite on 8/21/2007 5:38:44 AM , Rating: 1
she's ridiculous man, i would destroy that. destroy.

anyway, i think transformers could be a key title for hd dvd to take back a lot of marketshare from blu ray. i really don't like blu ray only because i want sony to go bankrupt and go under, plus the war gives us something else to read about. i laugh every time i see it, honestly. the tragedy in america today? i can't decide between blu ray and hd dvd! haha you lead such comfortable and sheltered lives, you'll never know true hardship.

i don't think the blockbuster/blu ray deal is going to be as big as most people think. i never rent movies anymore, ever, and all the people i know very rarely, if ever rent movies anymore. maybe it just comes with age . . .


RE: megan fox
By MeTaedet on 8/21/07, Rating: -1
RE: megan fox
By therealnickdanger on 8/21/2007 7:47:16 AM , Rating: 4
Congrats, you just wasted two minutes of your life typing that.


RE: megan fox
By FITCamaro on 8/21/2007 8:13:28 AM , Rating: 5
It's not our fault you're ugly.


RE: megan fox
By Seemonkeyscanfly on 8/21/07, Rating: 0
wow
By michal1980 on 8/20/2007 4:11:16 PM , Rating: 2
well this makes things more interesting




RE: wow
By Spuke on 8/20/2007 4:14:12 PM , Rating: 2
It sure does!!!!


RE: wow
By Spuke on 8/20/07, Rating: 0
RE: wow
By Griswold on 8/20/07, Rating: -1
RE: wow
By GreenyMP on 8/20/2007 4:42:57 PM , Rating: 5
I really doubt that many of us are crying in our pillows. This is a substantial victory for HD-DVD. I have always been of the opinion that this format war would be won by the studios. And although I am for Blu-ray -- I would far rather support HD-DVD than go to a Dual-format player. I wish Al Gore would just tell us what to do and then we could be done with this whole war. :)


RE: wow
By Guyver on 8/20/2007 5:23:29 PM , Rating: 2
I would agree in perception this is a substantial victory for HD-DVD.

However, this war is being waged by 1% of all HDTV owners last I read, so the reality of touting disc or player sales has been largely overhyped anyways.


RE: wow
By bighairycamel on 8/21/2007 7:36:54 AM , Rating: 3
And the biggest factor for that small number, IMO (other than the relatively high price point right now for both formats), is from people like me who refuse to buy a player or a disc until one of the formats wins.


RE: wow
By phusg on 8/21/2007 7:39:56 AM , Rating: 2
Exactly. As long as the studios remain split the decider will only come when a sub $100 player hits the market.


RE: wow
By colonelclaw on 8/21/2007 8:14:40 AM , Rating: 2
i just want this boring tedious format war to be over. im not much bothered who wins as long as the disk works as intended. i wish the squabbling kids in charge of all companies involved would just choose one format and go with it, because until they do the consumer can only be the loser


RE: wow
By Grast on 8/21/2007 6:19:10 PM , Rating: 2
Which will be HD-DVD which is were Toshiba is moving. Sony lost the BetaMax war for the exact same reason they are going to lose this war. The Blue-ray format is too expensive. Expensive for the consumer to purchase a player and too expensive to produce disks for the studio's.


RE: wow
By leexgx on 8/20/2007 7:19:15 PM , Rating: 2
nothing stopping it been converted to BD


RE: wow
By djkrypplephite on 8/21/2007 7:24:29 AM , Rating: 4
al gore invented HD.


RE: wow
By retrospooty on 8/20/2007 6:12:39 PM , Rating: 2
"Where are all the Blu-ray fanboi's?"

Anyone that is actually a BR fanboy needs to get a life, a clue and most importantly a girlfriend.


RE: wow
By One43637 on 8/20/2007 6:17:07 PM , Rating: 2
quote:

[Collapse Comment] RE: wow
By retrospooty on 8/20/07, Rating: 2
By retrospooty on 8/20/2007 6:12:39 PM , Rating: 2
"Where are all the Blu-ray fanboi's?"

Anyone that is actually a BR fanboy needs to get a life, a clue and most importantly a girlfriend.


You can make that same assumption for any fanboy. There's no need to pick one out over the other just because it's popular to bash a certain company on Tech sites.


RE: wow
By retrospooty on 8/21/2007 10:20:35 AM , Rating: 2
True... A CPU, Video card or any other gadget doesn't really deserve "fans" so to speak.


RE: wow
By PrinceGaz on 8/21/2007 12:01:29 PM , Rating: 2
Out buying an HD-DVD player ;)


RE: wow
By therealnickdanger on 8/20/2007 4:35:10 PM , Rating: 2
About the only caveat to this whole thing is Spielberg:

"Today's announcement does not include films directed by Steven Spielberg as his films are not exclusive to either format."

He has enough control over his films that he calls the shots. So far, only one of his movies has been confirmed for a next-gen format and it is the 30th Anniversary Edition of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. As far as has been announced, it will be BD-exclusive. It would be a significant victory for HD-DVD if it included all of Spielberg's movies. Indiana Jones, Jaws, Jurassic Park, etc.


RE: wow
By namechamps on 8/21/2007 3:09:13 AM , Rating: 2
The press release stated that the films Spielberg controls are not exclusive to EITHER FORMAT.

"Paramount Home Entertainment will issue new releases day and date as well as catalog titles exclusively on HD DVD. Today’s announcement does not include films directed by Steven Spielberg as his films are not exclusive to either format."

How many films does Spielberg control? He is listed in the credits of Transformers yet that movie will be only on HD DVD. Anyone know which films are controlled by Spielberg vs which ones were produced by him?


RE: wow
By otispunkmeyer on 8/21/2007 3:40:36 AM , Rating: 2
he produced transformers didnt he? he didnt direct it so maybes thats why its an HD-DVD exlusive

i was under the impression that transformers was to be multi format...BD, HD-DVD and DVD.

this little fued is no good for us...i can see it, you'll need a player capable of playing both just to enjoy your favourite films because half will be BD and the other HDDVD

sucks


RE: wow
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 8/21/2007 7:09:13 AM , Rating: 1
So far no killer movies are exclusive to Blu-Ray, but HD DVD Just picked one up for Transformers.


RE: wow
By imaheadcase on 8/21/2007 7:32:39 AM , Rating: 3
quote:
So far no killer movies are exclusive to Blu-Ray, but HD DVD Just picked one up for Transformers.


Its not exclusive to HD DVD by any means, its just the standard delayed release PR crap they always do. It will be avaliable on Blu-ray shortly thereafter. I %100 guarantee it.


RE: wow
By therealnickdanger on 8/21/2007 7:51:31 AM , Rating: 2
Will you put any money behind that 100% guarantee? Will you buy BD copies of Transformers for people when it comes out?

The press release gives no indication of timed exclusivity, so it's probably wishful thinking. Their reasoning behind choosing a side is valid, there's no reason to believe it isn't genuine - despite the trickery that is common in the industry.


RE: wow
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 8/21/2007 8:10:12 AM , Rating: 2
Indeed, it was no secret when the formats were still in development that HD DVD media would be cheaper to spin and print in mass quantities, mostly due to the fact that the process is 95% the same as a traditional DVD (Thus allowing quick and inexpensive upgrades to existing DVD plants to produce HD DVD's) Blu-Ray has a more expensive process as there is more differences, and it costs more to print.

This is a simple question of cost, and from a business standpoint the cost of doing business on HD DVD is lower than Blu-Ray. Meaning I have to sell less HD DVD's to get my ROI than I would using Blu-Ray.

I hope your willing to pay up as Transformers will never be on Blu-Ray, anything to the contrary is wishful thinking.


RE: wow
By therealnickdanger on 8/21/2007 10:28:00 AM , Rating: 2
His guarantee may be up to snuff after all. This hasn't been confirmed yet, but NYT is claiming that the deal is only for 18 months (which is an eternity considering it will cover two Christmas seasons). Still not confirmed by Paramount or Dreamworks though.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/technology/21dis...


RE: wow
By imaheadcase on 8/21/2007 12:34:21 PM , Rating: 1
I can %100 back that based on the fact Wal-mart is going to stock BOTH versions of Transformers. So Sayth me who works nights and see new mods shipping manifestos.


RE: wow
By therealnickdanger on 8/21/2007 2:53:41 PM , Rating: 2
I can 100% say that shipping manifestos are usually good for wiping betwixt thine buttocks. I can also 100% guarantee that you will see BD Transformers pending in the computer until it A) arrives 18 months from now, or B) is removed by the corporate Wal-Mart buyer that entered it in error.

A product doesn't have to exist in reality in order to have a SKU or to allow for pre-orders.


RE: wow
By timmiser on 8/24/2007 2:20:13 AM , Rating: 2
You mean my Duke Nukem Fornever pre-order on EB Games is not genuine??


RE: wow
By AlexWade on 8/20/2007 4:43:09 PM , Rating: 5
On a lot of message boards, the blu-boys were claiming Universal would switch sides. I bet they never saw this coming. I never saw this coming. I thought Warner Brothers might because they prefer HD DVD, but not Paramount.

Personally, I don't care. HD DVD has its advantages and Blu-Ray has its advantages. All I have is the 360 add-on, but I want a Blu-Ray player. But I will not have another player and another remote cluttering up my living room. So, I've saving up for a universal player. Samsung has the right idea, and when the price is sub $500, I will jump on the Blu bandwagon too. Because I don't care is the box is red or blue. I just want to push play. And I'm the vast majority.


Sony
By mendocinosummit on 8/20/2007 4:22:20 PM , Rating: 2
If HD-DVD wins the war I wonder at what point will Sony start releasing their movies in HD-DVD. Also, that would suck for every person who bought a PS3.




RE: Sony
By aos007 on 8/20/2007 4:28:07 PM , Rating: 4
At this point it doesn't look like BluRay will lose. But now it also does not look like the HD-DVD will die either, as many expected. It looks like the future is dual format players.


RE: Sony
By mendocinosummit on 8/20/2007 4:59:17 PM , Rating: 2
Only saying what if.


RE: Sony
By Hawkido on 8/20/2007 5:34:13 PM , Rating: 2
Well, then Sony would have accomplished what Nintendo never could... The perfect un-piratable format... Too big to transmit over the internet, and the disc is incompatable with other players, the burners are very limited, and could easily be recalled to Sony. A simple flash update to the PS3 to make it incompatable with existing burners that might be floating around and Voila.

The R&D needed to make it was paid for by BD partners, and Sony has the perfect launching medium for un-piratable game media for this and the next platform, with 4x layers on BD media they could really stack data on those discs for the next gen platform that comes out.


RE: Sony
By OblivionMage on 8/20/2007 8:11:08 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
un-piratable


I wouldn't say that too early ;P


RE: Sony
By imaheadcase on 8/21/2007 7:35:01 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
he perfect un-piratable format


Since when was it un-piratable, plenty of 30gig blu-ray rips on newsgroups.


RE: Sony
By therealnickdanger on 8/21/2007 10:21:27 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Since when was it un-piratable, plenty of 30gig blu-ray rips on newsgroups.

I know! LOL! When will they learn that there is no file size too big for teh piratz.


RE: Sony
By Hawkido on 8/21/2007 1:50:36 PM , Rating: 2
I said the medium would be unpirate-able... Not the content. But really... How are you going to get the content off the BR disc... Remember the Scenario is that Blu-ray becomes defunct, and most people only have a PS3 as a reader. No one has a burner (well maybe a small handful and they would fail after 10,000 or so burns, so you can ignore them.) The large BR printers running at the studios are licensed, and therefore could be recalled, so only major game publishers would have the BR presses (smaller publishers could submit to the Sony presses for printing). Even if you could get the content off the discs you have no way to re-burn it onto a BR disc. The only way you could make use of the content is if you hacked the program to run from the PS3 HD and a firmware patch could shut that down.

Mod chip? Maybe, but a regular firm ware patching could eliminate them, requiring a new mod chip every 3 to 6 months.

Yep you can get the content off the disc, but without a burner, you can't re-burn it to a BR disc, pirating shutdown.

You can get the content off tto the PS3 harddrive, but regular Required patching will prevent premium media from running off the HD, Pirating shutdown.

You can install a mod chip, but again regular required patching will disable or defeat the mod chip, Pirating shutdown.

So you will be left with a 30 gig file that is about as useful as a Mac program...


RE: Sony
By Hawkido on 8/21/2007 1:58:26 PM , Rating: 2
Just for clarification, What I mean by Blu-ray loosing the format war, is this. If Blu-Ray looses the format war, it only means no more Blu-Ray movies, there will still be Blu-Ray games for the PS3. This could actually be good for the PS3, as Pirating would be defeated by the means listed above. Movies are never unpiratable.


RE: Sony
By mars777 on 8/22/2007 2:24:06 AM , Rating: 2
Before patching the firmware you patch the chip firmware so it can hide from the new firmware.
All you have to do is put new firmwares 2 weeks later then when they come out... after the new chip firmware.
Big deal :P


RE: Sony
By Hawkido on 8/22/2007 10:44:08 AM , Rating: 2
Virus def's are downloaded usually once a day...
Why would this have to be any different? just once a day respecify the premium content has to be accessed from the optical drive. All It has to do is correct what the mod chip says, else make it read those settings straight from the internet. I haven't heard of a mod chip for the PS3 yet... As it processes most all of the game in the cell processor, the only location you would be able to insert it would be between the hardware controller and the Optical device (assuming it hasn't been replaced with a hard drive as part of the piracy)

The PS3 will be moreso and more so interconnected with the internet. Just make the internet service (as part of authentication double check to see if the CP system has been violated if it has, disable the device and display a message the system has to be serviced to restore functionality... You either have to remove or replace (or possibly flash) the mod chip or take it in for service, at which point they detect the attempted mod and revoke you license to use the Sony device. Whatever way the mod user chooses, Sony would make it so inconvienent to be a mod chip user only a few would find worth in it, as your machine would be down more than half the time.


RE: Sony
By BladeVenom on 8/20/2007 6:10:50 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
that would suck for every person who bought a PS3.

It's not that big deal since most people bought a PS3 to play games. 40% of PS3 owners don't even know it can play Blu-ray movies.


RE: Sony
By Korvon on 8/20/2007 6:58:22 PM , Rating: 2
That is such a mis-quoted stat. Read the actual report. It was a survay done of all next gen owners (PS3, Wii, X360). There was even 6 year olds that were in the study and from all those people %40 didnt know PS3 had bluray. Virtualy all PS3 owners were aware of the drive in their system.


RE: Sony
By leexgx on 8/20/2007 7:30:47 PM , Rating: 2
it has bluray Printed on the box the and the PS3 and most likey who ever sold it would of told them

if thay got it on line thay will allso know it has bluray (most pepole will not spend $550/£400 online unless thay known what thay are buying)


RE: Sony
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 8/21/2007 7:10:32 AM , Rating: 3
You give these lazy sales kids too much credit. They don't tell you much about the box, just enough to buy it.


Too bad
By Kefner on 8/20/2007 4:43:58 PM , Rating: 2
Looks like poor Blockbuster and Target will miss out on the cash flow from the HD versions of Transformers and Shrek the Third.




RE: Too bad
By TJ Spyke on 8/20/2007 4:51:43 PM , Rating: 3
Um, no kefner. Target sells HD DVDs, they just don't cary HD DVD players (in their stores, they do sell HD DVD players on their website). Also, it's only some Blockbusters that dropped HD DVD.

seeker, maybe because this announcment was just made today. Blockbuster will remove it soon.


RE: Too bad
By Oregonian2 on 8/20/2007 5:05:33 PM , Rating: 3
And Target's exclusivity deal extends only through this year's holiday season.


RE: Too bad
By seeker353 on 8/20/2007 8:35:31 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah, too bad. This is going to tick off a lot of stores (someone else mentioned that Blu-ray pre-orders have already been sold). Oh well.

AFAIK, no Blockbuster store actually dropped HD-DVD. All the stores that used to have them still do. They just won't be expanding HD-DVD to all the rest of their stores like they're doing w/ Blu-ray.


RE: Too bad
By DOSGuy on 8/20/2007 11:44:16 PM , Rating: 3
I think Blockbuster was hoping to standardize on one format to save money by not having to duplicate their stock of HD movies, but I highly doubt that they'll refuse to carry Transformers if enough people want to rent it. Where there's demand, there will be supply, so I don't think anyone should read into the Blockbuster announcement that they are never going to carry HD-DVD titles.


RE: Too bad
By rockyct on 8/21/2007 1:33:32 AM , Rating: 2
lol, there are good Dreamworks exclusives, but those aren't the best examples of it. Well, Transformers is good eye candy, but it's also one long commercial for GM. I laughed every time they flashed a car badge.


RE: Too bad
By otispunkmeyer on 8/21/2007 3:50:37 AM , Rating: 4
why do people get so irate about this.

what do you want them to do, get some designers to make up some generic cars an trucks? i'd rather have real life examples thanks, especially ones that look like the new camero. afterall the TF's are supposed to resemble what he have when theyre not beating the snot out of each other.

you can look at any film an say its a advert for something...product placement is everywhere. james bond for example...Aston and sony, latest bourne film...VW (toureg chase) and Motorola (every 5 minutes).

for me it makes the movie that much more believable (well not in TF's case...big giant robots arent real) but for films like bourne, to see them using stuff we can get our hands on is pretty neat.

people just need to sit n watch the damn movies without complaining. if you watch TF without paying particular attention to the plot or the products you might see on screen, its thoroughly enjoyable

transformers was made for HD though, Prime will look pimping in 1080p


RE: Too bad
By FITCamaro on 8/21/2007 8:16:10 AM , Rating: 2
Not really since Blockbuster still rents HD-DVDs and Target sells both HD-DVD movies and players. Christ. Do people even read articles anymore? Or do they just read the headline and form conclusions? Sony bought an end cap. Thats it. Target still offers everything HD-DVD.


RE: Too bad
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 8/21/2007 8:20:49 AM , Rating: 2
You nailed it, most of these guys don't even read the articles. Let alone the sources cited in the articles.


Last chance for one format
By dl429 on 8/20/2007 4:59:07 PM , Rating: 5
The last chance for one format just went down the drain. Perhaps that is not all bad though. Competition between HD-DVD and Blu-ray has caused the prices of the hardware to be reduced at a staggering rate. HD-DVD players can be found on some sites for as cheap as $199. Even Blu-ray players are now $499, down from $1000. The competition has brought price wars between both camps and the consumer is the winner in the end. When dual format players become affordable nobody will care which studio supports which format...




RE: Last chance for one format
By alifbaa on 8/20/2007 10:29:00 PM , Rating: 2
Actually, this "competition" between formats has largely stifled competition between brands.

If you look, you'll notice Yamaha, Denon, Oppo, and all the other high end DVD brands are noticeably absent from this format war. So too are ALL the dozens of brands making cheap DVD players. What you do see is a HD market dominated by the same companies with the largest stakes in the individual formats offering players with relatively few advanced capabilities at prices that they could never dream of selling similar DVD players for.

Of course there are a lot of reasons for the current prices and the lack of features, not the least of which is that this is still very early in the game. Having said that, I think that the major reason we don't see other manufacturers building players right now is precisely because the format war is so undecided.


RE: Last chance for one format
By masher2 (blog) on 8/20/2007 11:30:01 PM , Rating: 3
> "If you look, you'll notice Yamaha, Denon, Oppo, and all the other high end DVD brands are noticeably absent from this format war."

Denon is in: http://www.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fgol...
Onkyo is in: http://www.i4u.com/article10754.html
Pioneer Elite is in: http://ces.engadget.com/2006/01/04/pioneer-bdp-hd1...

Oppo isn't a high-end DVD manufacturer. They make outstanding upconverting players...for their price point, the best in the industry, but they're still budget players. Their most expensive player is in the $200 range, whereas you can easily spend $4K for a Denon DVD player.

> "I think that the major reason we don't see other manufacturers building players right now is precisely because the format war is so undecided. "

Not really; it's much more a factor of the hardware requirements. Unless you're a major firm like Sony, Toshiba, Sharp, or Samsung, its extraordinarily difficult to build a HD player right now, and one that requires a significant amount of design and development. A DVD player, on the other hand, is basically a "one-chip" product...two, if you want to include a fancy upscaler. Until there's been another round or two of system integration, HD players are a market that only the big buys can afford to dabble in.


RE: Last chance for one format
By TheDoc9 on 8/20/2007 11:36:17 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah It's all a game. I'm tired of it - it's like a woman that won't put out. You either pick one format and see half your favorite movies, pick neither and miss out on hd, or pick both and spend even more money. Someone is getting rich, the consumers a loosing. I was going to buy the xbox add on but this actually got me to thinking and I've decided not to support HD DVD, I've got blu-ray and I'll stick with that and will save money on the movies I can't watch on it.

Transformers isn't worth it either.


By Master Kenobi (blog) on 8/21/2007 7:14:37 AM , Rating: 2
Remember those words when more studio's switch to HD DVD exclusive.


By encryptkeeper on 8/21/2007 12:22:13 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah It's all a game. I'm tired of it - it's like a woman that won't put out.

From reading your entire post, I can tell this is a common problem for you.

You either pick one format and see half your favorite movies, pick neither and miss out on hd, or pick both and spend even more money.

Here's an idea, stop crying and act like a man. It all comes down to money. Obviously you don't want to miss out on some of your favorite movies if you pick one format right now and stick with it. And you don't want to try to buy both players right now because it is kind of expensive that way. You say consumers are "losing". Here's an idea. Why not "wait". You obviously don't want to spend more money than you have to, so just hold off buying one of the players. Eventually, they'll be cheaper, or a hybrid player will be out as well. Honestly, do you really want ALL of your old dvds in HD format? Why? My Cousin Vinny is a great movie, but there's no one out there who's demanding to see it in high def. Plus, if you wait, maybe the prices of the movies themselves will drop in price as well.


Annoying
By zzebi on 8/20/2007 4:53:34 PM , Rating: 2
The whole format war is getting very frustrating. Why can't I just buy a single high-def DVD player from any manufacturer and play every movie I like. This is soooo stupid...
Before the HD era it didn't matter if I was a Sony/Toshiba/etc fanboy or not, I could play all the DVDs, but now this cock fighting between manufacturers really hurts the consumer ... me.
And this isn't even about quality but power and marketing so I can't see how I could profit from this eventually.




RE: Annoying
By Oregonian2 on 8/20/2007 5:03:30 PM , Rating: 3
Sony and Toshiba and all the studios completely agree with you. Their format should be the one and only -- just like you want!

P.S. - "Before" you DID have to check if your movie was DVD or VHS! There were only a few dual-format players!


RE: Annoying
By Belard on 8/21/2007 5:08:24 AM , Rating: 2
Not quite the same thing.

VHS (Tape in general) was way old. besides, you ever heard of Laser Discs - 12" double-sided movie discs? I have a player and about 80+ titles of that format. Glad to have moved from that to DVD. But many of us bought LD because it smoked VHS.

DVD is smaller, easier, cheaper, faster and better than VHS... it was a transition, not a format war.

DVD+R / DVD-R = Format War for lame reasons. Both offered the exact samesize of data storage. Hence, I still don't OWN a CD DVD-Recorder, beside the important issue of Recorded DVD/CD Media only good for 3~12months... ugh.

BR / HD-DVD, bot offer the same picture feature set (1080p), but BR is a big notch more data storage but HD-DVD is made more traditional. Geez, both are using the same packaging - except that HD is in ugly brownish-red-stain color and BR is bright-blue.

This latest format war sucks! Guess what, I am not buying either one - period, until there is a winner.

Paramount/Dreamworks said they were going to support both formats... guess they couldn't READ the data about 2:1 sales of BR movies. They have done nothing but extended this war another year or so... who knows. If they stayed with supporting both, fine. If they went with BR, that would have been another deadly nail into HD-DVD. The difference is easy... either hurt BR or devistate HD-DVD.

PS: Typically BR players are only $100 more than HD-DVD... by Christmas, both maybe around $200... price is not that big of a deal. We're not talking $300(1080i Toshiba) vs a $800BR by SONY... But both sell for $400/450 with 1080p support.

Stores are not going to be happy at stocking 3 versions of the same movie titles. (DVD/BR/HD-DVD).


RE: Annoying
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 8/21/2007 7:18:38 AM , Rating: 2
Amazon is currently selling the HD-A20 for $329 and it is 1080p (I just got one last week). The cheapest 1080p player for blu-ray is $479


RE: Annoying
By masher2 (blog) on 8/21/2007 8:22:43 AM , Rating: 2
> "Guess what, I am not buying either one - period, until there is a winner."

Then you're likely to be without HD for a long, long time. At this point, its doubtful there will ever be one "winner". Both formats will likely remain for the longhaul, as dual-format players predominate.


RE: Annoying
By omnicronx on 8/21/2007 10:35:45 AM , Rating: 2
Why is everyone complaining? We all know dual-format players will end up being the choice of many. And with this war continuing prices will only go down faster for both formats. As long as you can get a player that plays both, this format war is only going to help out consumers. None if this new DVD releases being 30-35 dollars for some versions like the first few years of the DVD. You can already get movies for 20-25 bucks. I only see the price for players and for movies going down as the war wages on.


By SilthDraeth on 8/20/2007 4:36:07 PM , Rating: 2
Forgive me if I missed it in the article, but I read "will be HD-DVD exclusive, I know the article is about Blue-Ray Vs HD-DVD.