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  1. Report: Universal opts out of HD DVD exclusivity
    Variety says major Toshiba high-def video player supporter will not renew its sole support of the format when it expires in May.
    By Tom Magrino, GameSpot
    Posted Jan 10, 2008 2:15 pm PT

    Last week, Warner Bros. shook up the next-gen format war with a seemingly impromptu announcement that it would be abandoning Toshiba's HD DVD high-definition video playback format in favor of Sony's Blu-ray standard beginning in May. The blow to HD DVD was followed by a vicious left hook, when the Financial Times revealed that fellow HD DVD supporter Paramount may capitalize on an out clause in its exclusivity contract with Toshiba that specifically pertained to Warner Bros.' defection.

    Though the Viacom-owned Paramount officially continues to stand by its HD DVD exclusivity decision--as does format supporter Microsoft, despite recent reports that Blu-ray support for the Xbox 360 wasn't out of the question--Universal Studios would be the sole major-studio standard bearer for the HD DVD format. However, it now appears Universal may be readying the haymaker that will down Toshiba's video playback standard for the count.

    Variety reports that Universal Studios has ended its HD DVD exclusivity deal, though it will continue to only support the format until its current arrangement with Toshiba ends May 31. The report did not indicate whether Universal will exclusively support Sony's Blu-ray format after that date. Speaking to GameSpot, a Universal Studios representative confirmed that, for the time being, the studio will continue to support HD DVD, though they would not say whether Blu-ray support is also on the agenda.

    Sony's Blu-ray high-def video player, which is prominently advertised as one of the primary draws of the PlayStation 3, enjoys the lion's share of support from major motion picture studios. In addition to Warner Bros., the Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, and Lionsgate all support the format exclusively. New Line Cinema and HBO, both subsidiaries of Time Warner, also reportedly revealed during the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show that they would follow Warner Bros. as Blu-ray exclusive studios.

    SOURCE: GameSpot
    http://au.gamespot.com/news/6184567.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=morenews&tag=morenews;title;5

    It Looks Like Its All Coming To An End, Real Quick!
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    Finally
    I can't wait to see sony burn their ugly asses once again with their proprietary formats :P
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  3. Originally Posted by DereX888
    Finally
    I can't wait to see sony burn their ugly asses once again with their proprietary formats :P
    lol, what? Perhaps u should re-read that article
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  4. Member ebenton's Avatar
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    I see that we apparently have had one anti-Blu-Ray zealot mistakenly start gloating about Sony/Blu-ray's demise, when the article was actually about HD DVDs impending troubles.

    But where are the anti-HD DVD people, who were apparently, a couple of years ago, bludgeoned by someone from Toshiba wielding an HD DVD player?
    We should see them gloating and doing the touchdown/Snoopy dance pretty soon.
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  5. Member ViRaL1's Avatar
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    I don't think he misread. I think he's saying that Sony's got enough rope to hang themselves. I already have Blu-Ray and some movies. I have a PS3 so there's no chance of abandoning BR altogether, but I'd still buy an HD-DVD player if they won out. I picked up one last year but ended up giving it as a gift. With the recent price drops on Toshiba players though, I'd say it's a fire sale.
    Nothing can stop me now, 'cause I don't care anymore.
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  6. Originally Posted by ViRaL1
    I don't think he misread. I think he's saying that Sony's got enough rope to hang themselves. I already have Blu-Ray and some movies. I have a PS3 so there's no chance of abandoning BR altogether, but I'd still buy an HD-DVD player if they won out. I picked up one last year but ended up giving it as a gift. With the recent price drops on Toshiba players though, I'd say it's a fire sale.
    Unfortunately, I think you are right - and fire sales revolving around the apparently doomed HD-DVD format will go forward. It is truly unfortunate as we have been forced into Blu-Ray by the studios as they have decided to support Blu-Ray and abandon HD-DVD. If Warner had dropped Blu-Ray and backed HD-DVD exclusively, the Blu-Ray format would be gasping now instead.
    You can make up your own minds about why Warner (or any other studio) would dump HD-DVD in favor of Blu-Ray exclusively, but I suggest you not buy their "it is good for the consumer" nonsense. I'm sure they are betting it is good for Warner. All of us HD-DVD users are consumers also - and it surely isn't good for us.
    I worry that Sony's complete lack of customer support or respect, and total focus on copy protection, combined with their apparent belief that anything with a Sony logo on it or requiring a Sony licensing arrangement can support high prices will result in products that never come down to something reasonable - and become obsolete when suddenly those Blu-Ray players bought early on will not play current releases since they require a firmware update to deal with new encryption - and Sony cannot be bothered to develop and release the firmware update needed. They have done this before with dvd burners in computers that are now useless since no media exists they can handle. I know - I have one - and have vowed to never buy another Sony product for my computer again as a result.
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    Exactly, I did NOT misread anything But it is not my fault that some people cannot put few facts together either and misunderstood *my* post...


    /edit/: OK, I'll stretch it a bit further.
    The main fact remains the same: historically S*ny have always failed to market each and every proprietary format of their own. The list of all their failures is unusualy (for a company of such magnitude) very long, while the list of their winners is very short: the Walkman (which was not any S*ny proprietary format, but just the concept) and original trinitron tube crt.
    Also it will be unfortunate for us - the consumers - to live with S*ny product only. Best example of what it will be like was already in the first 'update' of the format, rendering older players unable to play newest title (and we are still talking about supposedly same format, and by 'older' I mean just 1 year old models, mind you!). One more BR update like this, and this home high-definition format will be a sure dud among general public, regardless of who and how much does support it. It will be only us, the videohelp crowd, the movie maniacs, who will buy them, if updating it will continue that way... Joe Average will not buy new $500 BR player every year just because movie companies want more or better "security" for the discs, thats for sure.
    Let's not forget, that the 'update' is not for the good of the consumers, but for the benefit of the movies companies (and S*ny Corporation is one of the MAJOR movie making corporations and largest member of MPAA if I remember correctly).
    Anyways, few more mishaps like this, and someone else will fill the gap on the market.
    Some people here said that BR-DVD is better than HD-DVD because of more space on the discs. Well, there are already several new technologies that allow even more data storage on a single disc than BR will ever will, so I guess they will be the first to abandon BR once something new appears?
    I'm still betting for another 'third' format yet to appear and takeover the market by storm
    But it won't happen today or this year.
    Majority of US households must be equipped with high-definition televisons first, obviously.

    So,
    It is irrelevant what format wins today, but if it were HD-DVD I would think it might be here to stay. Since BR-DVD is supposedly the winner, as it is a S*ny product, I already know it is just temporary
    Time will tell.

    S*ny had years and years of monopoly on many products in the past - and they were never able to market'em
    (MiniDisc anybody? In 1993 it was really a revolutionary device, yet it never took off.... it took Apple and their dumb iPod to break the reign of CD players decade later! Can anyone believe it?


    And yes, HD-DVD firesale. It may create market pressure and demand, and the result might be actually prolonging life of the 'doomed' format.


    Oh, BTW: I'm not any "anti-BR zealot".
    FYI: BR-DVD and HD-DVD deliver exactly same quality audio and video content, the difference between each format is transparent for the user (I'm tired of repeating it already...) so what are you talking about?!
    I simply don't want my money to go to MPAA's lawyers for suing kids downloading songs from the web.
    I simply don't want my money to be spent on developing rootkits infecting my computers.
    I doubt you want any of it either.
    Yet, by choosing a SONY product, portion of your money obviously goes exactly there, how hard is it to grasp relations between one thing and another...
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    I can sum up all the responses in one word: *snore*.

    Those of us who had our eyes open when Toshiba was the one dictating all format conventions will just laugh and urinate upon the Toshiba mob. But in light of all this "Sony is the ultimate evil while Toshiba can get away with blue murder" crap, I am going to kick the first person who defends Toshiba to me in person in the teeth. I never had a reason to be fond of Sony after they decided to buy record labels that just happened to have an artist they liked, but this kind of favourtism spurs a whole new kind of hatred in me.

    Just one more reason I would hardly trust a lot of the regulars here to sit the right way on a toilet seat.
    "It's getting to the point now when I'm with you, I no longer want to have something stuck in my eye..."
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  9. DereX888, I feared u ment something like that, that neither formats would break through, but I thought, nah, he's not about to make a fool of himself like that, so I gave u the benefit of the doubt. Fact is, ppl, Hi-Def is here to stay. And so is Blu-ray. Like it or not. And if you wanna talk about putting facts together and coming to a conclusion, THAT is the conclusion. The facts? Those have been around for YEARS. I've followed Blu since the format was put together (wich was before i even joined this site), and if you ENOUGH of those facts, the conclusion is easily made.

    Seriously, I've been telling u nay-sayers wrong since 2004, I was right then and I'm right now and when I'm PROVEN right, you'll be smegged off with your tails between your legs. Probably watching a Blu-ray
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  10. Member thecoalman's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by DereX888
    I'm still betting for another 'third' format yet to appear and takeover the market by storm
    But it won't happen today or this year.
    Majority of US households must be equipped with high-definition televisons first, obviously.
    Oh my I agree with DereX888 again, everyone run we're going to get hit by some calamity. :P

    That's very good point though, Joe Six-Pack hasn't invested in HD TV's yet. Still too expensive for a lot of consumers especially when hey see dirt cheap analog sets. You may be on to something here. The issue there is it will need the support of the enetertainment industry and their is a distinct possibility that's not going to happen.
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  11. Member ebenton's Avatar
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    I'm holding out for HD downloads.
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    So does this mean all former HD format only discs will now be coming out in BD?

    This is all good news to me since I happen to own a PS3.
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    Originally Posted by ebenton
    I'm holding out for HD downloads.
    I wouldn't count on seeing anything like that, they'll stick with a pay per view model.
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  14. Member lordhutt's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by thecoalman
    Originally Posted by ebenton
    I'm holding out for HD downloads.
    I wouldn't count on seeing anything like that, they'll stick with a pay per view model.
    You can get about any hd movie you want if you know how to use the newsgroups!!...oh, you meant 'legal downloads'
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  15. The HD-DVD group is saying that HD-DVD will live after Hollywood moves on. They are saying that private groups of people will use HD-DVD. These doom and gloom threads are getting old.
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    Ouch this hurts. Good thing I already bought my bluray liteon rom player.

    HOWEVER I'm not rebuying the matrix, the mummy or any ot he other 8 or so hddvd titles I already have. Not until my 360 hddvd player dies. And then I'll have to think about it since I have all of my hddvds in dvd format already except for harry potter 1 (official dvd by the way).

    I guess the only good thing about this is PERHAPS settop bluray players will drop in price. Though I know monopolies don't lend to price drops but neither did competition with hddvd. They made half-assessed price drops attempts but 400.00 for your cheapest settop player is not aggressive marketing in my books.

    When a settop bluray gets under 200.00 I may get one so I don't have to always use my pc to watch it even though I have it in htpc mode.

    I am going to wait before buying any STARTREK HDDVDS though. THat is going to be a shortterm casuality depending on how fast Paramount swithces. THough the Original series season 1 high def remixes are 180.00 at best buy. Nearly 200.00 for ONE FRICKIN SEASON!?!?!?!?? I think not..... When/if this hddvd firesale kicks off I may stock up just so I can rip to the pc with my 360 hddvd drive. (buying the discs but backing up for protection against drive failure).
    Donatello - The Shredder? Michelangelo - Maybe all that hardware is for making coleslaw?
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  17. Originally Posted by Dv8ted2
    The HD-DVD group is saying that HD-DVD will live after Hollywood moves on. They are saying that private groups of people will use HD-DVD. These doom and gloom threads are getting old.
    I cannot imagine what use anyone has for HD-DVD playing capabilities if there is no content to play in the machine.
    The good news is - my Toshiba HD-A30 is a great upconverting player also, so I really do not have to run out and buy a Blu-Ray player in any hurry. It's important to remember that this whole debacle revolves around a very low volume niche area anyway - and if Warner or Sony think folks like me are going to now embrace Blu-Ray - that is not likely in any hurry. I went for HD-DVD because I like the approach, attitude, customer focus, etc. and if I have to choose between Sony and Toshiba for ongoing support - that's an easy choice since Sony is the absolute pits. I also went for HD-DVD based on the studios supporting it. But the studios are in charge of this one since the availability of movies determines the winner - and they seem to be parading off to Blu-Ray. We'll see what the remaining few HD-DVD supporters do in the months ahead.
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  18. This story is a rumor,Universal said recently that they would still support HD DVD.How long they will continue to support HD DVD is the question:
    http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/01/universal-to-co.html

    I own a Toshiba A20 and will continue to enjoy my SD and HD DVD collection for years to come.
    BTW:until the time HDTV's are in the majority of households SD will be king,last year sales of SD DVD was $16 billion vs $300 million for HD.
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  19. About the 1st of the year "Video Business" stated that indeed WB had/ will make the switch to BR.
    Sad day. Isn't HDDVD backward compatible w/ DVD and BR not? Not good.
    With all the suppose HD TV sets in the home how many actually are fully HD compatible. How many years and sets were sold before they finally decided on HDMI connection? So probably half or more do not connect proper for the true HD, right?
    Ever dealt with Sony repair? In for a treat there. Don't forget the unpack & look-at it charge before trying (and I say that loosely) to fix it. Although I own a Sony SACD player I despise Sony on the whole. Root-kits ah, dont you love it.
    Be a long time before the majority of homes buy into the expensive HDTV game. How many of those 40 dollar coupons you think the gov't will be giving out to people. Probably way more than they think.
    The HD conglomerates have always inflated how many of sets have been sold to the end consumer. Got to quit counting all those sitting in wholesalers and their own warehouses.
    I've been an early adopter all my long life until HDTV & now the HDDVDs & BluRays made their appearances. I quit and will take my coupons for my analog Toshibas. And all the older folks- and there are many in my neighborhood - will want them too. No way they buy into high price TVs. So I'll get many calls to hook them up to.
    Not going to change that much in a year.
    DOnt have them now - wont have them then.
    It sure feels good not to have a horse in this race for once. And really not care.
    This whole idea of changing so that friends of TPTB want the lower end of the spectrum was badly push from the beginning. Released before anything was out ther in final stages. Just a mess.
    For those satisfied with their setups and have everything as they want it I congratulate you. Have fun. I can see the attraction.
    Enjoy 'em if you gotta 'em.
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  20. Originally Posted by Rich86
    I cannot imagine what use anyone has for HD-DVD playing capabilities if there is no content to play in the machine.
    home-made movies -
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    The HD battle is not over. Sony has convinced Hollywood content owners that Blu-ray is no copy nirvana. Content will it seems be delivered on Blu-ray. Won't Hollywood be pissed when Blu-ray, BD+, is cracked? It will be cracked. It is just a matter of time.

    Microsoft and the computer hardware industry backed HD-DVD. They want us to burn, burn, burn and buy lots of hardware. To beat Sony, the computer hardware industry needs to simply deliver dual format players. Players that are DVD friendly. Players that are region friendly. Bill Gates can still checkmate Sony. We, the VH community, will simply backup Hollywood Blu-ray content on the less expensive HD-DVD. Small content creators will still have an HD option because players will become dual format.

    DO NOT SUPPOT Blu-ray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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    looks like the movie industry is deciding the format war instead of consumers...something they probably never considered...
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  23. THE RESULT ???

    people will rent BD and back it up on HD....
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    Originally Posted by Dv8ted2
    The HD-DVD group is saying that HD-DVD will live after Hollywood moves on. They are saying that private groups of people will use HD-DVD. These doom and gloom threads are getting old.
    Of course it will. How else are we going to get porn in HD?

    Oh wait, didn't porn kill Sony's last attempt to?
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    Originally Posted by disturbed1

    Oh wait, didn't porn kill Sony's last attempt to?
    Well if HD-DVD succeeds because of porn it would certainly put to rest all the arguments that porn was not the reason for betamax's demise.

    Have they actually said they won't allow porn on on BD discs? Not so sure that would make a difference though, that was different and different circumstances. You couldn't sit down in front of computer and get all the free porn you wanted when VHS was released. Not so sure I want my porn in HD anyway.
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    Originally Posted by thecoalman
    Originally Posted by disturbed1

    Oh wait, didn't porn kill Sony's last attempt to?
    Well if HD-DVD succeeds because of porn it would certainly put to rest all the arguments that porn was not the reason for betamax's demise.

    Have they actually said they won't allow porn on on BD discs? Not so sure that would make a difference though, that was different and different circumstances. You couldn't sit down in front of computer and get all the free porn you wanted when VHS was released. Not so sure I want my porn in HD anyway.
    Kind of scary isn't it.

    Sony nor Disney allow BD replicators to replicate adult movies in plants that also replicate Sony (plus Sony's divisions) or Disney titles. So if that plant wants to put out Sony or Disney BD discs, no porn.
    Linux _is_ user-friendly. It is not ignorant-friendly and idiot-friendly.
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    I lived I Vegas through the 90's and operated a video business. Most people assumed I was in porno. I was not. Every year I got a letter from some city council member warning me not to operate within x miles of a school or they would suspend my business license! Porno is really big business in Vegas. They get $50 for a DVD!!!!!!!!!! Sony can't just dis the porno business. Even if Disney says so. Porno can't work with Blu-ray. It's just too expensive for the non Hollywood guys.
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  28. Originally Posted by Dv8ted2
    Originally Posted by Rich86
    I cannot imagine what use anyone has for HD-DVD playing capabilities if there is no content to play in the machine.
    home-made movies -
    Maybe - but given the ridiculous cost of blank high def media and/or a burner - you don't really think this is going anywhere in any hurry, right?
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  29. Originally Posted by disturbed1
    Originally Posted by thecoalman
    Originally Posted by disturbed1

    Oh wait, didn't porn kill Sony's last attempt to?
    Well if HD-DVD succeeds because of porn it would certainly put to rest all the arguments that porn was not the reason for betamax's demise.

    Have they actually said they won't allow porn on on BD discs? Not so sure that would make a difference though, that was different and different circumstances. You couldn't sit down in front of computer and get all the free porn you wanted when VHS was released. Not so sure I want my porn in HD anyway.
    Kind of scary isn't it.

    Sony nor Disney allow BD replicators to replicate adult movies in plants that also replicate Sony (plus Sony's divisions) or Disney titles. So if that plant wants to put out Sony or Disney BD discs, no porn.
    Well, if I was Disney, I sure would not want some porn title to accidentally show up in one of my animated feature release cases . . . .
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    Originally Posted by Rich86
    Well, if I was Disney, I sure would not want some porn title to accidentally show up in one of my animated feature release cases . . . .
    That would be taking work away from the animators.
    Nothing can stop me now, 'cause I don't care anymore.
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