HMM: HD DVD Should "Knock It Off" for Inevitable Blu-ray Victory

[IcEWoLF]

HMM: HD DVD Should "Knock It Off" for Inevitable Blu-ray Victory


Posted January 14, 2008 by Josh

Home Media Magazine, the weekly industry magazine which alerts retailers and those inside the home media industry to news and releases, has posted a statement to the HD DVD Promotional Group: "Knock it off". Stating consumer confusion as the reason for lack of consumer adoption of high definition home media, magazine contributor Thomas K. Arnold has asked that HD DVD step down instead of delaying the inevitable Blu-ray victory.

With Warner Home Video dumping HD DVD, the format has the support of just two of the six major studios. It cannot win. At best, it can be a spoiler, but I'm hoping Toshiba, Universal and Paramount will take the high road and, for the good of the entire industry, bow out. Universal and Paramount, in particular, need to jump on the Blu-ray Disc bandwagon so we can go into the new year with a unified front and a unified mission: To educate consumers about the advantages of high-definition media and convince them the time to transition from standard DVD to Blu-ray is the day they bring that HDTV into their home.​

Studio support
Blu-ray support
Warner Bros.
Disney (Buena Vista)
Fox
Sony Pictures
Lionsgate
MGM

Studio support
HD-DVD support
Paramount
Universal Studios


To read Thomas K. Arnold's full post, click on the source link below.

Source: Home Media Magazine. | Permalink

[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]A Plea for a Unified, Blu Future[/FONT] [FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]
Author: THOMAS K. ARNOLD
tarnold@questex.com
Posted: January 14, 2008[/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]It’s time to knock it off. Ever since the two rival next-generation formats launched in 2006, I have been calling for an end to the format war, but without specifically telling one side or the other to get out.

I’m doing so now. With Warner Home Video dumping HD DVD, the format has the support of just two of the six major studios. It cannot win. At best, it can be a spoiler, but I’m hoping Toshiba, Universal and Paramount will take the high road and, for the good of the entire industry, bow out. Universal and Paramount, in particular, need to jump on the Blu-ray Disc bandwagon so we can go into the new year with a unified front and a unified mission: To educate consumers about the advantages of high-definition media and convince them the time to transition from standard DVD to Blu-ray is the day they bring that HDTV into their home.

Prolonging a format war that never should have happened in the first place makes no sense at this point. Study after study shows that consumer confusion is the No. 1 reason people aren’t rushing out to buy HD media hardware or software, and the format war is the reason everyone’s so confused — why risk buying something that six months down the road could be obsolete?

Quite honestly, I never favored either Blu-ray Disc or HD DVD. I saw the advantages of both. I also believe we need a successor technology, one that takes full advantage of HDTV and presents viewers with a true high-definition picture.

I also never bought any of the arguments that sought to defuse the potential damage of the format war by presenting it as a good thing. Sure, multiple formats exist in other industries, such as games and computers, but home video isn’t like that. Much like music, we have the exact same product — the hit of the week.

The events of the past two years could be a textbook case for how not to launch a format. Blu-ray Disc was rushed to market simply because HD DVD was already there, fit and primed. That’s why we have these evolving players and technologies such as Bonus View and BD-Live. Sure, it would have been nice to have everything in Blu-ray’s final spec. But that didn’t happen.

Looking back, HD DVD never had the support it needed. One CE maker against dozens; just three of the six majors, and even that was whittled down to two out of six when Warner bailed out.

The writing’s clearly on the wall. Let’s do the right thing.[/FONT]

Source: Home Media Magazine - Bringing Digital Entertainment To You

 

[r.jones1116]

How about nobody really giving a rat's a$$ as the reason for lack of consumer adoption of high definition home media.
There really isn't anything confusing about two formats unless your a complete moron.
Is there mass confusion over why JSP can't get a wii game to play in his xbox360.
Video game industry has how many platforms? JSP seems to be handling that o.k.
Why do the videophiles think that he can't figure out he needs a HD DVD player for HD DVD movies (there's a friggin' sticker on the movie packaging stating this) or a BluRay player for BluRay discs.

Confusion as the reason for lack of adoption is really getting old and tired.
Face it, HDM will be a niche market. Most don't really care about HD.

 

[vurbano]

I dont think anybody really gives a rats ass.

 

[vurbano]

Source: Home Media Magazine - Bringing Digital Entertainment To You

The germans, japanese and communists used to drop flyers like this on our troops. I see BD is using the same tactics.

 

[allargon]

I haven't read a HD DVD should quit in over a year.

Why do people want higher prices. Players would still be $1k and have half the functionality they do now if it weren't for Sony and Toshiba dueling each other.

 

[chicagofilms]

The germans, japanese and communists used to drop flyers like this on our troops. I see BD is using the same tactics.

Yes, I think we've all read in our history books how the Nazis wanted to get rid of Jews & HD-DVD...

 

[FlyingJ]

I dont think anybody really gives a rats ass.

LOL LOL LOL

You don't give a rats *&*??? Funny that you would have hundreds of posts on the subject though you obviously don't care about it.

And to those of you that share jonses view of no confusion. Dude, go to a retailer and ask 10 people hanging around looking at the two formats. They don't understand why there are two, they dont understand the differences, they don't know that there are studios on one side or the other. They haven't even figured out the damn TV stes yet, what makes you think they understand any of this?

 

[FlyingJ]

The germans, japanese and communists used to drop flyers like this on our troops. I see BD is using the same tactics.

They also dropped plenty of flyers on their own people telling them of their imminent victory. That was called a press release, very similar to the one that HD DVD put out the other day.

 

[vurbano]

LOL LOL LOL

You don't give a rats *&*??? Funny that you would have hundreds of posts on the subject though you obviously don't care about it.

And to those of you that share jonses view of no confusion. Dude, go to a retailer and ask 10 people hanging around looking at the two formats. They don't understand why there are two, they dont understand the differences, they don't know that there are studios on one side or the other. They haven't even figured out the damn TV stes yet, what makes you think they understand any of this?

I guess the post takes more grey matter to comprehend. The tiny amount of format adopters equate to nobody compared to the entire market. You can run
around screaming "we won" all you want but at this point its like defeating the tiny island nation of Sealand thats not on the map for most people.


Principality of Sealand - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WOOOOHOOOO BD RULES and world domination is complete!! :haha :haha

So I'll say it again. I don't think anybody gives a rats ass.

 

[diogen]

...tiny island nation of Sealand thats not on the map for most people.

Isn't this the same island ThePirateBay wanted to buy to get rid of the RIAA/MPAA lawyers for good?
But internet connection, essentially their lifeblood, would be problematic...

Diogen.

 

[Legato10]

LOL LOL LOL

You don't give a rats *&*??? Funny that you would have hundreds of posts on the subject though you obviously don't care about it.

And to those of you that share jonses view of no confusion. Dude, go to a retailer and ask 10 people hanging around looking at the two formats. They don't understand why there are two, they dont understand the differences, they don't know that there are studios on one side or the other. They haven't even figured out the damn TV stes yet, what makes you think they understand any of this?

Well, those guys are morons and should learn how to read. There is nothing complicated about it, just aslong as one can READ.

 

[meStevo]

off topic, but why do some people get images and everything when copying in a story, and im only plain text, there a setting somewhere I'm missing, or this something that a certain OS does?

 

[FlyingJ]

Well, those guys are morons and should learn how to read. There is nothing complicated about it, just aslong as one can READ.

That is just silly. It's not a study hall. There are many things we buy without getting into so far that we understand the technology.
Your dead wrong here. There are money considerations and about a zillion specs, let alone a war for your money going on with spin coming from every direction. Even a guy like Vurbano, who knows just about everything one can know about flatscreens after god knows how much reading, studying etc..., given a budget, would walk into a BestBuy and have to "get into it" to make sure he was getting his best buy. Its not that simple if you have other things to concentrate on.

 

[vurbano]

Even a guy like Vurbano, who knows just about everything one can know about flatscreens after god knows how much reading, studying etc..., given a budget, would walk into a BestBuy and have to "get into it" to make sure he was getting his best buy.

Gee thankyou.. I think.

 

[FlyingJ]

Gee thankyou.. I think.

V, I respect the hell out of your knowledge on these things. I just for the life of me can't understand how you come up with 90% of your conclusions.

 

[diogen]

There is nothing complicated about it, just aslong as one can READ.

Swimming in the murky waters of new tech is a little bit like the Heisenburg's uncertainty principle
in CE world: an attempt to define what you want changes it (i.e. what you want)...

Diogen.

 

[ONUOsFan]

Why do the videophiles think that he [JSP] can't figure out he needs a HD DVD player for HD DVD movies (there's a friggin' sticker on the movie packaging stating this) or a BluRay player for BluRay discs.

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I dont think anybody really gives a rats ass.

You don't give a rats *&*??? Funny that you would have hundreds of posts on the subject though you obviously don't care about it.

-----------------------

The germans, japanese and communists used to drop flyers like this on our troops. I see BD is using the same tactics.

Yes, I think we've all read in our history books how the Nazis wanted to get rid of Jews & HD-DVD...

-----------------------

Principality of Sealand - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WOOOOHOOOO BD RULES and world domination is complete!! :haha :haha

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For once, I really don't have anything to add to this discussion... I just wanted to say thanks - this is one of the funniest threads I've read in a long time!