Question: Universal's HD DVD Contract Expiring this Month: FACT or FICTION?

[ReduxInflux]

i've read this rumor on different threads throughout these forums. people have dropped this info left and right concerning Universal as if it were textbok and its redundancy has it ingrained in my psyche which now sits on the shoulders of expectation - waiting - watching. and i don't want to wait for a possible scenario in which Uni might go neutral before the holidays if it ain't true. therefore - the truth please.

[darkpoet25]

Even if it were true, them going neutral or Blu exclusive won't happen until sometime next year if at all. I do know that they were upset with Parmaount over the whole Dreamworks deal. I won't believe any rumors till I actually read a press release to confirm this. As for now I think they are going to fullfill their movie releases till the end of the year. Looking at their release schedule it may not be long till they go nuetral.

[LynxFX]

I do not believe that it has ever been proven that Universal actually has any sort of contract with HD DVD. They just backed HD DVD and don't feel the need to support Blu-ray yet. Hopefully that does change, but man they better start taking this HD stuff seriously. I won't buy the crap they shoved out there for HD DVD, and I'm not just talking about titles. I want solid AVC encodes and lossless audio.

[w_tanoto]

although I often said and hope it will end 18 october, i'd say it's fiction.

[scragham]

anyone who would know wouldn't be able to tell us anyway.

[Musashi]

Penton implied that they're locked up until sometime after CES 2008. We've also clearly seen Kornblau/Graffeo's complete lack of business sense firsthand. At this point, getting Universal is gonna require that we crush Toshiba so thoroughly that Uni has no choice but to support blu.

[Weez_Dawg]

Here is something
http://wesleytech.com/universal-stud...act-break/203/

And here is something else, take what you want from it
http://www.cdrlabs.com/news/byte/4913

[Teazle]

Originally Posted by Weez_Dawg

Here is something
http://wesleytech.com/universal-stud...act-break/203/

And here is something else, take what you want from it
http://www.cdrlabs.com/news/byte/4913

Did you notice the dates on those?

[Weez_Dawg]

Originally Posted by Teazle

Did you notice the dates on those?

Yep, that is why I added "Take what you want from it." But for this rumor to have been going around since May and no reply from Universal is kinda fishy and gives people some hope.

[dobyblue]

It will happen - they'll probably come out again at CES and say gamers don't matter and disc sales don't matter, it's attach rates that matter, and HD DVD is a complete format and has better interactivity, blah, blah, blah, conveniently avoiding how poorly the numbers of their biggest movies of the year did on HDM compared to BLu-ray studios and then sometime in the middle of the year, around CEDIA, will announce their first Blu-ray titles.

I'm only guessing though.

[Weez_Dawg]

Does a contract even exist is the real question here. I will try to see if I can google for the answer to that.

[BluOgre]

Originally Posted by ReduxInflux

i've read this rumor on different threads throughout these forums. people have dropped this info left and right concerning Universal as if it were textbok and its redundancy has it ingrained in my psyche which now sits on the shoulders of expectation - waiting - watching. and i don't want to wait for a possible scenario in which Uni might go neutral before the holidays if it ain't true. therefore - the truth please.

My understanding from my vendor rep is Universal has an exclusive contract and it might expire at the end of the year. He claims they have already worked out deals to start BluRay production.....right now they are just waiting for the contract to expire. He said there is no reason to expect any BluRay Universal titles this year.

Take that with a grain of salt because my actual Universal sales rep claims there is NO contract what so ever. He says they made the choice to support HD and it has nothing to do with some contract. All spin I think but as I said, take everything with grain of salt.

[tron3]

The only fact or fiction I am concerned with is that they finally do blu-ray exclusive, or not.

There is something to be said to cheer for the underdog, but HD-DVD is quickly becoming the proverbial dead horse.

I don't want to screw the HD-DVD fans. I am the first to say to get them combo players so they can keep their movie investment.

What I fear most is this war prolonging to the point where consumers stop buying either format and BOTH sides die a lingering death. Then what... we just stick to DVD? Why not go back to VHS while we are at it?

Please read the letter referenced in my signature.

[Coltboy]

I am in a battle with one of my friends that said he was going to buy a HDDVD player i asked him, "What the hell is wrong with you?" he replied "BD is just to expensive". well..............granted but i provided my opinion and several other experts on this and told him that he should save his money to by a BD player. again like so many times on here has been said money talks. In the end what i think and tell him will be erelevant but i think he will go Blu. but he doesn't even have a HD TV so eather or is pointless.

[BluOgre]

Originally Posted by Coltboy

I am in a battle with one of my friends that said he was going to buy a HDDVD player i asked him, "What the hell is wrong with you?" he replied "BD is just to expensive". well..............granted but i provided my opinion and several other experts on this and told him that he should save his money to by a BD player. again like so many times on here has been said money talks. In the end what i think and tell him will be erelevant but i think he will go Blu. but he doesn't even have a HD TV so eather or is pointless.

I'm confused, he thinks a $100 is such a big deal yet buying highdef disc (which are 70% or more expensive than DVD counterparts) at that expensive price doesn't bother him? You should just tell him to wait for the $399 PS3.

There are people who are going to go strickly by price however those people are not the ones buying into highdef right now (for the most part). How can people be worried about $100 more to buy a bluray player when it costs over a thousand(s) to buy a highdef TV, $500 or more for that surround sound, and $30-35 per movie?

I'll believe people choose HD because of Transformers before I believe a little price difference is going to sway them to HD.

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by BluOgre

I'll believe people choose HD because of Transformers before I believe a little price difference is going to sway them to HD.

And you're right. Because it is the titles that will ALWAYS sway people.

(1) Title(s) make people excited about HDM
(2) They look at the prices of the players and the range of titles
(3) When they are comfortable, they purchase

The player is purchased when desire is already there. A cheap price for a player doesn't create desire (did everyone lust after Yugos?). A more expensive price doesn't kill desire (pick a favourite car you can't afford).

There have been sub-$200 WMV-HD and HD-Divx players for a long time. Why is there no demand?

Gary

[mystiksuicide]

Originally Posted by tron3

I don't want to screw the HD-DVD fans. I am the first to say to get them combo players so they can keep their movie investment.

What I fear most is this war prolonging to the point where consumers stop buying either format and BOTH sides die a lingering death. Then what... we just stick to DVD? Why not go back to VHS while we are at it?

That is precisely why HD DVD must die! Most consumer are afraid of this whole format war and will not buy into it until there is a clear cut winner.

[joeorc]

for those asking is there some truth to it about OCT....yup read on:

2. Membership

2.1 Membership and Classes of Membership
Membership in the Group is open to any company or organization that is, or will be, engaged in the development and/or manufacture of any HD DVD content or hardware products, agrees to the purposes of the Group stated in Article 1.2, submits the completed application form to the Secretary Office, and pays the prescribed membership fees ("Member"). The Group shall have the following three (3) classes of membership:

2.1.1 Associate Membership
Associate Members shall not be entitled to vote at the General Meeting.
2.1.2 General Membership
General Members shall be entitled to vote at the General Meeting.
2.1.3 Managing Membership
Managing Members shall be elected from among the General Members at the General Meeting to comprise the Management Meeting and manage the Group. The Management Meeting shall consist of no more than ten (10) Managing Members. The term of office of the Managing Members shall be two (2) years. The Managing Members for the initial term of two (2) years shall be Memory-Tech Corporation, NEC Corporation, Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., and Toshiba Corporation.

2.2 Membership Fee
The annual membership fees specified below shall be paid by Members by the end of April for the applicable fiscal year. Those Members who join the Group on or after October 1 shall be entitled to a reduction of the annual membership fees for the first fiscal year to one half. Membership fees shall be non-refundable.
Associate Member: 30,000 Japanese Yen
General Member: 150,000 Japanese Yen
Managing Member: 1,000,000 Japanese Yen

2.3 Subsidiaries
Any subsidiary company more than fifty percent (50%) of whose voting rights a Member owns or controls directly or indirectly ("Subsidiary") shall be included in the membership for the Member. A Subsidiary, if it wishes, can also become an independent Member by paying a separate membership fee; however, the voting rights at the General Meeting and Management Meeting shall be held by the parent Member exclusively unless it is approved by the Management Meeting that such Subsidiary shall have its own voting rights, taking into consideration whether such Subsidiary is substantially independent from its parent Member.

2.4 Withdrawal from Membership
Members may withdraw from membership in the Group at any time upon thirty (30) days' prior written notice to the Secretary Office.

2.5 Termination of Membership
Membership in the Group shall be terminated in the event that the Management Meeting confirms that any of the following events have occurred:

2.5.1
Such Member is more than ninety (90) days in default of payment of the annual membership fees after issuance of the invoice by the Secretary Office; or
2.5.2
Such Member has materially breached the terms and conditions of this Charter, and has not cured such breach within a reasonable period after receiving a written notice thereof by the Secretary Office.

2.6 Use of Names
Unless otherwise notified by each Member in the application form or in any other form designated by the Secretary Office, the member is deemed to allow the Group to use its company name or organization name in the Group's membership lists for the purpose of promoting the Group and/or the HD DVD format.

http://www.hddvdprg.com/eng/about/charter.html

would they switch don't know i guess we will see....

[WickyWoo]

Does a contract even exist is the real question here. I will try to see if I can google for the answer to that

You won't find it. There is no public record of any of the deals.

Every studio has some kind of contract/agreement tied to their support of each format. That is for certain

[Coltboy]

Originally Posted by BluOgre

I'm confused, he thinks a $100 is such a big deal yet buying highdef disc (which are 70% or more expensive than DVD counterparts) at that expensive price doesn't bother him? You should just tell him to wait for the $399 PS3.

There are people who are going to go strickly by price however those people are not the ones buying into highdef right now (for the most part). How can people be worried about $100 more to buy a bluray player when it costs over a thousand(s) to buy a highdef TV, $500 or more for that surround sound, and $30-35 per movie?

I'll believe people choose HD because of Transformers before I believe a little price difference is going to sway them to HD.

Well, i think he is of the mantality what ever i have he will do the oposite.........i hate that so much i just want to punch him in his face if he does get a HDDVD player lets see how well it looks on a 720P TV with coxial connections because that is the best that TV can do lol jokes on him