now this is IRONY at the expense of universal studios ken graffeo

[joeorc]

Universal Studios' Ken Graffeo, who also heads the HD DVD promotional groups in the US and Europe, believes that the key indicator will be sales of pure DVD players, not consoles."We're still in the introductory phase. There are 90m TV homes in the US. So far just 250,000 HD DVD players have been sold worldwide. We will have to wait until overall numbers reach at least half a million before being able to point to a winner."

Prices must come down further, says Graffeo, for consumers to take a genuine interest. The cheapest player in the UK, made by Toshiba, costs £340, according to GfK, and the cheapest Blu-ray, made by Samsung, is around £400. US prices have already dropped to around £150 for HD DVD machines, but standard DVD players are common now at £40.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/mai...124.xml&page=2

well Ken Graffeo define IRONY....


Xbox 360 HD DVD drive more popular than standalone drives

The HD DVD Group announced in April that it had sold over 100,000 players in the U.S. in its first year of availability. The numbers only represented standalone players, and did not include sales of HD DVD PC drives or the Xbox 360 HD DVD player.

A Microsoft representative told CNET UK that 155,000 Xbox 360 HD DVD add-ons have been sold in the U.S., making it the “biggest-selling accessory” ever sold for the console. By “biggest-selling,” Microsoft may be referring to the overall revenue, as it would seem unlikely that the HD DVD add-on would be more popular than extra controllers. Each HD DVD drive retails for around $200.

Even with the combination of standalone HD DVD players and the Xbox 360 add-on, the overall number of HD DVD-capable players is less than the total number of Blu-ray playing machines. The difference between those two, however, is that every HD DVD player or drive is purchased with the intention of playing movies. On the other hand, not every Blu-ray machine is (with the majority of them being PlayStation 3 consoles) purchased for movies.

Even though there is more Blu-ray hardware in the hands of consumers, the HD DVD side averages more movies sold per machine. According to CNET, an average of one disc per Blu-ray machine is sold, compared to four discs per HD DVD machine. Nevertheless, overall disc sales for 2007 are still in favor of Blu-ray.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=7795

[Zaphod]

Originally Posted by joeorc

Even though there is more Blu-ray hardware in the hands of consumers, the HD DVD side averages more movies sold per machine. According to CNET, an average of one disc per Blu-ray machine is sold, compared to four discs per HD DVD machine. Nevertheless, overall disc sales for 2007 are still in favor of Blu-ray.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=7795

Yes but I wonder if the attach rate is including the "free HD-DVD's" with purchase. Many retailers are offering these as well and in addition to the mail in rebate ones offered by the HD-DVD camp. So I would imagine since these are SKU's being scanned at the store it is likely counting as a HD-DVD sold and, no pun intended, SKU'ing the numbers as far as attach rate goes...

[Chad Varnadore]

If I were the one who convinced Universal to back the wrong horse, I think I'd be concerned about my job too. He needs to start working out how to save face rather than digging the hole any deeper.

[supersix4]

when he gets fired we should all sign a get well card for him lol

[Chad Varnadore]

I don't ask for much. Commence releasing Blu, but forget about pace and focus on quality like Sony and Disney have, and all will be forgiven. But if they just cheaply port over what they did for HD DVD, lipsync error, lossy audio, dated masters and all, that will be really disappointing for anyone who loves Universal's catalog of great films, but have come to expect something better. With BD Universal doesn't have to treat the format like it's going out of style. It'll be around for years and should be treated as such, which is exactly what Sony and Disney have been doing.

[zombieking]

Originally Posted by Chad Varnadore

I don't ask for much. Commence releasing Blu, but forget about pace and focus on quality like Sony and Disney have, and all will be forgiven. But if they just cheaply port over what they did for HD DVD, lipsync error, lossy audio, dated masters and all, that will be really disappointing for anyone who loves Universal's catalog of great films, but have come to expect something better. With BD Universal doesn't have to treat the format like it's going out of style. It'll be around for years and should be treated as such, which is exactly what Sony and Disney have been doing.

well said

[ProvenFlipper]

Originally Posted by Chad Varnadore

I don't ask for much. Commence releasing Blu, but forget about pace and focus on quality like Sony and Disney have, and all will be forgiven. But if they just cheaply port over what they did for HD DVD, lipsync error, lossy audio, dated masters and all, that will be really disappointing for anyone who loves Universal's catalog of great films, but have come to expect something better. With BD Universal doesn't have to treat the format like it's going out of style. It'll be around for years and should be treated as such, which is exactly what Sony and Disney have been doing.

Co-Sign... That's exactly how I feel about things. Nobody is asking for the world from Universal.

[KenThompson]

Paramount's latest movies have really stepped up in the pq department utilizing high bit rate avc. THEY ARE USING VC-1 FOR Dud. They just have to up the stakes with better sound.