What is Disney's Interest in this War?

[caliminius]

Pardon my laziness if there is already a thread for this, but what is Disney's roll in the format war?

I understand that they are interested in region coding and probably the extra copy protection of BD+, but other than that why are they such strong supporters of Blu-Ray? They've now participated in 2 BOGO free sales, their Blu-Ray tour, and their advertising which emphasizes the Blu-Ray version quite strongly? I could understand if they were a hardware manufacturer, but as they are only a producer of the software. Are the technical aspects of Blu-Ray that compelling for them to push so hard for it?

One concern I have is the Disney-Apple link. Apple to me probably shares much in common with Microsoft in that they would probably rather see physical discs fail and downloads win (provided through the iTunes Store of course). This also has the added advantage (for Apple) that iTunes video only works on Apple hardware and via Apple software. As happy as I am with my iPod and my Apple computer, I find the thought of one company controlling the whole system a bit disturbing. Jobs has already made disparaging remarks concerning standardd DVD and despite being a member of the BDA, Apple has yet to provide a system containing a Blu-Ray drive and there is currently no way to play a Blu-Ray movie on an Apple computer even with an attached Blu-Ray drive; their overall support seems quite lacking and almost seems designed partially just to fuel the MS-Apple feud.

So again, what is Disney's part in this war? Why are they such ardent Blu-Ray supporters?

[u_nick]

I think they just simply believe it to be the better format.

[CptGreedle]

From what we all can see, Disney believes this format is better, has better quality, a bigger future, and more capability than HD-DVD. The fact is, with the full profile, BD will be able to do more than HD-DVD because BD-j does not limit what you can do with it unlike HDi. Disney feels that an upgrade is not good enough, and HD-DVD is just that, an upgraded DVD. If people want High Definition, they don't want to go part way most of the time. So to get the best you can, they will look for the best quality. Besides, BD is selling better, and has more manufacturers and studio support.

[SamInNorthCakalakey]

How would any of those POTC movies be able to fit on an HD DUD disc?

[SingingTheBlues]

If only Warner were more like Disney.

[scook]

You will be able to find Multiple threads using the Search function, but to give you an short and simple answer - Disney is SMART and they want their movies on the BEST POSSIBLE FORMAT with the space capacity that will ensure the best PQ and AQ which is only Blu ray. We have seen with Transformers that HD Dud can not provide this PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

They are not lying to themselves like other studios and they are ONLY interested in the best product possible for their films.

As for their marketing campaigns and heavy interest in Blu ray - They are simply EDUCATING the General public at the most crucial time so when any family begins to jump into the HD WORLD they will have all of the information and will make the more educated choice when deciding which format to choose. They are opening the consumer’s eyes to the OBVIOUS Choice.

Blu ray is the only successor to DVD Plain and simple and Disney wants to make it an easy choice for consumers which this is all about. The Format War is only hurting us the consumers and Disney can see this.

THIS IS WHY I LOVE DISNEY, and you should too because they are fighting for consumers as a whole and producing their films exclusively on the best format possible - Blu ray.

[PrinceLH]

They're also leading the fight, with BoGo. Better for the consumer.

[WickyWoo]

I understand that they are interested in region coding and probably the extra copy protection of BD+, but other than that why are they such strong supporters of Blu-Ray? They've now participated in 2 BOGO free sales, their Blu-Ray tour, and their advertising which emphasizes the Blu-Ray version quite strongly? I could understand if they were a hardware manufacturer, but as they are only a producer of the software. Are the technical aspects of Blu-Ray that compelling for them to push so hard for it?

That's exactly why. THey consider the extra copy protection and region coding core dealbreakers, and if HD DVD were to win, then they would have 2 choices. Drop highdef (not an option) or leave their stuff just as wide open as it is on DVD

[mystiksuicide]

Before me and my b/f picked a format we studied them both for a few months. Once we dive into something we want to make sure we got the most value for our dollar. There where many reason blu is better but 3 things stood out.

1) Many CE produce Blu and only Toshiba produces HD DVD In my opinion Toshiba is a 3rd rate company.

2) Apple stands firmly behind Blu and if I understand correctly they're new OSX 10.5 supports future Blu adaptations.

3) Disney as a company always stands for quality just look around they're parks and it becomes obviously clear. They have not only chosen Blu but In my opinion are leading the fight.

One quick note about Jobs, If you ever have a chance to see the documentary "the mp3 revolution" Jobs clearly states in there that one of the most important features of itunes it's ability to copy CD's to itunes and transfer them to your ipod. Why because American like to own physical stuff.

Jobs has always believed that and still does

[Luis_A51]

Im sure the margins on Bluray are a factor. $30-35 a pop even for older movies compared to $10-25 for DVDs has to result in much more money/disk going to Disney. Also likely hope that with top-notch Bluray versions you will upgrade your older DVDs

Thats probably why they prefered the 50gig disks (and probably took into account the higher bitrate too) If the BD version is AMAZING, then you're likely to upgrade over the DVD version. If the high-def version is only slightly better, then you will stick with your existing DVD version or might skimp and just buy the dvd. Then they either 1) lose the new sale entirely or 2) sell you a less profitable disc. That mindset is probably why disney puts soooooooo much effort into their BD releases.

And of course BD+ is a big factor (DVD had region coding, albeit seemingly less effective due to region free players)

[Paden]

Originally Posted by Luis_A51

If the BD version is AMAZING, then you're likely to upgrade over the DVD version. If the high-def version is only slightly better, then you will stick with your existing DVD version or might skimp and just buy the dvd. Then they either 1) lose the new sale entirely or 2) sell you a less profitable disc. That mindset is probably why disney puts soooooooo much effort into their BD releases.

My mindset as a consumer exactly.

Let's be clear...

BD wins on content (more studios)
BD wins on quality (no question)
And now, with a system at $399, BD competes on price. There are cheaper HDDVD players but they're not as capable as the PS3 for playing movies (not to mention you can play games on the system as well.)

This is as big a no-brainer as I've ever seen folks. Disney is just using common sense.

[Zaphod]

Originally Posted by SamInNorthCakalakey

How would any of those POTC movies be able to fit on an HD DUD disc?

They could easily fit on one HD-DVD, of course they would have go with a little less on the audio side like monaural (mono) but it is still possible...

[*TIMMIE*]

And it wouldn't have region code. Wait... POTC has no region code!

[sj001]

They could put all three in SD on one 15GB HD-DVD.... oh wait, it doesn't have enough space for that. I suppose they could put a "Hi-Def" version on a 30GB version, oh wait, then they would have to use Dolby Digital Plus and crappy video quality. Wait, that's it, they could put it on those newfangled TL51 discs, oh wait, those are just vaporware!

Ahh, the hell with HD-DVD!

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by caliminius

One concern I have is the Disney-Apple link. Apple to me probably shares much in common with Microsoft in that they would probably rather see physical discs fail and downloads win (provided through the iTunes Store of course).

Actually, it's that Blu-ray's coding is compatible with a QuickTime-derived MP4/H.264 format, and would allow Apple to explore various cross-applications--
While MS owns its HDDVD coding outright, and wants the monopoly on HDM without free parking.

(And "Best format" aside, it IS about the Apple link, but some aren't seeing that as a conspiracy theory.)

[sonicbox]

Just a little bit of trivia: HDi (formerly iHD), which is used on HD DVD, was co-developed by Microsoft and Disney. Really. Disney was hoping HDi would be selected over BD-J (Java) for Blu-Ray by the BDA, but alas, it wasn't. Disney (and even Apple) believed HDi, which is largely XML or XHTML, to be a superior interactive format.

Anyway, you guys give Disney too much credit. They are a big evil corporation just like all big for-profit companies.

[Hawknelson05]

P.S. Disney OWNS Sony. There's your answer. They're supporting their investment. Makes sense to me

[bdrex28]

Originally Posted by Hawknelson05

P.S. Disney OWNS Sony. There's your answer. They're supporting their investment. Makes sense to me

No they don't. Not sure where you go that.


Here's what Sony owns or has an interest in:

Electronics and Communications manufacturing

Products include:

compact disk players
mini disc players
Walkman
WEB TV devices
audio and video tapes
digital video disks
camcorders and digital imaging products
televisions
radios
video cassette recorders
business and consumer communication systems
digital satellite systems
digital radio and microwave telecommunication systems
computers
CD and DVD players
batteries

subsection heading icon Film production & distribution

Columbia Tri-Star

Columbia Pictures

Tri-Star Pictures

Jim Henson Productions (partial interest)

Mandalay Entertainment (partial interest)

Phoenix Pictures (partial interest)

Sony Pictures Classics

Sony Pictures Entertainment

Columbia-Tri Star Home Video

49% of Huasuo joint venture with Hualong Film Digital Production (China Film Group subsidiary)

subsection heading icon Cinemas

Metreon

Sony's stake in the Sony/Loews Theaters group ( around 2,960 screens in North America, inc Magic Johnson Theaters and Loews-Star Theaters) was a victim of the Loews Cineplex crisis of 2001

subsection heading icon Merchandise

Sony Signatures - (entertainment related clothes and merchandise)

subsection heading icon Insurance and Financing

Sony Finacial Holdings (65.5%), inc -

* Sony Life Insurance Company
* Sony Finance International
* Sony Assurance
* Sony Bank

subsection heading icon Games & Interactive

Sony Play Station - machine and software

Psygnosis Limited - video game developer

Sony Online

TheStation@sony.com - online entertainment network

Jeopardy Online, Wheel of Fortune Online

Columbia Tri-Star Interactive

subsection heading icon Music

Sony Music

Legacy

Sony Music Nashville

Sony Wonder (children's music)

Sony Music Products (promotional music for business)

Sony Music Soundtrak

Tri-Star Music

WORK

Crave

57 Records

550 Music

Columbia Records

Epic Records

Epic Soundtrak

Shotput Records

Relatively Entertainment

RED Distribution

Relatively Records

Harmony Records

Sony Music International

Soho Square

Dance Pool

Mambo

Rubenstein

Squatt

Sony Classical

Arc of Light

Masterworks

Sony Broadway

SEON

Vivarte

Sony Music Publishing (copyright owners, joint venture with Michael Jackson)

Columbia House (minor stake in venture with AOL Time Warner and Blackstone Capital Partners)

Music Choice (with AOL Time Warner, EMI and General Instrument - digital stereo for cable TV)

Music Choice Europe

subsection heading icon Television Production & Distribution

Columbia-TriStar Television (programming)

Columbia-TriStar Television Distribution

Columbia-TriStar Television International Television

The Game Show Network

International Television Ventures

Cinemax Latin America

Interests in:

E! - Latin America

HBO Ole

HBO Brasil

Mundo Ole

Warner Channel - Latin America

Showtime - Australia

Encore - Australia

TVI - Australia

Channel V - Asia

Cinemax Asia

HBO Asia

Beijing Television Arts Center

Viva 1 - Germany

Viva 2 - Germany

Carlton Productions UK - controlled by Carlton Communications

Golden Square Productions (UK)

Frensch Productions (Germany)

HBO Poland

Sony has licensing arrangements and interest in:

FORTA (Spain)

BSkyB (satellite broadcaster in which News Corporation has dominant share)

JSkyB (Japan)

It formerly had an interest in the Kirch Group (German television/film production and broadvcasting) and was managing partner of Telemundo (sold to NBC in 2002), a Spanish-language television network jointly owned with Apollo Management, Bastion Capital Fund and Liberty Media.

[Zyclone]

Originally Posted by Hawknelson05

P.S. Disney OWNS Sony. There's your answer. They're supporting their investment. Makes sense to me

bdrex28 the man was just having a joke relax old chap

[Innerloop]

Ok, I'm going to throw out another opinion. I am not an insider, but have a lot of contact with Disney folk not directly involved in the whole BD-thing.

My impression is that Disney mostly just wants to war to be short so they can start making profits from HD movie sales to offset sagging DVD sales. They feel (or felt, at least) that BD was in the stronger position for various reasons and felt that by throwing their weight behind the front-runner, they help to make the war shorter.

There are probably other factors, but I think their biggest motivation is to end the war. The BOGO is a way to sort of prime-the-pump and help make sure that is the outcome.

If HD-DVD ever become the dominant front-runner for some reason (unlikely!) then I think they would switch. They are not in it for pride or bragging rights or because of patents or technology. Whatever moves they could make that would shorten the war, that is pretty much what they will do.

I don't think they based their choice on techology any more than Paramount did Its just lucky for them that BD also happens to have the better technology.

I also think Warner's current thinking is about the same. After Q4, they will make whatever move they think will end the war one way or the other. It won't be about technology, it will be about getting us to a single format ASAP. They have a lot of weight to throw and are the last studio who hasn't used their weight to shift the war, so they have an important "tie-breaking" vote in their pocket, so expect them to use it to back the front-runner once that becomes more obvious.