Amusing piece from September 2006: "Universal Studios boss deals Blu-ray death blow" - Blu-ray Forum

kbry9nf · 02-20-2008, 02:43 AM

I was looking around just now and came across this, which was published on ITWire.com back in September 2006, the headline for the stroy is the funniest thing I've heard in ages, the headline is;

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS BOSS DEALS BLU-RAY DEATH BLOW!

In what could be a telling moment in the high definition format war, a high level executive from a major movie studio has publicly come out in favour of the HD DVD format, developed by Toshiba and backed by Microsoft.

Comments supporting HD DVD last week by Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment, at the electronics design show CEDIA EXPO 2006, have dealt a serious a blow to the Blue-ray camp, led by Sony.

“The reviews are in and HD DVD is hands down the leader in picture quality, audio experiences and interactive capabilities that have never been seen before,” said Kornblau.

“Look at the blogs, look at the reviews by the early adopters and even look at the mainstream media – HD DVD has maintained its first-to-market advantage and delivered on the promises of providing the best high definition image and sound quality at the best value for consumers today. Take today’s announcement of new players from Toshiba, new PC hardware from Niveus and new titles like ‘The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,’ and add the hardware and movies that are coming this Fall and you can see why HD DVD is poised for a strong holiday.”

According to the the North American HD DVD Promotion Group, with more than 60 of the latest titles available from major studios, HD DVD offers the most titles of any high definition format, with nearly 150 titles expected by the end of 2006.

Originally, nearly all the major studios lined up behind the Blu-ray format.

However, HD DVD now has the backing of Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video, Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, HBO, New Line Home Entertainment and The Weinstein Company.

Meanwhile, the higher priced Blu-ray format, which was later to market, received a serious set-back two weeks ago. Sony announced that the production of its PlayStation 3 games console, which will offer a way for consumers to get a lower priced Blu-ray player, has been delayed by four months.

Just wanted to share this with you! It made me laugh my ass off!

Source: http://www.itwire.com/content/view/5647/53/

Just one question though, it says that the Weinstein Company once supported HD-DVD, is this true, or is the person who wrote it really the idiot they appear to be?

lgans316 · 02-20-2008, 02:45 AM

Grow up kid. Does this really matter when Universal has already stated that they will prepare their titles for Blu-ray release. Grow up my dear friend. Don't mock and beat a dead horse.

turboedguy · 02-20-2008, 02:45 AM

oh, the memories...

good times.

Blu-Beard · 02-20-2008, 02:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by turboedguy

oh, the memories...

good times.

dynoMITE!!!

turboedguy · 02-20-2008, 02:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blu-Beard

dynoMITE!!!

hey ReRun... hey Rodge...

quaylie · 02-20-2008, 02:49 AM

Goes to show that people make mistakes...who knew?

bajor27 · 02-20-2008, 02:49 AM

It's true. There are a few weinstein titles on HD-DVD only. The only one I can think of at the moment is Lucky Number Slevin (which I'm dying for on Blu).

They also technically never went Neutral. They simply stopped releasing HD-DVDs because they couldn't afford it.

I've heard rumours that they contacted the BDA about releasing on Blu, but apparently wanted far too much 'help' in doing so.

Blu-Beard · 02-20-2008, 02:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by turboedguy

hey ReRun... hey Rodge...

ezcobar411 · 02-20-2008, 02:53 AM

Lol

turboedguy · 02-20-2008, 02:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by turboedguy

hey ReRun... hey Rodge...

turboedguy · 02-20-2008, 02:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blu-Beard

dynoMITE!!!

I keep getting these mixed up.

Blu-Beard · 02-20-2008, 02:58 AM

an easy mix up

Canada · 02-20-2008, 03:00 AM

I do have to agree with this statement a bit. At the begining of the format war it is apparently true they had alot better video than we did and the interactive features of HD DVD were far supirior to that of Blu Ray. Once the 50 gig disk rolled out on Blu Ray the picture quality of Blu Ray improved exponetially and now we have Blu Ray players that will play all the interactive features. Oh, I forgot now we are the only HD optical format in the game.

Blu Titan · 02-20-2008, 03:04 AM

What a couple of years can do to change an opinion.

Sylin · 02-20-2008, 03:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lgans316

Grow up kid. Does this really matter when Universal has already stated that they will prepare their titles for Blu-ray release. Grow up my dear friend. Don't mock and beat a dead horse.

And the award for most clueless 2nd post goes to...

w_tanoto · 02-20-2008, 10:23 AM

come on. it's over now.

Cyan · 02-20-2008, 10:37 AM

I don't see why everyone is all warm and fuzzy towards Universal. They're not releasing BR discs because they like BR, they're releasing them because Toshiba ditched them, and they still want to make money in the HD market. If they had 2 brain cells to rub together, they would have realized about a year ago that HDDVD was a sinking ship, and moved to format neutral. Instead, they let this format war be drawn out. They failed their own consumers entirely. It's great that they're going to release on BR now, as there are definitely some Universal titles worth owning, but they don't deserve any praise. They have done nothing admirable, they just care about making money. Studios like Disney and Warner(and Fox to some extent) that truly helped this format war come to a close, in various ways, are the ones that we should be rewarding by buying as many of their titles as they can. Universal clearly cares only about themselves. Ken whatever-his-name-is, the CEO or w/e of Universal, has sounded like nothing more than a complete tool with every statement he has made.

hayzink · 02-20-2008, 11:17 AM

i dont care how we got uni its still ace news.

roll on back to the future

Giyomu · 02-20-2008, 11:27 AM

I heard that universal France would start their blu line-up with american gangster release...

it would be so great!

lilboostedscooby · 02-20-2008, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyan

I don't see why everyone is all warm and fuzzy towards Universal. They're not releasing BR discs because they like BR, they're releasing them because Toshiba ditched them, and they still want to make money in the HD market. If they had 2 brain cells to rub together, they would have realized about a year ago that HDDVD was a sinking ship, and moved to format neutral. Instead, they let this format war be drawn out. They failed their own consumers entirely. It's great that they're going to release on BR now, as there are definitely some Universal titles worth owning, but they don't deserve any praise. They have done nothing admirable, they just care about making money. Studios like Disney and Warner(and Fox to some extent) that truly helped this format war come to a close, in various ways, are the ones that we should be rewarding by buying as many of their titles as they can. Universal clearly cares only about themselves. Ken whatever-his-name-is, the CEO or w/e of Universal, has sounded like nothing more than a complete tool with every statement he has made.

I completely agree

02-20-2008, 02:43 AM	#1
kbry9nf Junior Member Member since:Jan 2008 Blu-ray reviews:1	Amusing piece from September 2006: "Universal Studios boss deals Blu-ray death blow" I was looking around just now and came across this, which was published on ITWire.com back in September 2006, the headline for the stroy is the funniest thing I've heard in ages, the headline is; UNIVERSAL STUDIOS BOSS DEALS BLU-RAY DEATH BLOW! In what could be a telling moment in the high definition format war, a high level executive from a major movie studio has publicly come out in favour of the HD DVD format, developed by Toshiba and backed by Microsoft. Comments supporting HD DVD last week by Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment, at the electronics design show CEDIA EXPO 2006, have dealt a serious a blow to the Blue-ray camp, led by Sony. “The reviews are in and HD DVD is hands down the leader in picture quality, audio experiences and interactive capabilities that have never been seen before,” said Kornblau. “Look at the blogs, look at the reviews by the early adopters and even look at the mainstream media – HD DVD has maintained its first-to-market advantage and delivered on the promises of providing the best high definition image and sound quality at the best value for consumers today. Take today’s announcement of new players from Toshiba, new PC hardware from Niveus and new titles like ‘The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,’ and add the hardware and movies that are coming this Fall and you can see why HD DVD is poised for a strong holiday.” According to the the North American HD DVD Promotion Group, with more than 60 of the latest titles available from major studios, HD DVD offers the most titles of any high definition format, with nearly 150 titles expected by the end of 2006. Originally, nearly all the major studios lined up behind the Blu-ray format. However, HD DVD now has the backing of Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video, Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, HBO, New Line Home Entertainment and The Weinstein Company. Meanwhile, the higher priced Blu-ray format, which was later to market, received a serious set-back two weeks ago. Sony announced that the production of its PlayStation 3 games console, which will offer a way for consumers to get a lower priced Blu-ray player, has been delayed by four months. Just wanted to share this with you! It made me laugh my ass off! Source: http://www.itwire.com/content/view/5647/53/ Just one question though, it says that the Weinstein Company once supported HD-DVD, is this true, or is the person who wrote it really the idiot they appear to be?

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02-20-2008, 02:45 AM	#2
lgans316 Blu-ray Baron Member since:Jul 2007 Location:RM16, United Kingdom Blu-ray reviews:17 Trading Score:498	Grow up kid. Does this really matter when Universal has already stated that they will prepare their titles for Blu-ray release. Grow up my dear friend. Don't mock and beat a dead horse.

02-20-2008, 02:45 AM	#3
turboedguy Banned Member since:Oct 2007 Location:Santa Clarita Ca.	oh, the memories... good times.

02-20-2008, 02:49 AM	#6
quaylie Senior Member Member since:Oct 2007 Blu-ray collection:349	Goes to show that people make mistakes...who knew?

02-20-2008, 02:49 AM	#7
bajor27 Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Nov 2007 Location:BC, Canada Blu-ray collection:1031 DVD collection:2 Trading Score:5	It's true. There are a few weinstein titles on HD-DVD only. The only one I can think of at the moment is Lucky Number Slevin (which I'm dying for on Blu). They also technically never went Neutral. They simply stopped releasing HD-DVDs because they couldn't afford it. I've heard rumours that they contacted the BDA about releasing on Blu, but apparently wanted far too much 'help' in doing so.

02-20-2008, 02:53 AM	#9
ezcobar411 Special Member Member since:Dec 2007	Lol

02-20-2008, 02:58 AM	#12
Blu-Beard Banned Member since:Jan 2008	an easy mix up

02-20-2008, 03:00 AM	#13
Canada Blu-ray Archduke Top contributor Member since:Mar 2007 Location:Victoria, BC Home Theater Gallery:17 4K collection:305 Blu-ray collection:1201 DVD collection:37 Blu-ray reviews:42	I do have to agree with this statement a bit. At the begining of the format war it is apparently true they had alot better video than we did and the interactive features of HD DVD were far supirior to that of Blu Ray. Once the 50 gig disk rolled out on Blu Ray the picture quality of Blu Ray improved exponetially and now we have Blu Ray players that will play all the interactive features. Oh, I forgot now we are the only HD optical format in the game.

02-20-2008, 03:04 AM	#14
Blu Titan Super Moderator Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Edo, Land of the Samurai Home Theater Gallery:42 4K collection:41 Blu-ray collection:2864 Blu-ray reviews: 2 Trading Score:92	What a couple of years can do to change an opinion.

02-20-2008, 10:23 AM	#16
w_tanoto Blu-ray Samurai Top contributor Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Hatfield, UK / Jakarta, Indonesia Blu-ray collection:37 Blu-ray reviews:47	come on. it's over now.

02-20-2008, 10:37 AM	#17
Cyan Active Member Member since:Jul 2007	I don't see why everyone is all warm and fuzzy towards Universal. They're not releasing BR discs because they like BR, they're releasing them because Toshiba ditched them, and they still want to make money in the HD market. If they had 2 brain cells to rub together, they would have realized about a year ago that HDDVD was a sinking ship, and moved to format neutral. Instead, they let this format war be drawn out. They failed their own consumers entirely. It's great that they're going to release on BR now, as there are definitely some Universal titles worth owning, but they don't deserve any praise. They have done nothing admirable, they just care about making money. Studios like Disney and Warner(and Fox to some extent) that truly helped this format war come to a close, in various ways, are the ones that we should be rewarding by buying as many of their titles as they can. Universal clearly cares only about themselves. Ken whatever-his-name-is, the CEO or w/e of Universal, has sounded like nothing more than a complete tool with every statement he has made.

02-20-2008, 11:17 AM	#18
hayzink Senior Member Member since:Dec 2007 Location:GLASGOW,SCOTLAND	i dont care how we got uni its still ace news. roll on back to the future

02-20-2008, 11:27 AM	#19
Giyomu Banned Member since:Sep 2007 Location:France Blu-ray collection:347 Blu-ray reviews:6	I heard that universal France would start their blu line-up with american gangster release... it would be so great!

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