Ask questions to The Digital Bits team (Bill Hunt, Jeff Kleist et.al.)

[greekjgg]

Mr. Hunt

You mentioned that you believe Paramount will go blu before Universal.

Is this because of Parmount being in the blu business prior and its easier for them to open shop again per say or will it be a financially calculated decision that prompts them to blu again first before Uni?

[fronn]

Originally Posted by Bill Hunt

...the record industry is hoping - HOPING mind you - that downloading will get to represent 10% of all music sales by 2010. And video files present a much bigger problem due to filesize, bandwith, etc. So downloading still has a long way to go.

Hi Bill,

I'm curious... was that a typo? The numbers I've heard put music downloads at much higher than 10% already. CDs being under 50% already for some publishers, even.

[Bill Hunt]

Originally Posted by gandley

When you came out on the side of BD, i knew it was a format worth buying into and so far its looking like youve got it right again.

Looking forward to your comments here so thanks for that. Would also like to thank the Mods here for making this happen ( i did ask a couple of times ).

I think many on this site have found themselfs defending the name of Mr Hunt on other forums, and for my part its been an honour to do so, i just like a guy who calls a spade a spade, and hackles Ken Graf

Bill, you must take alot of stick for your comments about HDDVD. does it ever get to a point where you think it gets too much?

Meh... we get some flak, sure. But what I've tended to see is that the people who hate what we've done most either have a bias themselves, or have a very emotional reason for their decision. They hate Sony, etc. So the reasoning of these folks tends to be very emotional. Whereas our reasoning was just simple logic: Larger disc, BD-J more roboust long-term, more studios (including Disney), many more manufactuers, more stable business model on the hardware side, CE industry support and PS3 inclusion = more likely victory.

The other argument we get from those irritated at us is: "Dear sir, shame on you for impuning your journalistic intergrity by taking a side instead of letting the consumer make the choice!" Which to us is bullshit. The consumer WAS making a choice. They were chosing to sit on the sidelines. And of the consumers that WERE getting into high-def - the early adopters - most of them weren't actually choosing! They were buying both formats. So what you had was a quagmire, which is exactly what we predicted would happen on The Bits. And what we know for certain is that if the quagmire persisted for much longer, both high-def disc formats were going to crash and burn. People would stop caring and move on, and high-def packaged media would be an also ran.

As to our "journalistic integrity," we're kind of a weird mix at The Bits. We're part journalists reporting the news, we're part enthusiasts sharing our love of films, and we're part Nader-esque advocates for movie fans and consumers - we stand up for what we believe is in the best interests of our readers. And it just became very clear to us at a certain point last year, that this format war had stopped being in the consumer interest, and was simply being driven by some pretty large egos for their own ends. So that's when we decided to draw a line. We looked at all the facts and made a logical decision. We picked Blu-ray. A lot of people were very glad we stood up when we did. Some weren't too happy about it naturally. But I can tell you that the overwhelming majority of our readers - and especially the many industry insiders that we've become close with over the last decade, and not just those working in the Blu-ray camp by a LONG shot - have responded very positively to our position.

We believe we made the right call for our readers, and I think time has proven our case and will continue to do so.

[sj001]

Originally Posted by Bill Hunt

Meh... we get some flak, sure. But what I've tended to see is that the people who hate what we've done most either have a bias themselves, or have a very emotional reason for their decision. They hate Sony, etc. So the reasoning of these folks tends to be very emotional. Whereas our reasoning was just simple logic: Larger disc, BD-J more roboust long-term, more studios (including Disney), many more manufactuers, more stable business model on the hardware side, CE industry support and PS3 inclusion = more likely victory.

The other argument we get from those irritated at us is: "Dear sir, shame on you for impuning your journalistic intergrity by taking a side instead of letting the consumer make the choice!" Which to us is bullshit. The consumer WAS making a choice. They were chosing to sit on the sidelines. And of the consumers that WERE getting into high-def - the early adopters - most of them weren't actually choosing! They were buying both formats. So what you had was a quagmire, which is exactly what we predicted would happen on The Bits.

We're kind of a weird mix at The Bits. We're part journalists reporting the news, we're part enthusiasts sharing our love of films, and we're part Nader-esque advocates for movie fans and consumers - we stand up for what we believe is in the best interests of our readers. And it just became very clear to us at a certain point last year, that this format war had stopped being in the consumer interest, and was simply being driven by some pretty large egos for their own ends. So that's when we decided to draw a line. We looked at all the facts and made a logical decision. We picked Blu-ray. A lot of people were very glad we stood up when we did. Some weren't too happy about it naturally. But I can tell you that the overwhelming majority of our readers - and especially the many industry insiders that we've become close with over the last decade - have responded very positively to our position.

I applaud the the fact that you guys did stand up and pick a side, this certainly influenced a lot of people to buy into Blu. I really find it frustrating that people can argue with your logic, it makes absolutely perfect sense to me.

[Bill Hunt]

Originally Posted by Fozziwig

I believe Bill was refering to the team at Digital Bits (not all of us).

It's actually a little of both. But I do tend to go between 'I' and 'we' a lot in my daily columns, and there's a sort of general 'we' meaning all of us at The Bits. Not a royal 'we' meaning me.

Every time a pro Blu-ray article appeared on the Bits a mob of HD DVD fans would gather and hurl abuse and accuse Bill of taking a payoff. Total garbage of course but I think it demonstrated how important Bill's comments have been in helping Blu-ray win the format war - maybe only a small part of the victory Bill, but I get the feeling you have a lot of respect in the industry and what you say can make a difference.

We like to think so, and it's nice of you to say. I can tell you that were are very much plugged in to what the industry overall is thinking, hearing, doing, etc. I drive up to Hollywood almost every week and meet with insiders to get a sense of what's happening, and I'm on the phone all day long. After more than ten years of this, not much does happen in the home video industry that we don't pretty quickly catch wind of, even at the highest levels.

While I'm on the subject I would like to add my thanks for the stance you (Bill) took in backing Blu-ray, standing firm even through the P/DW debacle. You could easily have sat on the sidelines, and I don't think anybody would have minded if you had.

Thank you for your kind words. And I can tell you that we would have minded. If this thing just continued to drag on while we sat on the sidelines, when we could have offered a voice of reason somehow that might have clarified the issue for consumers, we would have minded. It's not in our nature to sit on our hands at The Bits.

[Bill Hunt]

Originally Posted by elwaylite

Glad to have you here Bill!


Some talks are going on right now, anything you can hint too as to what to expect? Might we be seeing some interesting info on your site before weeks end? Or are things still moving on a monthly time frame, not a daily time frame?

We have to be VERY careful with that. There's a tendency with the online press to want to scoop every story, but often you have to know when NOT to say something. When going public with information can affect the outcome, you have to be very careful what you say. So let's just leave it there for now. When we can post something, we will. Blu-ray.com will do the same.

[Bill Hunt]

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

Hey Bill,

not posting to add to your work-load of responses. Just want to add my vote to thanking you for everything that you've done (and continue to do) for the HT community, and HDM in particular.

Your voice was one of the few who really dared to candidly, and logically, approach this format war, and you were willing to take a stand when it mattered despite the risks. While the HD DVD side called you biased because they chose to not respect your articulated rationale, those of us willing to hear what you said knew that you were right about your position that the format war (if it continued) was bad for consumers and bad for HDM, and the Blu-ray was the best choice for a single-format solution given our choices.

Thanks for the courage to speak honestly, confidently, and courageously despite all the back-lash the HD DVD camp attempted to throw your way. I know that part of the reason that things are moving strongly and swifly towards a single-HDM format at this time is, at least in part, due to your excellent and vigillant efforts.

Thank-you.

Thanks, Dave. That means a lot to us at The Bits coming from you.

[Bill Hunt]

Originally Posted by Branden

Hi Bill,
Been reading the Bits since i stepped into the war a few months back, glad to see you've shown up here. welcome!

I think almost everyone here assumes that HD-DVD exclusive titles will make their way onto Blu-ray eventually. I realize it would be easier and cheaper, but as much as i anticipate some of these titles I'm not exactly excited at the prospect that they'll turn out to just be ported over from HD-DVD transfers. Can we expect some of these titles to be re-encoded and optimized for Blu-ray?

Some of them, yes. Almost certainly at least some.

[tron3]

Ok, I thought of a question. I recall reading a long time ago that the original HD DVD spec made it a 720p format. If true, Toshiba obviously changed the specs to compete with BD without changing the disc capacity. Any idea?

[DaViD Boulet]

Thanks, Dave. That means a lot to us at The Bits coming from you.

oh yeah, and if you're ever in the Washington D.C. area, the second pint is on me!

P.S. - Any time you're in the DC area, you've got a beer or three coming your way!

[Bill Hunt]

Originally Posted by fronn

Hi Bill,

I'm curious... was that a typo? The numbers I've heard put music downloads at much higher than 10% already. CDs being under 50% already for some publishers, even.

Maybe you've seen different numbers than I have then. When I looked into this last summer, the number was 10% by 2010. Maybe it was 20%, I'd have to go back and look. But it seems to me that it's still a very small percantage of overall sales.

[DaViD Boulet]

Ok, I thought of a question. I recall reading a long time ago that the original HD DVD spec made it a 720p format. If true, Toshiba obviously changed the specs to compete with BD without changing the disc capacity. Any idea?

(This doesn't need an insider to answer).

They didn't change the physical structure of the disc platform to any significant degree to go from 720 to 1080... what they did was switch from a red to blue laser.

The 720p HD DVD concept was to have used a standard red-laser like regular DVD. Basically, it was a regular DVD with VC-1 video compression to squeeze 720p into the space that MPEG2 needs for 480p.

[Ispoke]

Hi Bill, I would also like to add my welcome and thanks for your ‘vocal’ support of our preferred format.

On a recent My Two Cents you mentioned an average 20:1 Blu hardware jump in sales in Orange County after the Warner announcement. Just wondering if you have had the time to carry out any further surveys or have any other feedback on Blu hardware uptake in other places that would indicate a similar trend?

[Bill Hunt]

Originally Posted by tron3

Ok, I thought of a question. I recall reading a long time ago that the original HD DVD spec made it a 720p format. If true, Toshiba obviously changed the specs to compete with BD without changing the disc capacity. Any idea?

No idea. Can anyone else weigh in here?

Ooops - Dave already did.

[Bill Hunt]

Originally Posted by Ispoke

Hi Bill, I would also like to add my welcome and thanks for your ‘vocal’ support of our preferred format.

On a recent My Two Cents you mentioned an average 20:1 Blu hardware jump in sales in Orange County after the Warner announcement. Just wondering if you have had the time to carry out any further surveys or have any other feedback on Blu hardware uptake in other places that would indicate a similar trend?

We are actually in the middle of doing that now. We're also closely watching the Neilsen VideoScan numbers over the coming weeks.

[JadedRaverLA]

Originally Posted by Bill Hunt

Maybe you've seen different numbers than I have then. When I looked into this last summer, the number was 10% by 2010. Maybe it was 20%, I'd have to go back and look. But it seems to me that it's still a very small percantage of overall sales.

I don't want to pass myself off as an insider, but this gets brought up all the time. The "approaching 10% figure" is the percentage of total revenue brought in by downloaded media. The "CDs make up only 50% of music sold" is a figure that sites how many individual songs are purchased via download services vs. CD album sales... not exactly a fair comparison. But it makes Apple (and other download services) look good, so they tend to cite it.

In the end, CDs (and other physical media) still bring in over 90% of the revenue.

[Ispoke]

Originally Posted by Bill Hunt

We are actually in the middle of doing that now. We're also closely watching the Neilsen VideoScan numbers over the coming weeks.

Thanks and glad to hear, will wait in anticipation of your results

[TauHeel05]

Bill,

Any rumors on upcoming Buena Vista titles? Like 'Sin City' and 'Kill Bill?'

Thanks.

[Beta-guy]

I was wondering (and hoping) if we will see Blu-ray movies on those 100GB BD discs that were talked about a while ago.

[coolwavepic]

Bill,

I have ordered Eyes Wide Shut on Blu-ray in the beginning of December because I couldn't find this title at any local retailer. So I ordered it online at Warner Bros. Store. Its still on back order and I have read that several Kubrick movies are on back order. Also, my Fry's Electronics seems to never get Warner movies on time. Will the dropping of HD-DVD help Warner fix these issues? Do you have any inside info on where the hell is Eyes Wide Shut?