Paramount/DreamWorks fallout... a primal scream therapy thread for Blu-ray fans

[yellowletmello36]

oh well we will get them on blu ray so its fine...we just have to show paramount that these blu rays will sell way more than the hd dvds and that they should have stayed neutral..

[Pilam69]

Mainstream Joe Public doesn't own a HDTV. He doesn't own a PS3 or an XBox. He owns a CRT tv and gets basic cable. He has a DVD player. He rents more movies than he buys. He thinks Wii is what his kid does in the sandbox.

We get so caught up in our little group that we forget that everyone is not like us. We buy expensive TV's and sound systems. PS3 is not an option for a lot of us. If not PS3 then a Blu-Ray standalone player is in our entertainment room. We are NOT NORMAL (in a good way).

The fact is, anyone who can afford an HDTV can afford a Blu-Ray player right now. The price will matter in 2-3 years when HDTV's are in a majority of homes but not right now. In 2-3 years then people will want an affordable way to bring HD movies into their homes. At which time Blu-Ray will need to have an answer for the cheaper market. As of today I WANT to be elite. I WANT to have spent more money on my setup than my buddy. That's who I (and I'm betting a lot of you) am(are).

Don't let them fool you. Price is NOT a problem.

[supersix4]

I'll say it again second act has the sammy bdp-1000 for 299.99

[moweeis]

NY Times wouldn't write a story if they didn't have some good sources so I myself am almost positive that they got the money.

[Teazle]

Originally Posted by supersix14

I'll say it again second act has the sammy bdp-1000 for 299.99

OK, I guess that keeps me happy for now. (For my own part I have a ps3 but would think it a problem for prospective buyers if standalone prices were too far off those of HD-DVD.)

Still, if HD-DVD players will be at $200 at the holidays, as I'm assuming they will be, would be nice to get down at least to $279 for image's sake.

This not really for the general consumer but for those, what, 30% (??) of US TV-owning households which have HDTVs, most of which are still watching DVDs.

[MatrixS2000]

Originally Posted by Pilam69

Mainstream Joe Public doesn't own a HDTV. He doesn't own a PS3 or an XBox. He owns a CRT tv and gets basic cable. He has a DVD player. He rents more movies than he buys. He thinks Wii is what his kid does in the sandbox.

We get so caught up in our little group that we forget that everyone is not like us. We buy expensive TV's and sound systems. PS3 is not an option for a lot of us. If not PS3 then a Blu-Ray standalone player is in our entertainment room. We are NOT NORMAL (in a good way).

The fact is, anyone who can afford an HDTV can afford a Blu-Ray player right now. The price will matter in 2-3 years when HDTV's are in a majority of homes but not right now. In 2-3 years then people will want an affordable way to bring HD movies into their homes. At which time Blu-Ray will need to have an answer for the cheaper market. As of today I WANT to be elite. I WANT to have spent more money on my setup than my buddy. That's who I (and I'm betting a lot of you) am(are).

Don't let them fool you. Price is NOT a problem.

So true! I have said this so many times....the player is the cheapest item needed to enjoy a true High Def experience.

BTW - add to that that some HD DVD are more expensive than BDs the so called "cost savings" quickly disappear as your HD DVD library grows...

[IamNhobdy]

I'm starting to feel like we are all over reacting here. Maybe what we should just do is go about our HD media buying in exactly the same way we have. Treat this Paramount thing more like a terrorist threat than a serious death blow. We may have to take a little more time to rebuild, but we'll be strongest if we don't cave in. This is officially my last post on the topic. Thank you all for listening. Thank you all for ignoring.

[frank_t]

Originally Posted by CptGreedle

I don't think the BDA can get out a $200 player by the holidays. We are still over twice that in price.
But all our players are higher quality and give full support. While the HD-DVD camp is spitting out things like Blu-ray doesn't have required internet access and that HD-DVD does, Blu-ray has so far held true to remaining trueHD. Our players all support 1080p (at least the cheapest do ).
I wonder where their priorities are at sometimes. But I do know that we will be able to drop the price of a BD player to something much lower than it is, possibly in the range of $250-$300 by years end. This may or may not happen but it would be good if it does.

If they can come within $50 striking distance, then it becomes more of a matter of getting a HUGE number of titles on store shelves.

Currently, there are a quite a few titles only available on-line. I suspect retailers like BestBuy and CC are holding back on shelf space on purpose because they really don't want to squeeze to fit both formats.

[frank_t]

Originally Posted by Pilam69

Mainstream Joe Public doesn't own a HDTV. He doesn't own a PS3 or an XBox. He owns a CRT tv and gets basic cable. He has a DVD player. He rents more movies than he buys. He thinks Wii is what his kid does in the sandbox.

We get so caught up in our little group that we forget that everyone is not like us. We buy expensive TV's and sound systems. PS3 is not an option for a lot of us. If not PS3 then a Blu-Ray standalone player is in our entertainment room. We are NOT NORMAL (in a good way).

The fact is, anyone who can afford an HDTV can afford a Blu-Ray player right now. The price will matter in 2-3 years when HDTV's are in a majority of homes but not right now. In 2-3 years then people will want an affordable way to bring HD movies into their homes. At which time Blu-Ray will need to have an answer for the cheaper market. As of today I WANT to be elite. I WANT to have spent more money on my setup than my buddy. That's who I (and I'm betting a lot of you) am(are).

Don't let them fool you. Price is NOT a problem.

I gotta tell you man -- nearly every neighbor in my 'hood owns a widescreen HDTV set. They are cheap, well under $1K. Everyone I know has one. Most don't however have an Xbox 360, and the PS3 to them is a video game. That's Sony's fault for poor marketing on what that damn thing actually can do and is.

We may be in a more affluent area, but the reality is that HD in our tri-state area is all over the place. The number of HD stations has grown and I'm asked all the time about HD-DVD and BluRay. Walk into any Walmart or Target and it's HDTV sets all over the place.

And I know of NO ONE who actually just has basic cable any more.

I don't buy this argument.

[KingDeezie]

I agree with the assessment of cost, and how the majority of people don't have HDTV's because it is true...

Why don't the BDA all end this however by including the two together? Why can't Sony, Pioneer, Panasonic, and Samsung offer HDTV's with built in Bluray players?

Essentially you are killing two birds with one stone, and trojan horsing Bluray drives into the homes of anyone who walks into a BB and buys a new Sony RPTV.

Personally after the devestation that has occured this week, I think the BDA needs to really kick some serious ass.

Personally, I think Bluray has done so well that it was prefectly okay that sales and the state of the war spoke for itself. However, Microsoft is getting antzy and is starting to buy this thing out, and if the BDA wants Bluray to become the official next generation media it needs to fight fire with fire.

Strike a deal with Best Buy, Walmart, CC, whoever. Bump up the ad campaign. Get cheaper players into people's houses. Facilitate Warner becoming Bluray exclusive. Buy out Lord of the Rings exclusive. Pay for A Star Wars movie on BR. Start pumping out catalogue titles. ...something come on!

It just feels like Bluray hasn't won yet with only itself to blame. Everytime I go to the movies, I see some commercial about HD-DVD before the movie. Everytime. I have seen that stupid Imperioli commercial on TV quite often. Where is the Blu baby?

Sony needs to start pimping this thing out, and shortly. Get some Spiderman 3/Trilogy hype up. Make the public feel they are missing out on something that they can't get on DVD.

[cartier]

Originally Posted by yellowletmello36

I'll be seeing it, and spielberg flicks are blu ray exclusive I thought?

My understanding is he retains sole authority over distribution of his movies, which ones and in what format. Since Spielberg is a blu-ray supporter I do not expect we will see his movies from studios that are not blu exclusive.

However, I am not sure, I was just wondering if anyone had any documented proof of how his movies could be released.

I was also wondering if all those people boycotting Paramount movies intend to boycott the Indy 4 movie when it comes out since it is directed by Spielberg (pro blu-ray) yet the studio is Paramount (pro hd-dvd).

[jtconnolly]

Isn't a Buy out (bribe) illegal?

[supersix4]

seems like it should be

[Blubaru]

Originally Posted by jtconnolly

Isn't a Buy out (bribe) illegal?

It is.

It's also considered antitrust.

It's illegal for a company to pay/bribe another company to drop support of a competitor.

I hope the Department of justice and The EU get involved.

[Slackr89]

i found this on wikipedia

Employees, managers, or salespeople of a business may offer money or gifts to a potential client in exchange for business.

[monkyman]

Quote:
Employees, managers, or salespeople of a business may offer money or gifts to a potential client in exchange for business.

Yes, you can pay for them to support your format, but you can't pay to drop another.

[Canada]

Originally Posted by PaulDubya

I still dont understand how you can buy Paramounts intrests in the HD Market with $150m. They are acting like cheap hookers. They went down for a low price. What dumb asses!

I have to agree the price was very low considering the world wide gross for Top Gun $353,816,701 and that was in 1986. Oh my god I was two when Top Gun was in theaters I am showing my age, or lack of it.

[Blubaru]

Originally Posted by monkyman

Quote:
Employees, managers, or salespeople of a business may offer money or gifts to a potential client in exchange for business.

Yes, you can pay for them to support your format, but you can't pay to drop another.

Yep.

[Iceman_II]

Originally Posted by Slackr89

i found this on wikipedia

True, they may offer it in exchange for business...you can ALWAYS pay someone to carry your product... the problem arises when you pay someone NOT to carry someone elses! That my friend is where the whole anti-trust/conspiracy thing comes up...

Hell, I wouldnt' be suprised if a good ADA could find a way to apply RICO

[jtconnolly]

So, has anything been said from BDA to look into the matter?