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

[ndirtdigler69]

this is dumb why would paramount switch sides . i hope warner go bd only . i mean it sound very close to happening anyway. and wasn't paramount just saying that hd dvd didn't have enough space for the movie and the audio track.

[Razzy]

Originally Posted by ndirtdigler69

this is dumb why would paramount switch sides . i hope warner go bd only . i mean it sound very close to happening anyway. and wasn't paramount just saying that hd dvd didn't have enough space for the movie and the audio track.

Paramount had 150 million reasons to choose HD DUD.

[phil]

Could you let me know what exactly was worth buying from Paramount? Besides the upcoming Transformers? Im not entirely sure what everyone was expecting..

[Dotpattern]

No, you don't have to buy an HD DVD player now. You simply continue to rent or buy the standard def DVDs that aren't available on BD and watch them upscaled with your blu-ray player.

If you go neutral, you're only contributing to keeping this format war going on and raising HD DVD sales numbers.

[MovieTime]

I'm taking a hard look at buying one on the cheap...I have a stong need for HD. SD just doesn't do it anymore.

[shatta]

im done with transformers..i saw it twice in theaters...guess what u gonna see when it come out on dvd and HD-DUD.......the same thing...same video quality..only on much smaller screen.........but if it was blu ray,,u would have see the rust fall off of bumble bee the first 3 seconds when he was transforming to fight barricade(sp)...so since it not coming on blu ray ..i dont give a fffff..i have watched my fill

[scragham]

Originally Posted by phil

Could you let me know what exactly was worth buying from Paramount? Besides the upcoming Transformers? Im not entirely sure what everyone was expecting..

well, for me - transformers and top gun. hunt for red october somewhere down the line when it wasn't part of a box set.

still not worth buying a different player.

[Canada]

fu__ no Transformers in Blu

[tron3]

Originally Posted by MOONPHASE

I am going to stick with Blu-Ray no matter and if Hd-dvd wins i will never buy a Hd-dvd and just stick with normal dvds but if Blu-Ray wins then I think you get the picture of where I am going with this

Ahh, just like that episode of Seinfeld.

Jerry: I'd like to return this book.
Counter Person: What is the reason you are returning it?
Jerry: For spite.

I finally saw the Paramount movies available, and other Transformers which I can't get now on blu-ray , the only other title I MIGHT consider is Sky Captain on the world of Tomorrow. The Mission Impossible movies would be good, but I didn't follow them.

[Smackos]

Well.. I've probably thrown my rattle out the pram a few times over these sorts of things so this time I went one further. Almost feel embarrised now but what the hell I'll own up to it now it's done and dusted.

I sent an email..

"The European Commission has started an investigation of the Major Film Studios, Paramount, Universal, Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Disney. This has been widely reported in most media nationally and internationally. Now there is a major concern that Paramount Pictures have been bribed with a substantial sum of money to withdraw they're support from releasing films on Blu-ray disk formats internationally and only to carry on releasing in the rival HD DVD format. The sum of money they've been given is rumoured to be $100 million along with another $50 million going to they're subsidiary Dreamworks SKG. This is directly from the New York Times on the matter click link for article


I'm just a consumer who is disgusted as I feel I've been misled by Paramount who up till now have released titles for Blu-ray and who's support was a deciding factor in my purchase of a Blu-ray player. The most insidious aspects to this that stand out are that they've shelved plans to release already publically announced film titles. In one case "Blades of Glory" has even made it to retail stores that have been recalled back for destruction. IF a company was planning to withdraw support without outside influence wouldn't it stand to reason they'd at least let stock already made sell through even if they were not intending to replace them further down the road? Surely this seems to have no common sense to anyone unless an outside party has intervened to gain from this, in this case the HD DVD consortium (made up of Toshiba and Microsoft).

Even the other movie Studios involved in Blu-ray have released a thinly veiled joint press statement alluding to the rumoured bribe.
In response to Paramount's decision to exclusively support HD DVD, Andy Parsons, Chairman, Blu-ray Disc Association US Promotions Committee had this to say: "The decision seems oddly timed given Blu-ray's tremendous momentum both with consumers and with retail. Blu-ray title sales continue to outpace HD-DVD sales by nearly a 2 to 1 margin, and major retailers have expressed a strong preference for Blu-ray. Moreover, the price delta between HD DVD and Blu-ray players has been greatly reduced in the past few months, a trend that is on its way to eliminating any perceived cost advantage the HD DVD format has claimed to have. Under these circumstances, we can only imagine what could have enticed them to walk away from a format that is clearly selling significantly more software than the ailing HD-DVD format."

Paramount have already publically announced that they've sold stock on the Blu-ray format 2 to 1 to rivals HD DVD so why stop releasing on the format your selling more of? It certainly doesn't make for good business sense.. unless your getting other benefits that offset and compensate for dropping sales. HD DVD is made by Toshiba and with Paramount dropping Blu-ray it means that the current 1 million Blu-ray machine owners in Europe will now have to buy Toshiba's own machine to watch these films including big hits such as "Transformers" and "Blades of Glory" and this has got to be a major anti-trust issue for consumers.


I implore you to pass this on as I do not think that this new information has been looked into by the commission and certainly needs to be.

Thanks again,

(name)


and in response I got back this...

"

Dear (name)

Thank you for your e-mail to Reijo Kemppinen which I have forwarded to our Directorate-General for Competition. As you can see from the e-mail sent earlier on by the case-handler, Ms Piesiewicz's, the Commission is currently conducting a preliminary investigation of the market.

Best wishes

Marguerite-Mare Brenchley
Outreach Section "

[rmagruder]

Originally Posted by The Big Blue

Yeah right. LMAO

You cared enough to post your worthless little rant. Which puts you on a level of narcisistic patheticness unobtainable by anyone here who you came to troll-bait.

LOL. "Narcisistic patheticness". Who talks like that??

Okay, please carry on with your irrational blu-ray jihad and MS hatefest. I'll drop back into amused spectator mode.

[DavePS3]

I agree in theory and I would say yes to HD in general if all things were equal. If a consumer is shopping for a system now, he has to decide on one or the other depending on where he/she thinks their favorite movies are released. If they buy a combo player, it's twice as expensive and one is likely to die eventually so they're wasting money. Most consumers, when they look at the present situation, would just simply pass on the whole HD disc thing and that harms your cause.

[cawgijoe]

There is a difference....the studios who only produce one format did so from the beginning.......Paramount changed their mind halfway through.

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Originally Posted by TJandBLU-RAY

That would sum up me, to an extant. Actually, I just want High Def to win. As in, I think standard DVD is crappy in comparison, and would love to see it's demise.
I have both formats, because I love movies, and that is my bottom line. And yeah, as a preacher, I see the religious fever here, and it makes me chuckle a bit.
Again, as I have said before, the High Def market is super small compared to the DVD market, and that is where the energy should be focused. Not on killing one or the other.

What? I didn't know preachers watch blu-ray too? I kind of picture preachers being very low-tech and old fashion. I need to get around more

I definitely want HD to survive, and I have no doubt in my mind that it will in one form or another. But I don't think DVD will disappear for another 25 years or more because I don't think every movie deserves the HD treatment.

[Texitura]

Originally Posted by rmagruder

I'm just suggesting that some of you try to look at it from both sides of the fence here and ask yourselves some hard questions about whether you are, even unconsciously, applying some serious double standards here.

Randy

This is a Blu-ray fan site. I find it difficult to believe that you can't understand that. Therefore I must assume you are just here to pick fights and cause trouble. Hopefully not for long.

[BigB88]

Originally Posted by rmagruder

I'm actually trying to have a civilized discussion at this point. As long as the discussion is civil, what's your problem with it?

Or am I upsetting the groupthink by challenging peoples' assumptions here?

And yes I remember VHS & Beta very well, and yes the Superior format did lose. That was unfortunate, but Sony largely had itself to blame for that.

Randy

Your not upsetting me, your simply wrong. You seem to equate Microsoft and Sony, saying they are the same and in the same business - your wrong, they are not the same nor are they in the same business. You say there are two sides to this story and each side has merit - your wrong, when one side lies, deceives and cheats OPENLY. You seem to try to bundle all corporations in one tight little bag and apply your own rules and guidelines to each - one size fits all - your wrong. You seem to think HD-DVD and Blu Ray are identical technologies with identical advantages and disadvantages - your wrong, they are not even close technologically. There are two sides to every issue, most of your arguments for the one side are simply misguided and wrong. Sure Microsoft or Sony or whomever can buy their way into a business segment, but not at the open contempt and expense of the consumer and this is what Microsoft and Paramount have done and for those enthusiaists who follow such, they will not soon foget how Para***** prositututed themselves so openly.

[jdsanko]

I am a veteran of the VHS vs. Betamax wars. As a result, I ended up throwing out many very nice Beta tapes when my last Beta VCR failed. I WILL NOT make that mistake again.

Essentially, if Blu-ray does not win, no one will. There is zero chance I will ever buy a HD-DVD player, as I am 100% sure that HD-DVD will always be a niche and eventually die out. Not many folks care much now and the longer the war persisits, the less they will care.

I am very disapointed as I want to buy a BD player and have HD media succeed. But the Paraamont decision prompted by MS keeps me on the fence. Who else will they buy? Are downloads really that far away. I can watch Shooter and 300 in HD via Comcast On Demand tonight for $5.99 each and I don't have to leave my chair (the film starts in a matter of minutes). Sure the audio is only DD 5.1 and the video is compressed. I'll bet 99% of the folks don't really care.

One format, one advertising voice, one consumer education program is what is needed.

By the way, there is a PS3 in my house that is not used for movies and only for games. It is upstairs attached to a 26" LCD which is waste for HD movies. SD looks great upconverted on a 26" screen.

I guess my best reaction to this whole mess is ....

[aristotles]

Originally Posted by rmagruder

You need to get out more and read columns by people who disagree with you. I can provide a few links if you need. If you just read the blu-ray echo chamber posts, of course the opinion will be unanimous. And what is not a 'valid point' to you may be a very valid point to someone else. It's subjective.

Only 'obvious' because of your bias.

In what universe is 50 GB less space than 30? Is a raw data transfer of 53.95 Mbit/s less than 36.55 Mbit/s in bizarro world?
See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compari...l_disc_formats

These matters of storage space and raw bandwidth are not subjective or open to interpretation but rather a matter of simple mathematics given that all of the same video and audio codecs are available on both formats.

I think you need to find your information from places other than the pro-HD DVD echo chamber that is AVS.

[ikbradley]

Logic people:

Exclusive formats that move to support both formats is not the same as a company that supports both formats and then moves to exclusivity. A > B is not the same as B > A.

A company that has always remained exclusive is not the same as a company that supported both formats and moved to exclusivity.

If you don't get why Paramount is different from every other studio, you need your head examined. Dead serious.

It is alleged that Paramount took money to deny an HD format its sole source of material, movies. If a steel manufacture was paid by an automotive company to deny another automotive company their steel, this would be against the law. I am not sure how this is different.

A company can:

1. Pay to maintain exclusive studio support (if no other competitor has been supplied); and
2. Pay to get raw materials that another company has been supplied (supply and demand).

A company cannot:

1. Pay raw materials company to deny another company raw-materials it had already been supplying, unless it purchases all of its capacity. In the case of intellectual property, such as movie rights, this is impossible.

....

[Scorxpion]

Originally Posted by cawgijoe

IF things go the other way.....so basically you are here just to stir up trouble.......buy a Blu-Ray player and some movies and then maybe we can talk....

Well Said MAN