No love for HD DVD from Paramount? - Blu-ray Forum

zombie · 05-26-2006, 04:11 PM

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/sh...-DVD_Titles/81

I'm curious as to why Paramount has cancelled their initial HD DVD releases.

- Are they having production delays?
- Are they waiting for more players to be available?
- Are they pulling support for HD DVD?

No reason has been given yet.

hmurchison · 05-26-2006, 04:39 PM

I have an idea on why.

Quote:

Originally set to debut three titles on May 20 -- 'Four Brothers,' 'U2: Rattle & Hum' and 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider' -- Paramount has pulled all information on the titles from its press and retail websites.

Frankly these movies suck for an initial launch. Paramount surely has to be looking at Universal's launch and realizing that they simply have nothing comparable right now. My hunch is they'll announce a new set of movies to launch.

zombie · 05-26-2006, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hmurchison

I have an idea on why.

Frankly these movies suck for an initial launch. Paramount surely has to be looking at Universal's launch and realizing that they simply have nothing comparable right now. My hunch is they'll announce a new set of movies to launch.

I don't believe that they'll forget the three titles they previously mentioned but I would agree that it would be in their best interest to add a couple of better movies to the line up as well.

Patrick · 05-26-2006, 11:35 PM

I think that would be great if they went purely Blu-ray. Talking about a kick to Hd-dvd. I cant wait till next month when the real war begins and Blu-ray kicks down the door. I hope they sale like hotcakes and fly by Hd-dvd like they are sitting still. (this is where I would give an evil chuckle, but since its just typing, whats the use?)

marzetta7 · 06-01-2006, 07:19 PM

Sorry about the tangent the thread went off into. On the topic of Paramount, I think they are indirectly pulling support from HD DVD. I say this because normally, if you are delaying something, as a company you specify the date at which you hope to have HD DVD movies released.

With the fact that Paramount did NOT specify any later release date--to me at least--spells further doom for HD DVD.

hmurchison · 06-01-2006, 07:51 PM

We shall see. Paramount's somewhat of a flaky studio. They delayed entering the DVD market as well. Leopards don't change their spots I see them hopping back in later when more players are shipping.

zombie · 06-01-2006, 09:02 PM

The articles I have read pertaining to the above linked article all use words like "pulled" or "cancelled." While it may be a technicality I can't help but wonder if there's more to it being that the word "postponed" was never used. OTOH, I take this with a grain of salt but Amir from Microsoft mentioned at AVS that Paramount is not jumping ship. He seemed to be pointing towards a problem with the discs themselves. Nothing was made too clear though. I would have thought we'd know a little more by now but sadly we're in the dark as to what a studio is doing as usual.

AV_Integrated · 06-01-2006, 09:41 PM

It would be a real slap in the face to HD-DVD should Paramount jump ship. Yet, I have no overall feel for how this format war really is shaping up at this time. HD-DVD has the lead that a couple of months offers. But, their movie list is pathetic. Blu-ray may not be any better in a few months, so it isn't meant as a HD-DVD slam at all. It just is what it is. Like SACD and DVD-A have a lousy list of titles compared to the CD world.

Yet, if I were part of Paramount I might wait a bit to see how things kicked off from both camps and then put movies out after. A serious investment of time and money for a doomed format makes no financial sense. Heck, investing in either format when both are slow movers out of the starting gate makes no sense. Why spend millions mastering a HD-DVD or Blu-ray movie when sales will be in the tens of thousands?

PS3 still seems to ring huge as a marker for when a lot of studios will suddenly start releasing movies in either format.

zombie · 06-01-2006, 09:58 PM

Paramount can help HD DVD's odds of longterm success by launching some of their own movies ASAP. If they wait they're doing HD DVD more harm than good. When BD launches there will be titles from Sony and Lions Gate. Same issue, only two studios releasing titles. However, if Warner starts putting out movies on BD before Paramount puts out on either format, that would do well for BD. The entire HD DVD launch is lacking. This is probably the most important time for HD DVD to step up their game and give BD a run for their money. They also need more hardware support today, not several months from now. Paramount, Universal, and Warner really could help HD DVD by giving it some blockbusters too. It just isn't happening.

05-26-2006, 04:11 PM	#1
zombie Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:May 2004 Trading Score:865	No love for HD DVD from Paramount? http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/sh...-DVD_Titles/81 I'm curious as to why Paramount has cancelled their initial HD DVD releases. - Are they having production delays? - Are they waiting for more players to be available? - Are they pulling support for HD DVD? No reason has been given yet.

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05-26-2006, 11:35 PM	#4
Patrick Member Member since:Sep 2005	I think that would be great if they went purely Blu-ray. Talking about a kick to Hd-dvd. I cant wait till next month when the real war begins and Blu-ray kicks down the door. I hope they sale like hotcakes and fly by Hd-dvd like they are sitting still. (this is where I would give an evil chuckle, but since its just typing, whats the use?)

06-01-2006, 07:19 PM	#5
marzetta7 Special Member Member since:Feb 2006	Sorry about the tangent the thread went off into. On the topic of Paramount, I think they are indirectly pulling support from HD DVD. I say this because normally, if you are delaying something, as a company you specify the date at which you hope to have HD DVD movies released. With the fact that Paramount did NOT specify any later release date--to me at least--spells further doom for HD DVD.

06-01-2006, 07:51 PM	#6
hmurchison Banned Member since:Aug 2004 Location:Seaattle	We shall see. Paramount's somewhat of a flaky studio. They delayed entering the DVD market as well. Leopards don't change their spots I see them hopping back in later when more players are shipping.

06-01-2006, 09:02 PM	#7
zombie Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:May 2004 Trading Score:865	The articles I have read pertaining to the above linked article all use words like "pulled" or "cancelled." While it may be a technicality I can't help but wonder if there's more to it being that the word "postponed" was never used. OTOH, I take this with a grain of salt but Amir from Microsoft mentioned at AVS that Paramount is not jumping ship. He seemed to be pointing towards a problem with the discs themselves. Nothing was made too clear though. I would have thought we'd know a little more by now but sadly we're in the dark as to what a studio is doing as usual.

06-01-2006, 09:41 PM	#8
AV_Integrated Senior Member Member since:Jan 2005	It would be a real slap in the face to HD-DVD should Paramount jump ship. Yet, I have no overall feel for how this format war really is shaping up at this time. HD-DVD has the lead that a couple of months offers. But, their movie list is pathetic. Blu-ray may not be any better in a few months, so it isn't meant as a HD-DVD slam at all. It just is what it is. Like SACD and DVD-A have a lousy list of titles compared to the CD world. Yet, if I were part of Paramount I might wait a bit to see how things kicked off from both camps and then put movies out after. A serious investment of time and money for a doomed format makes no financial sense. Heck, investing in either format when both are slow movers out of the starting gate makes no sense. Why spend millions mastering a HD-DVD or Blu-ray movie when sales will be in the tens of thousands? PS3 still seems to ring huge as a marker for when a lot of studios will suddenly start releasing movies in either format.

06-01-2006, 09:58 PM	#9
zombie Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:May 2004 Trading Score:865	Paramount can help HD DVD's odds of longterm success by launching some of their own movies ASAP. If they wait they're doing HD DVD more harm than good. When BD launches there will be titles from Sony and Lions Gate. Same issue, only two studios releasing titles. However, if Warner starts putting out movies on BD before Paramount puts out on either format, that would do well for BD. The entire HD DVD launch is lacking. This is probably the most important time for HD DVD to step up their game and give BD a run for their money. They also need more hardware support today, not several months from now. Paramount, Universal, and Warner really could help HD DVD by giving it some blockbusters too. It just isn't happening.

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