Source of $500 Million Warner Payoff Rumor Exposed

[Zotar]

http://www.tvpredictions.com/journalists012108.htm

Blu-ray vs. HD DVD: When Journalists Go Wrong
As they say, don't believe everything you read.
By Swanni

Washington, D.C. (January 21, 2008) -- As a longtime journalist, I am reluctant to criticize my fellow scribes for errors and other transgressions. It's a tough business and mistakes come with the territory.

However, in the last week, I have come across two reports that are so wrong -- so dumb headed -- that they demand a public airing so their wounds against the truth can be properly healed.

Let's start with Sunday's edition of The Washington Post in which tech columnist Mike Musgrove offers a stinging critique of the high-def disc format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD.



Musgrove's report suggests that digital downloads will soon replace the hard disc so people shouldn't care who wins the Blu-ray/HD DVD war.

I disagree that digital downloads, particularly for high-def, will be ready for primetime anytime soon. But it's a legitimate argument to make.

However, in attempting to make his point, Musgrove offers a whopper of a statement that couldn't be supported by any analysis, no matter how subjective:

"I've found that I can't really tell the difference between the picture cranked out by a Blu-ray player and the picture delivered by an 'upconverting' DVD player designed to make standard DVDs look their best on high-definition sets," he writes.

Now, anyone who has seen a high-def disc player in action -- as well as an upconverter player -- knows that the high-def playback is far superior. (George Ou of ZDNet recently offered a scientific analysis proving this as well.) The high-def playback is, well, high-def while the upconversion merely improves the picture on a standard-def DVD; while it's improved, it's not remotely close to an HD-quality image.

There is simply no comparison, which makes one wonder why Musgrove said there is.

I won't question his motives, but I can only guess that either he doesn't own a high-def TV (and has only seen a Blu-ray or HD DVD for a short period of time at a convention or some other event) or his HDTV isn't properly tuned.

Or he needs to make an appointment with a nearby Pearle Vision.

Now, for example two:

Syndicated columnist Don Lindich is reporting that Sony, the leader backer of Blu-ray, recently paid Fox and Warner Bros. to support the high-def format. Lindich says Fox was ready to jump ship and support HD DVD until Sony kicked in with the money. At that point, Warner decided to take a payoff as well.

Lindich quotes "sources" for his report without naming them or even characterizing them from coming from a specific unit.

I will not challenge his report -- it may even be true. But I have to point out that Lindich, a longtime HD DVD booster, also reported less than two weeks before the Consumer Electronics Show that Warner Bros. would attend HD DVD's big media event at the Las Vegas conference.

The columnist said HD DVD's attendance was evidence that Warner would not shed its neutrality in the race and support Blu-ray. (This reporter, and a few others, predicted that Warner would endorse Blu-ray.)

As we now know, Warner not only did not attend the HD DVD event -- but the event was cancelled 48 hours prior because Warner announced it had...decided to endorse Blu-ray.

Lindich was wrong about the HD DVD event. Spectacularly wrong.

So I am surprised that several online publications are now reporting his claim that Sony paid off Fox and Warner. -- without noting that his HD DVD "sources" in the past apparently led him astray.

Maybe they are leading him astray again?

[Sonny]

LOL 500$ is cheep

[Sonny]

What does this guy know LOL

[Zotar]

Originally Posted by Sonny

LOL 500$ is cheep

Good spot, thanks. Edited.

[Seabass]

Someone from Warner or the BDA must of dropped the hammer.

[seto]

Honestly, I wish people would call out so-called "journalists" out because most of them seem to fabricate articles based on conjecture and rumor. And they wonder why people are so cynical when it comes to the news.

[dobyblue]

Don Lindich is now in my opinion bred from the same cloth as Rob Enderle.

They are both complete and utter idiots.

[coolmilo]

Does anyone really care? I don't. Paramount/Dreamworks were paid off. So who cares if Warner was paid off (well except for the HD DUD fans I guess ). It just doesn't matter at this point. I only care when Paramount/Weinstein/Dreamworks/Universal Studios switch over to Blu once and for all. And I only care when HD DUD is gone forever.

[ranma]

This is my thought about $500M payoff rumor.
Obviously, all the rumors are from Red Camp, and being denied by Blue Camp, unlike paramount $150M payoff, which is confirmed by dreamworks.
So, Red Camp do know what they did, but had no clue what blue camp did.

I bet they were trying to pay off fox and warner. Warner gave them fake information that they would be HD DVD exclusive by attending HD DVD conference, but no Blu-ray. There were reports that warner caught HD DVD in surprise as they thought warner would be theirs before. Then red camp wondered why Warner dropped their *superior* format to a *beta, unstable* format. The only conclusion they can make is blue camp have to pay much more than red offered to convert warner and keep fox. So, Red offered Warner $250M payoff, and $60M to make fox neutral. Blu-ray have to pay double of that. That's how the $500M rumor brewed.

[WimeTime]

Originally Posted by seto

Honestly, I wish people would call out so-called "journalists" out because most of them seem to fabricate articles based on conjecture and rumor. And they wonder why people are so cynical when it comes to the news.

I agree. The damage that is done is unbelievable. I went to a sporting even with some family of mine. They know my tru (blu) colors, and said that they heard about the payoff sony offered wb. My rebuttle was what wb's lead man said, "I wish". The argument was over before it began. Isn't the truth enlightening.

[PeteS]

You've got to give Swanni credit for intelligently pointing out the facts here;

And as for Lindich and Musgrove: they're kind of classic examples of sticking with the dogma when all reality has long ago proved it wrong. I mean, in a few years time when pretty much everyone has seen for themselves how good Blu-ray really is, and just how stretched the pro-upconverted and pro-HD DVD line was, how are they going to sleep at night?

[Seabass]

Originally Posted by coolmilo

Does anyone really care? I don't. Paramount/Dreamworks were paid off. So who cares if Warner was paid off (well except for the HD DUD fans I guess ). It just doesn't matter at this point. I only care when Paramount/Weinstein/Dreamworks/Universal Studios switch over to Blu once and for all. And I only care when HD DUD is gone forever.

It matters a lot since WB went exclusive due to the merits of BD tech and not $$$. Would you rather have sex with someone who wanted to boink you out of pure desire or pay some professional ***** who resorts to biting the lip and thinking "Hurry up and finish already".

[Sonny]

I wish Sony WOULD "pay-off" all the studios so we could be done with it already! But Sony nor the BDA half to because Blu-ray is that good

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

Don Lindich is now in my opinion bred from the same cloth as Rob Enderle.

They are both complete and utter idiots.

How about Mike Musgrove?

Yet another reporter that waited until AFTER HD DVD was clearly dead before raising the spectre of HD downloads.

At least Ron Enderle was ahead of the curve on that propaganda. I suspect because Microsoft saw the writing on the wall and asked for the downloads to start being pushed.

Gary

[spicynacho]

Don Lindich = Deadmeat
Rob Enderle = HD NOW/rdjam