Harry Knowles on Paramount/Dreamworks decision

[Jack Torrance]

Ugh.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/33722

The decision by Paramount was made "by the tech guys up". Yeah, right.

Of course, doesn't say anything about how his "pals" movies that he loves so much are blu-ray exclusive for the most part (those by Tarantino, Eli Roth, Raimi... etc. etc. etc.)

[Banjo]

Wow... quite a handful of misinformation in just a short column!

Harry Knowles should stick to reviewing movies.

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by Jack Torrance

Ugh.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/33722

The decision by Paramount was made "by the tech guys up". Yeah, right.

Harry is in continuous reputation protection mode. But moronic statements like that show how out of touch he is.

We KNOW the Paramount tech people prefer Blu-ray. Several real insiders (and not an ego maniac) have told us this.

The CTO is an executive bean counter with (hopefully) tech knowledge. He's not a tech person.

Gary

[Banjo]

They were paid $150 million to drop Blu-ray. I hate Sony though, so props to Toshiba, Microsoft, and the whole HD-DVD team. Transformers available exclusively for HD-DVD this fall will sell a lot of players.

I'll rather have Sony than Microsoft.

Microsoft is one of the worst when it come to doing business with. Not to mention the fact that they like to kill competition by buying them out.

Quite a shame.

[dialog_gvf]

I then asked (Rob Moore of Paramount) when the INDIANA JONES set would hit and if it would be exclusive to HD. Rob responded that on the films that Steven directs, he wants the titles to be available in both formats - so those will be cross-platform titles. Spielberg, however, is a huge supporter of Blu-Ray and always has been.

Ah, interesting dilemna for Universal.

And, wierd that we will still be getting a few Paramount titles.

[BluDrew]

Originally Posted by dialog_gvf

Ah, interesting dilemna for Universal.

And, wierd that we will still be getting a few Paramount titles.

The feeling I'm getting though is that Spielberg titles will be on both HD DVD and Blu-ray? As long as they're released in high def is fine with me. After today's news I'm getting an HD DVD player.

[Jack Torrance]

Originally Posted by dialog_gvf

Ah, interesting dilemna for Universal.

And, wierd that we will still be getting a few Paramount titles.

Ah -- so perhaps much like the cries of HD-DVD fanboys about "Target are not blu-ray exclusive in store because they will sell the 360 add-on", couldn't we also make a similar statement? "Well, techincally, Paramount/Dreamworks aren't exclusive to HD-DVD because Spielberg likes blu-ray better and the one's that he directed will be released on blu-ray." Or something better worded to that effect.

[tjsmangina]

Originally Posted by Banjo

I'll rather have Sony than Microsoft.

Microsoft is one of the worst when it come to doing business with. Not to mention the fact that they like to kill competition by buying them out.

Quite a shame.

.sony destroyed lik sang from pure bullying tactics.so its not like sony are a cuddly,customer friendly corporation is it

[elwaylite]

Harry sucks and his reviews are directed by who shows him the most love.

That site has been pro-HDDVD.

[NutsAboutPS3]

"However, the rest of Dreamworks, Viacom/Paramount's world... those will be HD DVD exclusive for the next few years at least."

That is the first mention of timescales I've seen. If true, that is very bad news indeed.

[ground chuck]

screw them, if they think their going to manufacture hd-dud's cheaper than bd.

[Banjo]

Originally Posted by tjsmangina

.sony destroyed lik sang from pure bullying tactics.so its not like sony are a cuddly,customer friendly corporation is it

The lesser of two evils. Believe me, I'm perfectly aware of Sony's history.

However, I see Microsoft as being the bigger threat.

[Jack Torrance]

Originally Posted by NutsAboutPS3

"However, the rest of Dreamworks, Viacom/Paramount's world... those will be HD DVD exclusive for the next few years at least."

That is the first mention of timescales I've seen. If true, that is very bad news indeed.

And again this turns out to be Harry Knowles FUD. We now know it's 18 months AT THE MOST.

[Gremal]

Originally Posted by Banjo

The lesser of two evils. Believe me, I'm perfectly aware of Sony's history.

However, I see Microsoft as being the bigger threat.

MS does not care about quality or about the customer. Sony at least consistently brings innovative technologies to market that enhance our audio/video and gaming experience.

[mattym]

isnt it 18 months this deal? an interview with 2 'unnamed' execs said they tokk the money for the next 18 months(but missed off the bit about screwing HD for the masses in the process)

[Banjo]

Originally Posted by Gremal

MS does not care about quality or about the customer. Sony at least consistently brings innovative technologies to market that enhance our audio/video and gaming experience.

Oh, I can agree with you on that one. Quality control is an issue at Microsoft, just look at Xbox 360. It's said that every single unit is potentially defective.

That was also the case with Microsoft Windows ME.

Even with the original Xbox, which was somewhere well-built. There was still the common problem with the DVD drive being defective. I'm not sure if anyone remember but the original Xbox was notorious for dirty disc errors. What about the time they had to recall millions of power cords because they were a fire hazard?

I'm glad I'm a Mac user.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by Banjo

The lesser of two evils. Believe me, I'm perfectly aware of Sony's history.

However, I see Microsoft as being the bigger threat.

Me, too.

Plenty of people here will not give Sony a free pass by any means. I'm fully well aware that they've done more than their share of nasty bullying and God knows what else. Plenty of criticism they get is well deserved.

But I see MS as being even worse than that. If you know anything about the PC market for the past 30 years, you have to know this to be true.

[BigB88]

Originally Posted by Banjo

Oh, I can agree with you on that one. Quality control is an issue at Microsoft, just look at Xbox 360. It's said that every single unit is potentially defective.

That was also the case with Microsoft Windows ME.

Even with the original Xbox, which was somewhere well-built. There was still the common problem with the DVD drive being defective. I'm not sure if anyone remember but the original Xbox was notorious for dirty disc errors. What about the time they had to recall millions of power cords because they were a fire hazard?

I'm glad I'm a Mac user.

Microsoft is NOT a hardware company, the only effective hardware they have ever made is the MOUSE! Look at the Zune, a failure, XBOX 360 could be way more popular, but it is bug ridden and for the most part defective. Now Sony is a hardware Company and one of the best. So when it comes to quality hardware choices and determining the best hardware, I will side with Sony thank you very much.

[Sielle]

It's said that every single unit is potentially defective.

Not a real fair thing to say though, as "potentially" any and all consumer products could be defective.

[Banjo]

Originally Posted by Sielle

Not a real fair thing to say though, as "potentially" any and all consumer products could be defective.

Microsoft admitted that every product may be defective because of a design flaw in the mainboard.

http://www.crn.com.au/story.aspx?CII...&src=site-marq

Then, of course... Microsoft denied it again!

http://xboxer.tv/2007/08/microsoft_d...sign_fl_1.html