Bill Hunt/Graffeo HD DVD debate video from July 2007

[DJeffries]

I don't remember which one of the HD-DVD panel members talked about Disney, but the point they were trying to make is that a 2 to 5 year old (Disney's only demographic implied by this panel) won't know the difference between watching a VHS vs DVD vs Blu-Ray so they are not a factor in the format war.

Well I'm a bit older than 5 and have bought quite a few Disney BDs. In fact I have not bought any format other than BD since I got my PS3. DVD only releases I want to see now get rented.

[darinp2]

Originally Posted by DJeffries

I don't remember which one of the HD-DVD panel members talked about Disney ...

I found it and it was an audience member.

I posted this in a different thread, but seems like it fits here too, so I'm going to repeat part of it here:

I would like to get just the last 5% or so of part 4 as I think it makes a great soundbite. Graffeo talks about how HD DVD isn't to the point where Speilberg would be okay with them releasing one of his titles. The best I can make out of what he said was:

"In regards to the Spielberg, umm ... It wasn't umm ... Steven was, wanted to wait for DVD 'til it was a higher penetration for that. Umm, right now with 100, 200 hundred thousand players and 150 thousand - he wants to wait until there's more penetration because umm you know when you do release - and Jaws was the first umm Steven Spielberg film that we came out with and at that time when we released we sold a million units. More than we ever sold on VHS. But you had to have some sort of like - I don't want to say "critical mass", because ... you have close to 3 to 4 million umm households that have players. It's too early now and I think we have to work very close with our filmmakers because they have a very integrated part in you know, in what we do. So that would answer your question on Steven."

How prophetic of him. Blu-ray has between 3 and 4 million households worldwide with players (counting the PS3) and Sony isn't giving us excuses about Steven Spielberg feeling that their chosen format isn't ready for one of his films, but instead has given us a date and specs for Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Makes me think of a guy who says that some girl won't dance with him but it has nothing to do with him, she just dance and 15 minutes later she's out on the floor with some other guy. Based on what Graffeo said and subsequent events it seems that Universal has put themselves into a situation where Spielberg doesn't want to allow them to release his films on HD DVD at this point, but will let Sony release at least one of them on Blu-ray. Maybe Universal will think about what they could do to have enough of a market that Steven might let them have a dance, so to speak, since going neutral would more than double their target market size and give them an even bigger target market than Sony has just being exclusive to Blu-ray.

As far as the comment about Disney and kids, that was some guy in the audience. I hope that Graffeo would be smarter than that and believe that he probably is from what I've seen of the video through the 5th segment now.

BTW: I watched through the time when Ken Graffeo left and I didn't see him say that GE was pressuring him. He does say that they are comfortable with the decision they made and continue to make, but he also says multiple times that the consumers will decide. So, if they do decide to go neutral they can use that last one as an out and say that the consumers have now spoken enough that Blu-ray will stick around and so they are going to support it too. He seems to make it pretty clear that Universal wants cheaper players, so if the Chinese Blu-ray players that kjack has alluded to show up then that could weaken Universal's stance and give them a reason to support Blu-ray. There is also the interactive side that he keeps mentioning, but if Blu-ray will deliver on that for at least new players that could weaken there stance there, even with not all old players supporting all the features.

--Darin

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by darinp2

BTW: I watched through the time when Ken Graffeo left and I didn't see him say that GE was pressuring him.

He does say he faces pressure "every day". But, it comes across (to me) as a general comment on getting things right, rather than specific pressure to change.

It is hilarious that days after making a comment that implies Spielberg will allow releases when he perceives it is/will have mass adoption that Spielberg OKs a release on Blu-ray.

I expect Graffeo to backpedal on his stance PDQ. His "let me tell you little people how it is" attitude really bit him in the ass there.

Gary