Archived: Insiders Thread

[BTBuck1]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

They start yammering this every 3 months

Disney wants BD+, Disney wants region coding, Disney likes BD-J just fine

In other words, HD DVD has nothing to offer them, and 2 dealbreakers.

Disney does BOGO, Almost all the BD commercials on TV i see are from Disney, and They have a mall tour going...does this sound like a studio looking for the door?

IMO Disney is Blu-ray every bit as much as Sony & Panasonic.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Beta-guy

Blu-ray event? yikes where have I been? I know that Oct 31st is when the deadlines for new BD player to be Profile 1.1 compatible, is there something else?

There is an event being hosted by Disney for journalists to announce Ratatouille. Sony is going to take the opportunity to host something at the same event called the "Blu-ray lounge". I suspect that about 50 or so people will attend…….i.e. invitation only.

It’s still up in the air if I will be there.
I’ve got to do some serious work in the trenches on Monday and Tuesday, plus I fear some smart alec may just show a digital photo of me from the Halloween party on Friday at the Bunny House.

[Esox50]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

I still don’t understand all the recent consternation regarding the idea that WB is imminently wavering in their support of Blu-ray.

The usual suspects over at AVS are doing their usual "innocent", "We didn't hear an announcement as to whether WB renewed with the BDA by 10/31/07". Then another chimed in with some confirmation biased interpretation regarding a loaded question that a rather low/mid level WB-Canada employee couldn't comment on (or more likely didn't know).

Whallah...some people pick up this FUD and start running with it. OH MY GOD, WB IS DROPPING BD. LOL

It's crazy. This little fud campaign started shortly after the info came out that Transformers didn't "win" the Nielsen rating/rastio for HD DVD for the week. They needed to deflect the news to something potentially bad for BD to get people off the subject of how their big savior, Transformers, lost to a well timed BOGO by the BDA.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Esox50

The usual suspects over at AVS are doing their usual "innocent", "We didn't hear an announcement as to whether WB renewed with the BDA by 10/31/07". Then another chimed in with some confirmation biased interpretation regarding a loaded question that a rather low/mid level WB-Canada employee couldn't comment on (or more likely didn't know).

Whallah...some people pick up this FUD and start running with it. OH MY GOD, WB IS DROPPING BD. LOL

It's crazy. This little fud campaign started shortly after the info came out that Transformers didn't "win" the Nielsen rating/rastio for HD DVD for the week. They needed to deflect the news to something potentially bad for BD to get people off the subject of how their big savior, Transformers, lost to a well timed BOGO by the BDA.

Why am I not surprised ?
Thanks for the background info.

[Spankey]

I’ve got to do some serious work in the trenches on Monday and Tuesday

Hopefully not for damage control?

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

paidgeek: I know that you are not in the PS3 group, but do you know if Sony is working on an IR/BT accessory for the PS3? If you don't know and you have contacts can you ask them to look into it? I am sure there is an extremely large market out there for such a thing.

I think the expectation is that this is being covered by the aftermarket companies.

[darinp2]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

I’ve got to do some serious work in the trenches on Monday and Tuesday ...

I'm guessing you won't be able to say anything, but I would love to hear Universal's opinion of BD+ now and how they can justify asking the US government for help fighting piracy at the same time as they try to kill the format that put more in to try to fight piracy, and push for the format that the professional pirates definitely want to win (just look at what the guys behind AnyDVD (Slysoft I believe) say and how much they want HD DVD to win).

Maybe that could be their new slogan or something. HD DVD, the format supported by professional pirates everywhere. I'm sure the professional pirates in the know love hearing how easy it will be for them to replicate HD DVDs, and I bet they fear a world where they won't be able to use high density ROM discs (even if the market isn't big enough yet). Especially in countries where pretty much the whole market is these professional pirates, since the studios haven't been able to compete with them there.

--Darin

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by darinp2

I'm guessing you won't be able to say anything, but I would love to hear Universal's opinion of BD+ now and how they can justify asking the US government for help fighting piracy at the same time as they try to kill the format that put more in to try to fight piracy, and push for the format that the professional pirates definitely want to win (just look at what the guys behind AnyDVD (Slysoft I believe) say and how much they want HD DVD to win).

Maybe that could be their new slogan or something. HD DVD, the format supported by professional pirates everywhere. I'm sure the professional pirates in the know love hearing how easy it will be for them to replicate HD DVDs, and I bet they fear a world where they won't be able to use high density ROM discs (even if the market isn't big enough yet). Especially in countries where pretty much the whole market is these professional pirates, since the studios haven't been able to compete with them there.

--Darin

Fantastic inquiry! I repeat the question.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Digitalspice

Paidgeek, Did you have any info on this?

Thanks

It will be the same disc.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Dofflan

Paidgeek,

Have SPE announced all their titles for December yet? There are som great titles coming indeed but it feels like a slowdown in releases compared to other months.

And does anyone know what happened to A Bridge to Far, Battle for Britain, Ronin and Red Dawn? Seems there have been more cancelled/delayed titles in Q4 than new announcement lately.

Thank you insiders for all the great input and support here.

Let me know what you show as being announced for December and I will let you know if your list is complete.

[depooter]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

Let me know what you show as being announced for December and I will let you know if your list is complete.

20 Million Miles from Earth
Superbad
Celine Dion
Rent
Legend of Zorro

[JAGUAR1977]

Do Blu-ray have any plans to counter a $169 HD-DVD player this Q4.

Even Blu-ray insiders have to admit a $200+ price differnce is a little too much for comfort?

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by J6P

Paidgeek,

I imagine this isn't your area (and I'm positive you have bigger fish to fry) but here goes anyway. Would it be possible to bury some of those excellent Bravia commercials down in the Special Features menu of a Sony release here and there? I'm talking about the frequently forwarded internet sensations such as Pyramid, Paint, Play-Doh and Balls:

http://www.bravia-advert.com/commerc...tcommhigh.html

I for one would love to see a reference-grade encode of these on my set at home.

Thanks for your time!

I think this is a great idea. I'll see if we can make it happen... If so, I'll let you know what title to look for it on.

[darinp2]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

I think this is a great idea. I'll see if we can make it happen... If so, I'll let you know what title to look for it on.

Great to hear it. I think the one with the blue lasers shining down on different things would be great to have in high definition. And some of the stuff with the PS3 morphing with different things it does (like a character coming out from Heavenly Sword) would be great too.

--Darin

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by JAGUAR1977

Do Blu-ray have any plans to counter a $169 HD-DVD player this Q4.

Even Blu-ray insiders have to admit a $200+ price differnce is a little too much for comfort?

The player pricing debate is tough for me because I see it as a race to the bottom. If hardware companies can't make a dime (or in fact have to subsidize) in order to sell players, then where do they go from here? We have a symbiotic relationship between hardware and software. The fact that a companies pride can get the better of their sensibilities is a pity. Is a $200 price difference so much compared with the rest of the investements you make in your display or audio reproduction chain? To get a good HD video/audio experience you can easily drop $5K or more, does it make sense to fret over $200 for the device that will feed that system? I don't think so...

[WickyWoo]

Do Blu-ray have any plans to counter a $169 HD-DVD player this Q4.

It's only for 5 hours on black friday, then it goes back up to $299 at noon

[Rob Tomlin]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

The player pricing debate is tough for me because I see it as a race to the bottom. If hardware companies can't make a dime (or in fact have to subsidize) in order to sell players, then where do they go from here? We have a symbiotic relationship between hardware and software. The fact that a companies pride can get the better of their sensibilities is a pity. Is a $200 price difference so much compared with the rest of the investements you make in your display or audio reproduction chain? To get a good HD video/audio experience you can easily drop $5K or more, does it make sense to fret over $200 for the device that will feed that system? I don't think so...

Bingo!!!

[cdblu]

I have a question for PG. I'm a big Seinfeld fan and I remember when seasons 1-3 came out there was a special puffy shirt edition. And recently I saw season 9 with the coffee table book about coffee tables. My question is: will the BD version have any of these goodies?

Thanx PG! And all the other insiders!

[fitprod]

Um... Not to step on Paidgeek toes, but shouldn't Seinfeld actually be scheduled for Blu-ray before we start worrying about the "goodies?"

fitprod

[bigmf]

I know this is probably out of the insiders' wheelhouses, but do you think we Caanadians might see a price correction on movie discs anytime soon? The prices for in stores are too high compared to the U.S. prices given current exchange rates? Any input would be great. I know it has already come on the PS3 and its games and it is very appreciated there.

(I've always wanted to turn that little joke around like that - I hope no one takes any offense.)