The rumor is that Warner is coming aboard soon

[yakman]

I'm way too leery of the timing of this "rumor" for it to be true. WB would not put this out 5 days before HP, the first big test of format war since 300.

[tru2blu707]

Originally Posted by jkwest

No, Dave....you are wrong!! It has to output 1080p..this the huge leap for getting Blu-ray players and people to meet. The HDTV market this year is exploding..and people are putting their money into the higher resolution hands down over the "older" res of 720p.

This is the fine line that Blu-ray has over HD DVD. We need them to stick with this. It is detrimental to the format war, IMO.

1080p FTW

[J6P]

Originally Posted by The Don

Blu boasts 1080p and that is one of the few selling points to purchasing a 1080p HD set...

this player needs 1080p IMO to really make a point..

I agree. 1080p throughout the entire product line is a strong Blu-ray asset, and I'd be loathe to lose it at this point, just when we are set to close the dedicated player gap through brute force alone.

Do whatever else you have to do to cut costs, but keep the 1080p if nothing else.

[jkwest]

I'm going to do something ballzy....I'll report back in a bit.

[DaViD Boulet]

No, Dave....you are wrong!! It has to output 1080p..this the huge leap for getting Blu-ray players and people to meet. The HDTV market this year is exploding..and people are putting their money into the higher resolution hands down over the "older" res of 720p.

This is the fine line that Blu-ray has over HD DVD. We need them to stick with this. It is detrimental to the format war, IMO.

Since BD software is flagged for easy output of 1080p24, it shouldn't be any more expensive to offer it. Keeping advanced audio decoding out of the player might help with costs, however.

[Rob Tomlin]

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

can we forget about politness for a moment and just try to look at this with the eyes of reason?

Think of how this looks at AVS... a bunch of Blu-ray fanboys blatantly ignoring the mods *reasonable and clear* posting guidelines to keep rumors out of a "news thread" they want to keep fact-based.

How much do I need to say? If we want to criticize the HD DVD fan-boys at AVS for their childish posting strategies, let's start by avoiding that same pattern ourselves.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by JTK

I'd love to see this rumor about a $299 Sony BD player (possibly a current one) marked down to that price for the holidays. That needs to happen.

Agreed!

[WickyWoo]

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

What "people"?

dave

Bill has people, Dr. Adam Jankhe, Todd Doogan, and other contributors

Bill's the main guy and frontman is all

[olarmy96]

The problem is that they delete it out of the rumors thread, the HDTV Software forum, and the Blu-ray software forum. Maybe it doesn't belong in the news only thread, but it's a legitimate article and belongs somewhere.

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

can we forget about politness for a moment and just try to look at this with the eyes of reason?

Think of how this looks at AVS... a bunch of Blu-ray fanboys blatantly ignoring the mods *reasonable and clear* posting guidelines to keep rumors out of a "news thread" they want to keep fact-based.

How much do I need to say? If we want to criticize the HD DVD fan-boys at AVS for their childish posting strategies, let's start by avoiding that same pattern ourselves.

[spicynacho]

Here is a sanatized version of the article if someone wants to go post it at AVS, it probably won't get deleted.

Next-Gen DVDs: Advantage, HD DVD
It's a fight with more plot twists and intrigue than a Hollywood thriller. For two years now, rival camps have been battling over which new DVD format will prevail: Blu-ray, which is backed by Sony (SNE), or HD DVD, which is being championed by Toshiba (TOSBF), Microsoft (MSFT), and many others. Both technologies promise crisper video that looks better on the new generation of flat-panel, high-definition TVs. And the winner stands to control a lucrative new market worth billions. Each side has been competing to win the backing of the major movie studios. Only Warner Bros. (TWX), which currently uses both formats, is still playing hard to get.

Now, with the Jan. 7 International Consumer Electronics Show fast approaching, Toshiba is keen to announce they have won over Hollywood's last holdout. In the meantime, they are falling over themselves to woo Warner. While either side could prevail, the Toshiba group has suddenly emerged as the front-runner.

Why? Because this summer the HD DVD companies signed up Paramount Pictures (VIA) and DreamWorks Animation (DWA). "The rumor is that Warner is coming aboard soon," says Michael Burns, vice-chairman, which makes its movies available on the format. "That will make HD DVD stay in this game." (Sony declined to comment, and Toshiba only would say it is "in regular contact with the studios.")

From the beginning, the two camps' overarching strategy has been the same: getting access to as many movies as possible. It isn't hard to see why. Consumers will buy the new technology only if they believe most of the films they want will be available.

Warner is a prolific film factory, releasing as many as 30 pictures a year, including those produced by sister studio New Line Cinema. Persuading it to sign an exclusive deal would give the HD DVD crowd about 50% of DVD market share. That could prompt the other studios to abandon Blu Ray.

WOOING WARNER

The battle has heated up since HD DVD got Paramount and DreamWorks Animation. Both sides have been beating a path to Warner's Burbank (Calif.) doorstep. Yoshihide Fujii, the head of Toshiba's HD DVD business in Japan, has made three trips to the U.S. since the summer, say those with knowledge of the situation. While Andrew House, Sony's chief marketing officer, has been pressing the Blu-ray case.

Toshiba is pressing the case that because its technology is cheaper, it will more quickly become a mass-market product. According to the DVD Release Report, an industry newsletter, the suggested retail price of an HD DVD is $31.74, nearly $2 less than Blu-ray's suggested price. (Retailers traditionally cut the price to less than $29.) Toshiba also has been cutting the price of its players, slashing its entry-level machine to $299 earlier this year.

It was price that prompted DreamWorks Animation and Paramount to throw in their lot with HD DVD earlier this summer. (Like Warner, Paramount had previously backed both formats.) "The game-changer for us was the hardware costs dramatically coming down to where it could succeed broadly for the consumer," says DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. "In addition, the software manufacturing costs in the future would be significantly lower than Blu-ray." Of course, it didn't hurt that Toshiba agreed to license DreamWorks' Shrek character for marketing purposes.

The Blu-ray faction insists there is no burning reason for it to match HD DVD's prices.

Warner isn't talking, but people close to the situation say the studio is waiting to see which group sells more of the new-fangled DVD players this holiday season. "Warner wants one of the two sides to make a commitment to getting this format into as many hands as possible," says a studio executive with knowledge of its thinking.

So far Toshiba has eked out a lead. According to industry tracker Adams Media Research, by the end of this year as many as 578,000 U.S. households will own HD DVD players, compared with 370,000 that have Blu-ray players. Adams also estimates there are 300,000 more HD DVD players in circulation inside Microsoft Xbox game consoles.

Grover is Los Angeles bureau chief for BusinessWeek. Edwards is a correspondent in BusinessWeek's Silicon Valley bureau .

*edited for content
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine...eek+exclusives

[mikem471]

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

Regarding AVS,

guys, STOP posting this *rumor* in that thread. Just stop....

Say please, if not, f*ck off!

[Paden]

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

can we forget about politness for a moment and just try to look like adults?

Think of how this looks at AVS... a bunch of Blu-ray fanboys blatantly ignoring the mods *reasonable and clear* posting guidelines to keep rumors out of a "news thread" they want to keep fact-based.

How much do I need to say? If we want to criticize the HD DVD fan-boys at AVS for their childish posting strategies, let's start by avoiding that same pattern ourselves.

Like I said, I'm done there for now. However, it is news and belongs on that site somewhere. This isn't someone overhearing some guy at a coffee shop, this is a legit news service printing an article about what the #2 man at a studio is hearing in the industry. An industry AVS has forums to discuss. It isn't childish at all to point this out.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

Bill has people, Dr. Adam Jankhe, Todd Doogan, and other contributors

Bill's the main guy and frontman is all

^^ That'll work.

[DaViD Boulet]

Like I said, I'm done there for now. However, it is news and belongs on that site somewhere. This isn't someone overhearing some guy at a coffee shop, this is a legit news service printing an article about what the #2 man at a studio is hearing in the industry. An industry AVS has forums to discuss. It isn't childish at all to point this out.

I agree with you personally that it's "news". But it's technically "news about a rumor", and if that counts as a "rumor" in the eyes of AVS mods, they have the right to filter content as they wish.

Now, the fact that they ALSO keep it out of the rumor thread... *that* is a problem! Post it there all you wish!

[Paden]

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

I agree with you personally that it's "news". But it's technically "news about a rumor", and if that counts as a "rumor" in the eyes of AVS mods, they have the right to filter content as they wish.

Now, the fact that they ALSO keep it out of the rumor thread... *that* is a problem! Post it there all you wish!

Thanks for your permission.

[gearyt]

OK, I want to know who's bringing the coffee and donuts
to CES BDA Booth for a unified cheer !!!

[galz]

Originally Posted by jackinbox

I think the fact that AVS is preventing anyone from discussing this issue is very newsworthy. This isn't just a simple case of a flame war, this is a legitimate article from Business Week.

No it's a rumor until Warner confirms it. And what do we care what they are discussing on AVS or allowing? We aren't at war with AVS, they are thier own separate web site that has nothing to do with Blu-ray.com.

[DaViD Boulet]

Thanks for your permission.

You're welcome.

When I post at AVS, I do my best to keep within the guidelines of the threads... though I've been known to receive a threat or two myself for my bashing of Amir (back when I posted at AVS).

Sorry if my abrupt comment sounded rude. I'm just trying to do my part to help keep the BD representation at AVS looking credible. We're all on the same team here, and shouldn't mind some candid remarks if it helps our cause.

[Ispoke]

Guy's there's a thread for AVS rants in off topic, please take it over there.

[HeavyHitter]

I just read Bill Hunt's latest article on this. He didn't sound as confident about the rumor.

http://digitalbits.com/#mytwocents

[Paden]

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

You're welcome.

Sorry if my abrupt comment sounded rude. I'm just trying to do my part to help keep the BD representation at AVS looking credible. We're all on the same team here, and shouldn't mind some candid remarks if it helps our cause.

I don't have any issue with you at all. I think your posts here are generally insightful and well written. Something about this issue just got under my skin as I've been following/reading AVS for a long time and I'm now posting here. The hypocrisy just really stood out to me on this one.

Peace.