The rumor is that Warner is coming aboard soon

[sparksj]

Don't expect for an anouncement to come during CES. Can you imagine the riot that the HD DVD fans would start? If I were an executive, and valued the safety of my staff, I would wait until everyone was home safe before making that announcmenet. Otherwise it would be flames and pichforks... Shrek the fourth.

[dobyblue]

I just spoke to my contact at Warner and they would not say anything about changing their stance.

They did however say that everyone in the top ranks thinks that rdjam is a complete douchebag.

[Marcusarilius]

Originally Posted by sparksj

Don't expect for an anouncement to come during CES. Can you imagine the riot that the HD DVD fans would start? If I were an executive, and valued the safety of my staff, I would wait until everyone was home safe before making that announcmenet. Otherwise it would be flames and pichforks... Shrek the fourth.

Thanks for the wonderful visuals of pitchforks and burning torches. Then maybe we WILL get Frankenstein afterall... eventually.

[stockstar1138]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

I do not have the "personallysitting in on the meeting" confirmation, but I have the next best thing. Nothing has been signed yet. And nothing will be signed by Warner, should they decide to go exclusive (likely) until after the holidays. Pre-emptive strike- If it doesn't happen at CES, it doesn't mean it won't at some point after CES. Right now Warner knows they're the swing vote, and at the very least they want to milk it for everything they can. No one is going to make any new offers till after they see the Christmas numbers

gotcha. thanks wicky, it does make sense that warner wouldn't want to sign anything until post-xmas numbers are in (i think we know how those are going to be). it seems to me that everything is pretty much being set up for a deal to be signed in between CES and xmas. am i right on that? as you said it is likely they are going exclusive to one side and given the recent comments out of the industry it appears they will go blu/

[stockstar1138]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

I just spoke to my contact at Warner and they would not say anything about changing their stance.

They did however say that everyone in the top ranks thinks that rdjam is a complete douchebag.

did they say they wern't discussing it or did they re-affirm their neutrality?

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by stockstar1138

did they say they wern't discussing it or did they re-affirm their neutrality?

No, they will not comment on this at all - in fact, they're not commenting on anything, not even upcoming release dates or specs which is normally discussed quite freely.

It's a tight ship right now over there.

[Esox50]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

They did however say that everyone in the top ranks thinks that rdjam is a complete douchebag.

Classic. Are sure rdjam isn't amir's made up "AVS buddy"?
AmirM = speaking on behalf of MS
rdjam = anonymous alter ego of Amir (i.e. douchebag) & alias that allows him to be a complete moron with no fallout.

[richard lichtenfelt]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

No, they will not comment on this at all - in fact, they're not commenting on anything, not even upcoming release dates or specs which is normally discussed quite freely.

It's a tight ship right now over there.

This further leads me to believe that changes are coming soon.
Sometimes silence speaks the loudest!

[Neo65]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

To quash some of this

1- No deal has been signed by Warner with either side, nor is one pending any minute now

2- Batman, V and the rest of them had been delayed for profile 1.1, nothing more, nothing less. Batman will be targeted for the theatrical or home video release of Dark Knight, not before. The other titles will probably come before it does

That's good enough for me. Curious thing, about rumors. Ok, back to watching paint dry.

[Esox50]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

It's a tight ship right now over there.

I would imagine. Well, let them know my 5 Harry Potters shipped from Amazon today. Ordered Planet Earth. And next week, T3 ships.

Doing what I can to help the cause.

PS: Unforgiven and Xmas Vacation are on the way from the BOGO. Almost forgot about those. Oh well, I own a PS3 as my BD player, so none of these titles count anyway, right?

[BillCable]

Originally Posted by richard lichtenfelt

This further leads me to believe that changes are coming soon.

And I as well. And the "no decision has been made" quote from earlier means nothing more than "we're not announcing any decision yet." The writing sure is on the wall, though, isn't it?

[Manco]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

No, they will not comment on this at all - in fact, they're not commenting on anything, not even upcoming release dates or specs which is normally discussed quite freely.

It's a tight ship right now over there.

It's hard to talk when you're in the throws of pinching an HD-DVD loaf.

[Crackbone]

Well, I would believe that based on the new HD DVD Bogo @ Best Buy (12-16 to 12-22) and sudden price reduction on the MSRP of new releases, HD DVD has a benchmark they have to hit and right now they are coming up short.

We aren't going to know either way till after the holiday season.

Best Buy Bogo - HD DVD and BD

High Definition Discs at $29.99 Each or Where Marked:

Buy 1, Get 1 Free // Purchases must be made on same receipt

Free Discs must be of equal or lesser value


The Bourne Ultimatum HD-DVD

Blades Of Glory HD-DVD

I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry HD-DVD

Knocked Up: Unrated HD-DVD

Disturbia HD-DDVD

Mr. Bean’s Holiday HD-DVD

Shrek The Third HD-DVD

Evan Almighty HD-DVD

Transformers HD-DVD

Harry Potter & Order Of The Phoenix HD-DVD >>>> $32.99

The Departed HD-DVD >>>> $34.99

Shooter HD-DVD >>>> $34.99

Ocean’s Thirteen HD-DVD >>>> $34.99

300 HD-DVD >>>> $34.99

Crank Blu-Ray

300 Blu-Ray

28 Weeks Later Blu-Ray

Spider-man 3 Blu-Ray

The Condemned Blu-Ray

Hostel: Part II Blu-Ray

Ocean’s Thirteen Blu-Ray

Underworld: Evolution Blu-Ray

The Departed Blu-Ray

SAW III Blu-Ray

Harry Potter & Order Of The Phoenix Blu-Ray >>>> $32.99

Mr. Brooks Blu-Ray >>>> $34.99

Fantastic 4: Rise Of The Silver Surfer Blu-Ray >>>> $34.99

Mr. & Mrs. Smith Blu-Ray >>>> $34.99

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[stockstar1138]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

No, they will not comment on this at all - in fact, they're not commenting on anything, not even upcoming release dates or specs which is normally discussed quite freely.

It's a tight ship right now over there.

this is very good news IMHO.

[Esox50]

Originally Posted by Manco

It's hard to talk when you're in the throws of pinching an HD-DVD loaf.

Quick, send some Metamucil over to WB!!!!

[jason_grumpy]

Originally Posted by Steverhcp02

whoa whoa whoa, you mean Warner didnt want to announce the biggest deal of home media through Mr Lindich's personal e-mail.......no wayz.

Remember when the PS3 wasnt getting a price cut. And when the PSP wasnt being redesigned. And when the 360 malfunctions were "isolated". Ahhhhhhh i remember THOSE days.

Lets keep it simple. Warner's stance on the format war will change not because of deal and large suitcases worth of money (see subsequent fallout of said type of deals with Paramount/Dreamworks). The question is whether Warner wishes to embrace HDM or kill it. Looking at their track record of releases, I'd say they want it to succeed.

You are going to hear denials from spokespersons or upper management related to Warner until their intentions are announced publicly ... WHEN THEY WANT TO ANNOUNCE IT! I wouldn't be surprised if this type of news is under NDA.

Nor are you going to hear any different for those in the know, as all of them are saying that Warner -- not them -- are the ones to make the announcement when they want to make it.

Right now the official stance from Warner is that 'We are neutral'. This will not change until the press release. Nor is the GM of a company going to send an email to an outside source stating otherwise. I believe this was stated within the first pages of this rumor. Instead, connect the dots, look for smoke, and figure out the math.

[The Don]

they probably want to maximize profits from the HP series...

it's smart...

[Anthony P]

My point is that instead of trying to construct a conspiracy theory, we should focus on what we know for sure. What we know about Warner's HDM situation is that they are neutral and have not announced any plans to change that. I am just as hopeful that Warner goes Blu exclusive. But I am not holding my breath.

What we know for sure is that it is insane to make a public announcement just before one of your big titles will come out that you are dropping a format it will be coming out on. WB (or anyone else) would make an official announcement when the time is less critical for them, a long time after the decision was made and when the pipeline is more or less clear. It is the same reason no one goes there will be a price drop in 2 months, you don’t want people to think “maybe I should wait for the price drop”. I don’t think like Paramount that WB will call back movies or destroy or put in storage extra copies, but there most likely won’t be new movies coming out on HD DVD and it will just be left over stock getting distributed.

[Anthony P]

No, they will not comment on this at all - in fact, they're not commenting on anything, not even upcoming release dates or specs which is normally discussed quite freely.

well what do you expect, I think it would be quite obvious if they gave dates for the BDs but not the HD DVDs (then again I am sure some HD DVD fan boys would say that it is because they are planning to go HD DVD exclusive and it is part of a surprise attack)

[krispyjala]

Originally Posted by richard lichtenfelt

Sometimes silence speaks the loudest!

I totally agree! Well, we're hoping for the best, but who knows what's really going on hehe...they could just be overly cautious after the rumor. But kinda makes you think that THE announcement might be made soon...