Archived: Ask the Insiders: Judgment Day Edition

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Paul Arnette

The HD DVD fanboys are having a field day with this, as you might imagine.

Did the HD DVD fanboys (or the media for that matter) even appreciate what exactly I was inferring here before Nikki broke the news on her website?
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...&postcount=124

^ No, they were completely clueless as Paramount wasn’t even on anyone’s radar.

Did the HD DVD fanboys even believe me when I stated this, before the official announcement?
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...1#post11353541

^ Not really…..read the following reply to me on the same page. They were more interested in “how” I knew.

Point being, the HD DVD fanboys track record (and even some HD DVD “insiders” for that matter ) on issues as confidential as this, are pathetic. As I said repeatedly before, let this play itself out in its own time. We are in a good position.

[JackStraw]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

We are in a good position.

And that's all I need to see.

[dobyblue]

Warner are appearing at CES to announce titles, nothing more.
Watch CES and look at the difference between what Universal and Paramount say and what Warner says.
They'll be announcing titles that is all, but it sure is funny to watch the HD DVD fanboys squirm about how brilliant it is that they'l be announcing titles at CES, just like they have been every week this year.
Just keep supporting Blu and you'll see Q1 and Q2 of 2008 looking very bright for Blu.

[mystiksuicide]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

As I said repeatedly before, let this play itself out in its own time. We are in a good position.

That's good enough for me!!!!

[kaliraver]

I won't be counting on CES to have WB announce their exclusivity to any format. I do think they will do it between now and 3 months max. I hope it is sooner rather than later to prevent from people wrongfully buying HD-DUD and throwing money into the trash.

[elwaylite]

Ok people, this is what we know:

*) Buy WB movies when possible because they are looking
*) They will be at the HDDVD CES both which means NOTHING(remember how the Paramount announcement went down folks)
*) Penton has stated a few times we are in good shape, so once again enjoy it and support WB and Blu


Now, can we please get over it for now and get back to insider questions. Im sure there are other things to learn than continuing to regurgitate WB questions on a daily basis.

I know PaidGeek is tied up right now, but I'd really like for the PS3 guy to show up soon.

[sj001]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

As I said repeatedly before, let this play itself out in its own time. We are in a good position.

Yes, so everyone don't panic if Warner doesn't announce anything at CES, it will happen in due time.

[PaulGo]

Have some of us become a bunch a wimps that need reassurance from Penton-Man every few days? Come on week afer week Blu-ray is dominating sales no matter what HD-DVD does. Let's have some confidence and patience!

[Braktastic]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Paul, don’t get your hopes up for any particular predetermined date as an announcement for a change in stance regarding format publishing.

Thanks for the replies, Penton. I think you're correct in that most people, myself included, are probably taking too much of a "day-trading" view of the format publishing situation. But, God-damn, it can be addicting following this format war. It's like a soap opera for guys (and girls).

In the meantime though, I am enjoying BD and buying any and all WB BD releases that interest me. Last night, I watched Blade Runner: The Final Cut, and it was cinematic bliss.

Thanks again.

Originally Posted by PaulGo

Have some of us become a bunch a wimps that need reassurance from Penton-Man every few days?

The Paramount betrayal has left some emotional scarring, yes.

[OokieSpookie]

Insiders...
Have there been any talks with Warner about their quality control ( or lack there of? )

The Potter collector's edition mishap, Blade Runner issues ( I had no issues with my Blade Runner other than disk 5 was loose and other than the Ultimate was delayed and bought the normal 5 disk until the Ultimate comes in) , and now I am told that Terminator 3 is 1080I...
We have grown used to getting the shaft with hd-dvd ports, but these latest issues are pretty sad all and all.

[The Big Blue]

^ agreed

Are there Blu-ray replication problems with Blade Runner?!

Is this a Warner thing or a Blu-ray thing? If it's not a Blu-ray thing someone needs to set the record straight.

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by The Big Blue

^ agreed

Are there Blu-ray replication problems with Blade Runner?!

Is this a Warner thing or a Blu-ray thing? If it's not a Blu-ray thing someone needs to set the record straight.

I'd like to hear an insider response on this too, but keep in my Home Theater Forum is almost as slanted toward HD DVD as AVS. HTF is just a bit more subtle. Ron Epstein, Cees, Robert Crawford and all of the other moderators are very, very pro-HD DVD, subtley anti-Blu-ray.

[BluOgre]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Did the HD DVD fanboys (or the media for that matter) even appreciate what exactly I was inferring here before Nikki broke the news on her website?
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...&postcount=124

^ No, they were completely clueless as Paramount wasn’t even on anyone’s radar.

Did the HD DVD fanboys even believe me when I stated this, before the official announcement?
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...1#post11353541

^ Not really…..read the following reply to me on the same page. They were more interested in “how” I knew.

Point being, the HD DVD fanboys track record (and even some HD DVD “insiders” for that matter ) on issues as confidential as this, are pathetic. As I said repeatedly before, let this play itself out in its own time. We are in a good position.

If my interpertation is off forgive me but it seems to me that Warner is planning on waiting past January before making a decision.

As a retailer I can't say how disappointed I am. I was planning on bringing a sell thru section for Blu-ray starting next year (after the announcement). The problem I have with them delaying is they are looking for excuses to remain neutral and extend the war rather than looking for reasons to end it. First it was wait till we can get the big titles to compete with Blu-ray, things will change (hence they bought out Paramount). Then it was wait for the $200 player to change the tide (which they currently stand at and even had $99 players). Now that NOTHING has changed sales wise, it's wait until after christmas.

If Warner is looking for an excuse to delay going exclusive they are always going to find one. Heck I predict the next excuse HD's side will be they need to wait till the 4th qtr sales because that's when the biggest titles/sales happen and that the sales trend can change if we just wait to see what the big summer 2008 titles can do in the 4th qtr (like Dark Knight)

I'm still supporting Blu-ray rental wise but I'm not going to bring in any kind of sell thru until the stuidos can get their **** together and figure out the more confusion the worse this format is going to get. How does that saying go......something like Warner needs to **** or get off the pot.

[AndreasSt]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

We are in a good position.

That sounds good. Now we should really enjoy the holidays and the movies we bought.

Too bad, my holidays won't be long enough to watch all of the >20 BD I haven't seen yet.

[Longshot]

Penton, Max or Wicki,

Dave Vaughn is claiming on HDD that WB's nuetral titles are very close in sales. A lot closer than anyone on the outside knows. Infact he say's "its' a coin flip". This just dosen't jive with the numbers we have seen released. Is there anything to this?

[stockstar1138]

there is some truth to this. PE is very close with a slight edge to hd dvd, harry potter is very close with a slight edge to blu-ray. these are two very high profile hd releases from WB. I think some other titles like We Are Marshall have been very close. However, there are some titles that aren't close at all like Ocean's and 300. If WB gets royalties from HD DVD and is getting "incentives" to stay with HD DVD, these numbers for some of these high profile releases like Potter and PE aren't too convincing that blu-ray is the clear winner.

[Alan Gordon]

Originally Posted by Longshot

Penton, Max or Wicki,

Dave Vaughn is claiming on HDD that WB's nuetral titles are very close in sales. A lot closer than anyone on the outside knows. Infact he say's "its' a coin flip". This just dosen't jive with the numbers we have seen released. Is there anything to this?

Earlier this year, Sony let a sales chart "slip" out.

Insiders, PLEASE don't try to guard these numbers that hard during the first week of January...

~Alan

[Icemage]

Penton-Man:

Any comment on this about-face (good news, but bizarre) from Digital Playground?

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=27922

Originally Posted by Joon, director and co-founder of Digital Playground

Joone, Digital Playground Co-Founder and award-winning Director comments, "The Blu-ray format is an excellent fit for 'Pirates' as this feature offers a multitude of bonus features. The format's extra capacity, and advanced video and audio qualities, allows Digital Playground to deliver an unparalleled HD 1080p experience to consumers."

Back in January, he had this to say about their decision to go with HD DVD:

http://www.about-electronics.eu/2007...d-with-hd-dvd/

Originally Posted by Joon

Joone: “My first thought was to go with Blu-ray, but Sony doesn’t want this kind of content on their format and their answer was no. It’s reminiscent of the Betamax versus VHS battle back in the 80s when Sony said exactly the same thing. You think they’d have learned a lesson from that.” (…)

Joon: “The adult industry took a big hit with the internet and people downloading their porn for free. HD DVD adds value and quality that the internet can’t provide. The other adult companies will follow us onto HD DVD when they can because they’ll see how much it’s doing for us.”

Any insight on this about-face? Did they perhaps not sell as many copies as they were hoping on HD DVD?

[MerrickG]

Hey insiders,

I know a lot of ass kissing is going on towards Warner right now, but how many screw ups are we going to have to deal with?

First, they put HD-DVDs in the bluray boxsets for Harry Potter

Blade Runner is in short supply AND some people have reported that the 5th disc is simply a copy of the 1st disc (This was not the case for me I might add)

And NOW, it has been confirmed that Terminator 3 when the IME is not enabled, the film plays at a resolution of 1080i.
https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=774

I know you all have given assurances that Warner is fine in their standing with bluray, but how are we supposed to believe that Warner is taking blu seriously with these kinds of problems happening back to back to back?

I apologize for sounding like a jerk and I know its not your job to babysit us and Warner, but I would greatly appreciate a theory as to how they can make this many mistakes as of late.

[scott1256ca]

Penton

Do you know what criteria WB is going to use to decide whether or not to go exclusive or remain neutral? If so, how much can you tell us?

Do you know if WB has any kind of timetable? If so, can you tell us anything about that?

Have there been many discussions involving cash (from either side) for their allegience?

Also, on a lighter note, are the industry insiders aware of "Penton-man"? If so, are they happy or sad with the info you provide and when you provide it? Do they suspect who you are?

Thanks