Will Toshiba be sued?

[Slec]

So someone invests in a technology that does not have full support of the industry. Not only do they not have full support, but the support is split with a rival format (with greater support). Subsequently, and predictably, this technology goes under

Some greedy @$$ lawyer would probably try, but no court will take this seriously. All the stuff we complained about (payoffs, price slashing) can be used as proof they did everything they could to make their format viable. It's the same reason the press releases are so antisceptic... CYA

[Xerious]

Originally Posted by Slec

So someone invests in a technology that does not have full support of the industry. Not only do they not have full support, but the support is split with a rival format (with greater support). Subsequently, and predictably, this technology goes under

Some greedy @$$ lawyer would probably try, but no court will take this seriously. All the stuff we complained about (payoffs, price slashing) can be used as proof they did everything they could to make their format viable. It's the same reason the press releases are so antisceptic... CYA

that reminds me of this...

To Whom It May Concern:



I would like to make a formal request that you investigate possible anti-competition violations in a recent move by Warner Brothers to drop the HD DVD movie disc format in favor of exclusive support of it's main competitor, the Bluray disc format - which is rumored to have been rewarded by a $500 Million incentive from the Bluray Disc Association..



The reason for my request are as follows:



1) There are rumors that Warner was given incentives of between $500 Million, $620 Million, or even higher in exchange for their decision to abandon HD DVD. Fox is also rumored to have been rewarded. Before the move, about 50% of studio content was available on the HD DVD format. But Warner's decision reduces this greatly as they are the largest studio.



1-b) Although one report states that a Warner official denied the rumor, there is no direct quote of the denial, and other coverage of the executive's statements make note of the absence of any direct denials, including the NY Times, which noted he actually declined to deny them. Even the Sony chairman avoided a denial of the rumors of the payoff.



2) This money is rumored to have been paid to Warner by the Bluray Disc Association, the organizing body of the Bluray disc, which is the direct competitor to the HD DVD format which was dropped.



3) The move has been widely interpreted by the industry as an attempt to deal a "death blow" to the HD DVD format and eliminate the competitor. According to various observers it has been an attempt at a mortal blow that is designed to be the beginning of the end for the HD DVD format, if allowed to stand.



4) The move effectively means that Warner customers looking to buy Hi Definition optical media will only be able to do so on Bluray disc after May 2008.



5) The move means that almost 1 Million existing customers on HD DVD will no longer be able to get Warner or New Line movies on HD DVD after May 2008.



6) HD DVD dedicated players, drives bought for the sole purpose of playing movies, have been variously selling at entry prices of $99, $129 and $199. These have been far more affordable than Bluray players, which have sold for closer to $300 at the low-end due to the "discounting" obsolete "initial profile" players. If HD DVD is eliminated, the HD consumer may be forced to pay higher prices for up to date BD players.



7) As of late 2007, HD DVD dedicated players, bought specifically for the purpose of playing movies, had been estimated to have sold about 900,000 units (including 296,000 "add-on" dedicated players), compared to 350,000 equivalent units by Bluray. I do not include Playstation 3 game consoles, as these are said to have been mostly purchased primarily to play games, not movies.



7.b) The Same estimates put HD DVD standalones in Europe at 150,000 units, compared with 50,000 Bluray standalones.



8) It is said by insiders that the Bluray disc format has far less disc manufacturing capacity than the HD DVD disc format, which could mean that either less discs would be available to consumers if Bluray were the only format, and/or that the disc manufacturing constraints could possibly cause the Bluray companies to maintain higher pricing on Bluray players for the foreseeable future until they have installed more replication capacity.



9) The Bluray format is a proprietary disc format invented and mostly controlled (through the BDA) by Sony Corp. Sony also controls various studios under the Sony Pictures umbrella, such as Columbia Tristar, and also controls 20% of the MGM Studios company. I am concerned that if HD DVD were to be killed off by the Warner decision, Sony may have an unfair advantage. I am also concerned about these rumors as I fear it may indicate that Sony and the BDA may have exercised an unfair advantage in eliminating HD DVD from the marketplace.



10) I am a consumer who would be harmed by the event. I believe that there are almost a million buyers of HD DVD players. We may likely be forced to purchase more expensive Bluray players were HD DVD eliminated. Otherwise, we would no longer be able to get content from Warner on HD DVD - or possible any studios at all if HD DVD were to be eliminated by this action, rendering our purchase of little value.



11) I also believe that were HD DVD to be eliminated, many, many, millions of consumers may have less choice and would likely pay higher prices for HD players in the future.



I ask that you investigate these rumors that Warner and Fox were paid "incentives" in consideration for their decisions against HD DVD, and for the very damaging timing of Warner's public statement on the matter 2 days before an important press conference they were to attend jointly with HD DVD.



Yours sincerely,







________________ (name, date)

lol, i wonder if the justice department will take this letter seriously? stupid HD DVD fans.

[Slec]

Originally Posted by Xerious

that reminds me of this...



lol, i wonder if the justice department will take this letter seriously? stupid HD DVD fans.

That's the funniest thing I've read in awhile. Where'd you find that? Man I wish the justice department would investigate all unsubstantiated rumours.

"I heard this happened, and although I have no connections in the industry and there has been no substantiation (please don't look and see the side I support recently did this as well), I think it your duty to investigate this AND rule in my favor"

How embarrasing...

[Xerious]

Originally Posted by Slec

That's the funniest thing I've read in awhile. Where'd you find that? Man I wish the justice department would investigate all unsubstantiated rumours.

"I heard this happened, and although I have no connections in the industry and there has been no substantiation (please don't look and see the side I support recently did this as well), I think it your duty to investigate this AND rule in my favor"

How embarrasing...

www.savehddvd.com

if all the retards on the net were gathered together under one domain name, it would be there. the guy who wrote that comes across like a whiny little school girl who's barbie doll got run over.

[meckel]

In today's world someone will try. If it would see the inside of a courtroom is a different story

[Sonny]

There leaving a few things out of there dumb f**k letter......like say ParaToshiSoft..... Screw lawsuits.

[cajun1975]

Originally Posted by meckel

In today's world someone will try. If it would see the inside of a courtroom is a different story

You can bet someone will indeed try. I'd say before the year is up.

[pokerface]

They can always try to sue, but a suit will never hold up. The specs were listed and the product worked as advertised.