300 in July

[Proteus]

Warner is in the enviable position of neutrality right now. They don't 'favor' either format, but they are definitely trying to milk future benefits off them.

Allow me to explain (it's marketing stuff)...

Warner's actions on locking titles on HDDVD over Bluray is actually an indicator of who they think will win the format war. Obviously, they strongly believe Bluray will. By locking down titles on HDDVD they encourage a 'double purchase' very easily in the futures market (as inevitably, once a 'winner' is established people will have to re-buy some of their library). They are simply milking the market right now.

Warner isn't lying when they say they will be putting all those movies on Bluray in the future. Oh, they will... oh yes, they will. They know it is inevitable; however, they make more money by prolonging this 'format war' as long as possible.

It's just the marketing approach Warner has taken (TrueHD is another example of this type of marketing). Other studios like Disney and Fox are seeing what many in marketing feel is a more 'long term' view of ROI where the faster they get one format in place the faster they can work on DVD up-converts (to HD) and make money that way selling more titles faster without consumer hesitation due to uncertainty. They are basically saying 'we know it's going to be Bluray so let's just get it over with.'

Universal is at the extreme of what Warner is doing (there really isn't room for more than 1-2 studios doing what they are doing or it simply wouldn't work). Universal is building a brand loyalty with HDDVD consumers by 'supporting them until the bitter end'. This kind of loyalty is a _very_ good ROI return not only now, but even when a format 'wins' because people will always remember how Universal stood up for 'the little guy' (even if his technology was inferior in every way). There isn't enough HD disc sales to make this a worrisome or costly proposition at this point so it's a worthwhile investment for Universal... for now.

85% will be the magic number is my guess. Once Bluray has 85%+ market share then it will be over. Universal will swing by 90% as the last hold out. So for now, I'm not concerned. Warner's actions won't affect the greater scheme of things and they know it. I'm fairly certain that by 2008 we'll have a 'winner' for the most part.

I do wish Warner would quit simply porting stuff over as I _hate_ getting less than quality product for my $$.