Times Online: Will Paramount’s switch to Blu-ray spell the end for HD DVD?

[VenomXR8]

Theres a new article outlaying paramounts switch to blu ray support, interesting read http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle3155910.ece

[Zyclone]

off topic but have you hit the 100+ blu ray mark yet mate ?

[sAvAgE69]

Keep up the great work peeps . And yes. it is an interesting read

[Sanj]

Nice. Looks like this is actually gonna happen pretty soon. I'm gonna bet on this weekend.

[sAvAgE69]

Originally Posted by Sanj

Nice. Looks like this is actually gonna happen pretty soon. I'm gonna bet on this weekend.

I think so I am thinking that Monday will be the announce date .


We all know they want to do the right thing

that is.... Switch to Blu

It does not look like that it was from the same source.

Hey HD-DVD!!!!

GTFO!!!!

[Got2LoveGadgets]

By Scott Snowden in Las Vegas 8th January 2008 22:24 GMT

Hollywood-based Paramount Studios has denied claims that it will be dropping the HD DVD format and returning to Blu-ray Disc.

In an email sent to Bloomberg, Paramount spokeswoman Brenda Ciccone said: "Paramount's current plan is to continue to support the HD DVD format."

The comment was a direct result of speculation that the studio would use a clause allegedly written into its contract with the HD DVD camp that allows it to switch to Blu-ray if Warner Home Video dropped its support of Toshiba's standard. WHV last week did just that.

Meanwhile, another, slightly lesser-known studio has also switched to Blu-ray. Porn label Digital Playground is to adopt Blu-ray exclusively despite initially choosing HD DVD.

It has announced that it will be launching eight titles on the format next month to complement its big-budget HD porn fest Pirates based (very loosely we suspect) on Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean.


Its all starting to get a bit confusing

[Maxell]

No offense to the UK, but I need to see some American media proof!

[canonbomb1987]

i just hope that theu switch before ironman comes out on dvd/blu-ray. that movie is gonna be sick

[Ice2007]

Originally Posted by Sanj

Nice. Looks like this is actually gonna happen pretty soon. I'm gonna bet on this weekend.

Hi Sanj,

I notice in your blu-ray studio support you forgot to put 20th Century Fox..

[VenomXR8]

no unfortunately a few things came up and had a few credit card bills to pay thanks to all the christmas shopping, im currently on 77 blu rays but am going to get a whole bunch of blu rays off amazon very soon, I cant wait for resident evil extinction and to try out the pip just to see how it looks. So I should be up to 100 by the beginning of feb.

[jw]

Originally Posted by Zyclone

off topic but have you hit the 100+ blu ray mark yet mate ?

Looks like the aussies buy blu 10.1 over HDDVD

Blu-ray Shifts Promo Plans Post-Warner
By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 1/8/2008 4:55:00 PM


LAS VEGAS — Some members of the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) were not declaring victory in the war of the HD disc formats Monday, but their actions seemed to be speaking louder than their words.


Since Warner Bros.’ surprise announcement that it will exclusively back Blu-ray Disc later this year, leaders of some of the BDA’s largest manufacturers and studios said they have agreed to shift gears in their joint promotional and marketing efforts from a Blu-ray vs. HD DVD approach to one that will promote the advantages of Blu-ray over standard definition DVDs.


“Hopefully, we can start focusing our energy away from fighting about which format is the better format and now start focusing on consumer education,” said Steve Beeks, Lionsgate president/COO. “The choice is clear — consumers need to upgrade from standard def to high def, and perhaps we can start to see packaged media sales start to grow again.”


Beeks acknowledged that replacing DVD with Blu-ray Disc sales will “take a long time, maybe an eight- to 10-year timeframe,” but he added that Blu-ray sales could help to start replacing the revenue lost from declining DVD sales later this year or next.


Bob Chapek, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment president, agreed, adding he was not surprised by Warner Bros.’ decision after seeing BD sales activity in the Untied States during the holidays. On certain weeks in the year, BD movie sales surpassed HD DVDs by a 2-to-1 to 4-to-1 ratio, he said, and at a 10-to-1 ratio in Australia and Japan.


“I think the handwriting was on the wall,” Chapek said. “Consumers had started to make their choice a while ago. Now I think it is safe to say that Blu-ray will be the ultimate successor to DVD.”


Andy Parsons, point man for the Blu-ray Disc Promotion Group activities in the United States, said “if the United States is trying to get people to convert over to a high-definition TV system, Blu-ray can play a very important part in making that happen. The uncertainty has gone away, now you can start to show people the very best a new high definition TV can deliver.”


During a Blu-ray Disc Association presentation Monday, Ron Sanders, Warner Home Video president, said his studio sided with Blu-ray in response to consumer demand, and he denied speculation that the studio had received a cash incentive from Blu-ray backers.


“We have a $42 billion worldwide home entertainment business — any payments would be a drop in the ocean compared to getting it wrong in terms of what the consumer wanted. It didn’t have anything to do with any incentives,” Sanders said.


Blu-ray studios and manufacturers also used CES to tout the forthcoming interactive capabilities of the new Bonus View and BD Live features, which will bring picture in picture running commentaries and a host of Web-enabled bonus material to select titles this year.


Sony offered a special demonstration of the new BD Live capabilities Monday, and 20th Century Fox is demonstrating at the BDA booth an “Alien vs. Predator vs. You” connected player video game that will be included in the BD release of “Alien vs. Predator” later this year.


That capability promises to bring together communities of fans and players through new Web-enabled interactivity
source:http://www.twice.com/article/CA6518245.html

[CastingStones]

Well, I thought id chuck this in, even it is known already....

If you are going to trust anything - trust the share price movements on th stock market...

"...Financial Times says movie studio has the option to switch camps in wake of Warner's decision; studio reiterates HD-DVD stand.
By Emma Boyes, GameSpot UK
Posted Jan 8, 2008 7:53 am PT

Things are heating up in the HD DVD versus Blu-ray format wars--and it's no longer looking like the stalemate that Sony CEO Howard Stringer declared two months ago.

At the end of last week, Warner Bros. announced that it had decided to back Blu-ray--and now there are rumours that because of this move, Paramount and possibly DreamWorks Animation won't be far behind.

Today's Financial Times reveals that according to its sources, Paramount is "poised to reveal" it will be abandoning the HD DVD format in order to go Blu-ray exclusive.

The article states, "Paramount, which is owned by Viacom, is understood to have a clause in its contract with the HD DVD camp that would allow it to switch sides in the event of Warner Bros. backing Blu-ray."

The newspaper believes that this would be the "death knell" for HD DVD and would see the format "likely to suffer the same fate as Sony's now obsolete Betamax video technology, which lost out to VHS in a similar format war in the 1980s."

Blu-ray is currently backed by 20th Century Fox, MGM, Walt Disney, and most recently Warner Bros.; if Paramount jumps ship, Universal will be left as the biggest HD DVD backer.

However, according to a later report from Bloomberg, Paramount has denied that it will be making the move. Brenda Ciccone told the financial Web site, "Paramount's current plan is to continue to support the HD DVD format." Toshiba spokesperson Keisuke Ohmori called the report "speculative," while Sony declined to comment.

The rumours had an immediate effect on the stock market--Toshiba's stock fell 0.1 percent to close at ¥782 ($7.17), though during the day the shares had dropped as much as a 1.3 percent, whereas Sony's rose 3.4 percent..."

[Sylin]

Originally Posted by CastingStones

Well, I thought id chuck this in, even it is known already....

If you are going to trust anything - trust the share price movements on th stock market...

Agreed 100%. If the media makes a statement that results in stock price decline, the usual posturing is for the affected company to pour on the positive press and then threaten lawsuits. But here's the rub: Financial Times hasn't pulled the article. They haven't retracted their statements. Which means they AREN'T being threatened. Which means... their statements are factual.