The rumor is that Warner is coming aboard soon

[*TIMMIE*]

I am still waiting for Corpse Bride, 300, The Las Samurai. Also The Prestige, but it's a pitty it does not carry a PCM track (WB release over here). All purchased in November. Does that count as well?

[Zyclone]

well iv'e said it once and i will say it again , warner did'nt release a bunch of old titles last week on blu ray but they did on HD DVD , blade runner has only a HD DVD release date while blu ray has none.

harry porter is still coming out on blu ray here though

until warner lifts there game here i won't be shelling out my money on their films.

[*TIMMIE*]

Can you name some of those back catalog titles?

I think it is strange there is no releasedate for Bladerunner on f.e. Ezydvd or DVDcrave.

[Zyclone]

Originally Posted by *TIMMIE*

Can you name some of those back catalog titles?

I think it is strange there is no releasedate for Bladerunner on f.e. Ezydvd or DVDcrave.

deliverance , alexander , troy D.C , purple rain , beer fest , clock work orange , 2001 , eyes wide shut , the shining etc

all been released on HD DVD and MIA on Blu ray in Oz.

[JimboTHX1138]

Originally Posted by Zyclone

deliverance , alexander , troy D.C , purple rain , beer fest , clock work orange , 2001 , eyes wide shut , the shining etc

all been released on HD DVD and MIA on Blu ray in Oz.

And Polar Express. I was waiting for it to be released, EzyDVD pushed the date back, then I waited for that date and now it's listed as release date unknown. Same with 2001, was set for same day release as DUD version but didn't get released.

I ended up ordering Polar Express from Amazon.

[sphdle1]

Originally Posted by Zyclone

well iv'e said it once and i will say it again , warner did'nt release a bunch of old titles last week on blu ray but they did on HD DVD , blade runner has only a HD DVD release date while blu ray has none.

harry porter is still coming out on blu ray here though

until warner lifts there game here i won't be shelling out my money on their films.

I think everyone that has a beef with Warner should read this post by Hollywood Insider "Penton-Man" from the Insiders thread, and re-think their position for the greater good of Blu-ray in the immediate & all important next few weeks or so. I suggest based on what being sold on the HDUD side, hit the HP titles hard, especially OOTP!

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...postcount=6834
(A Must Read!!)
.

[SomethingForKate]

Warner's are apparently still undecided ...

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/12...re_sales_2007/

SFK

[The Guardian]

Originally Posted by Zyclone

deliverance , alexander , troy D.C , purple rain , beer fest , clock work orange , 2001 , eyes wide shut , the shining etc

all been released on HD DVD and MIA on Blu ray in Oz.

we're still waiting for half of these at least in Canada... I've seen Alexander, Troy and 2001 but that's it...

[Go Blu]

We need Strange Brew on Blu.

[johnnyd1]

Originally Posted by SomethingForKate

Warner's are apparently still undecided ...

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/12...re_sales_2007/

SFK

So was Paramount !!!

[Go Blu]

That's just a canned statement so the phones will stop ringing off the hook.

They will be un-decided till they say themselves that they have decided.

[The Guardian]

Besides the sudden release of so many HDDVD titles in Australia at the same time could just be them trying to clear out the inventory... so I wouldn't worry much about it.

[zipbags]

Originally Posted by krinkle

Hopefully this guy is just out of the loop in Australia.

Maybe he meant to say five to ten days.

[tron3]

Originally Posted by SomethingForKate

Warner's are apparently still undecided ...

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/12...re_sales_2007/

SFK

Snip:
Breaking those numbers down, we get 2.5m PlayStation 3s, 678,000 HD DVD players, 461,000 Blu-ray Disc players and 270,000 Xbox 360 add-on drives, DisplaySearch said via Home Media Magazine.


Ok, add the respective numbers. 2,961,000 units which could play blu-ray. Could easily top 3 million by end of Christmas season.

948,000 units which play HD DVD. Again, it could reach 1 million units by year end.

3 million BD players vs 1 million HD DVD players. Now we see where the 3:1 ratio comes from. We have 3 times as many buyers, not to mention a somewhat larger movie selection.

Even with free HD DVD players Tool-shiba can never close that gap. They simply lack the best studio support. Disney is a God send for blu-ray.

[sphdle1]

With Penton-Man's (Hollywood Insider) post saying the rumors could be credible, but nothing is signed so we should put all our firepower into Warner titles this holiday season...
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...postcount=6834

...and now Warner making a general statement about the state of things "right now" to calm rumors down, but yet they don't negate the rumors & leave it wide open that they could/and likely will make a move in the new year (likely based on watching the numbers this holiday season)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/12...re_sales_2007/

This is likely "THE" single most important time/battle in the entire format war, as it could easily change everything if we pound HDUDs on Warner titles, especially the ones they will be watching the closest; Harry Potter titles...If nothing else get OOTP ASAP, I think a change in this war could be decided by that alone. I think Warner are looking to see if HD-DVD can match Blu-ray on that title, or whether Blu-ray continues and pulls another "300" out of the bag! I think we should try to blow 300 away with that title and send a message by making it the the highest selling high-def to date for both formats, crushing Transformers!!!

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by jason_grumpy

If Warner goes Blu... *waves his magical future telling wand*

Major proponents (paid shills) of HD-DVD crowd will begin to retreat into the night, maybe with a statement and a few final cheap shots at Blu or Sony. After a few weeks and it is clear that Warners stance will not change, most simply will dissapear never heard from again. Amir might stick around, pushing for Blu studios to go only VC-1 but I don't think MS is going to be using him as an olive branch anytime soon. Maybe they can use him productively as a blood sacrifice to appease the now unholy wraith of Hollywood upon them.

Those that spoke negatively about Blu in the press spreading Toshiba's fud, will start to back pedal almost immediately and sing a choir of Blu praises. I think they will attempt to save face, and also try to regain credibility with studios that were always Blu. As hinted before by insiders, peoples actions after this is all over will NOT be forgotten. I would suspect those that supported HD-DVD fud machine will be left out of exclusive studio news, or the business all together for a long time to come, if not forever.

Non-paid HD-DVD only supporters that genuinely bought into the hype and lies about Blu spread by the Red, will be left holding the bag. Anger will be directed towards Warner and especially Sony at first. Accusations will fly of course that Sony or the BDA bought off Warner. As time goes on anger will be directed later towards the paid shills as they start to realize the truth. Unfortunately due to point #1 they are no longer around to take the heat. You might even see some grass root movements to send petitions to Warner begging for neutrality again, or to Universal/Paramount begging they remain committed to only HD-DVD. Smarter ones will Ebay their titles and players before the hammer drops, hoping to draw in a sucker. Eventually these folks will slowly realize they've been lied to, and convert to Blu when Players reach the $150 dollar level.

The truly indoctrinated followers that treat HD-DVD like a religion and are not paid shills will never admit that Blu is better quality or have won. These are the ones that are lost forever. They will be the forum goers that will constantly remind people of how they miss low bitrate VC-1 encodes and IME. Expect quotes for years such as "HD-DVD was never like this, it was better!", "Uncompressed sounds the same as DD+ on HD-DVD!", "I will never buy Blu!". They will also be the ones that will constantly say HD-DVD is making a comeback, long after Toshiba has discontinued manufacturing HD-DVD players and movie releases have stopped. They won't realize the war is really over until the internal components start to fail on their 4th and last working standalone, none are available on ebay, and HD-DVD only forums are only digital archives.

Those that are purple will simply shift to buying only Blu. I don't think you will hear much complaining from them. They've already begun the process. If anything they will be happy that the war is drawing to a rapid close.

Universal Studios will crumble and announce format neutrality soon after Warner. The writers strike is killing them, as it was reported today that reimbursements averaging $500000 to each of advertisers have begun because they have failed to make ratings promises. As long as the strike goes on (and it seems to be indefinite now), it will only get worse. Building a new revenue stream to bring in some money is the only thing they can do, with pushing HDM the logical choice. Because they need fast money, they will spew a title wave of current VC-1 encodes on Blu, and eventually set a date for the last HD-DVD more than likely late 2008. It will take them at least until 2009 to get on the same playing field as Sony, Fox, and Disney in terms of quality. Their friendship with M$ will continue, and they will continue to push for DDL hard this year to bring in another revenue stream.

Paramount/Dreamworks will enact legal clauses placed in their contract late 1st QTR, and return format neutral. I suspect this will be shortly after Universal. They will point to the abysmal sales numbers of Shrek 3, and the fact that now they stand to be left behind in HDM on a dying format. I also expect they will attempt to take the money and run, with a subsequent lawsuit to follow by the payees. Paramount employees will rejoice, and dust off copies of Blades of Glory and Transformers with Uncompressed Audio. The only thorn on the side is just how this contract was written, as Paramount maybe prohibited by the court to release Blu until the contract expires, or the case ends in their favor.

Toshiba on the other hand will go through massive internal changes. Heads are going to roll. Those that supported, pushed, or allowed this fiasco to continue as long as it has in the high def media departments will be looking for new jobs. Development related to HD-DVD for the consumer sector will be indefinitely suspended alone with manufacturing mid 2008. They might try using HD-DVD in another product, in attempting to find some use and recoup losses. Biblical firesales will take place.

Consumer outlets like Best Buy, Circuit City, etc will breathe a sigh of release and rejoice. A new profitable revenue stream has opened up, shelf space cleared, and more product sold including those fancy expensive HDMI receivers that people NEED to enjoy their hdm movies fully.

And lastly, MS will continue their own happy way and go on to 'the next big'. They will act oblivious to the hell they caused consumers and companies like a 800 lb gorilla tearing through a forest. HD-DVD related positions have already been all but eliminated, except those that pertain to VC-1. They'll continue to push VC-1 with Warner and Universal to continue a revenue stream. I suspect that Xbox Live will be further pushed and promoted, as the war with the PS3 will continue.

End magical wand.

That sounds like a damn good scenario, I hope your right & it plays out that good

[95pgtproject]

I dont know if this has been discussed here yet but it looks like Warner is staying neutral through 2008

http://www.current.com.au/2007/12/12...EMPTGCOKS.html





heres the article:

By Chris Nicholls

SYDNEY: Warner Home Video Australia has denied a BusinessWeek report that its US parent could decide to support only one format, likely Blu-ray, dependent on sales for each this quarter - a switch that could have tipped the balance in the HD format war.

A switch would have seen Blu-ray capture nearly 70 per cent of the US market compared to its current 49 per cent share.

In an official statement, Warner Brothers Home Video Australia and New Zealand managing director Roger Clarke said, the company’s global position had not changed and they would continue to support both HD DVD and Blu-ray for the foreseeable future.

“Our position hasn’t changed and certainly any comments that were published in the US were not intended to suggest that we had changed our stance. We support both formats and we have not made any decision towards that policy and nor are any such announcements planned or in the pipeline,” he said.

“In terms of the short-term scenarios around the Q4 sales results, Warner Brothers are always reviewing our strategies and we can’t say what might happen in five or ten years, but for now, there’s been no decision made to change course.”

He said both formats would be supported, with big titles such as the upcoming new Batman film, The Dark Knight, due out in cinemas early next year, out on both formats by mid next year.

[sparksj]

Okay, so I have a great conspiracy theory. I ordered and HD-AR back in August and have not received my 5 free HD DVDs yet. I have seen many other posts stating the same. I just figured it out. Toshiba is intentionally waiting until next week to send all of their free HD DVDs. That way, they can count those sales in December when everyone is watching.

Now it all makes sense...

[Crackbone]

Originally Posted by 95pgtproject

I dont know if this has been discussed here yet but it looks like Warner is staying neutral through 2008

http://www.current.com.au/2007/12/12...EMPTGCOKS.html





heres the article:

By Chris Nicholls

SYDNEY: Warner Home Video Australia has denied a BusinessWeek report that its US parent could decide to support only one format, likely Blu-ray, dependent on sales for each this quarter - a switch that could have tipped the balance in the HD format war.

A switch would have seen Blu-ray capture nearly 70 per cent of the US market compared to its current 49 per cent share.

In an official statement, Warner Brothers Home Video Australia and New Zealand managing director Roger Clarke said, the company’s global position had not changed and they would continue to support both HD DVD and Blu-ray for the foreseeable future.

“Our position hasn’t changed and certainly any comments that were published in the US were not intended to suggest that we had changed our stance. We support both formats and we have not made any decision towards that policy and nor are any such announcements planned or in the pipeline,” he said.

“In terms of the short-term scenarios around the Q4 sales results, Warner Brothers are always reviewing our strategies and we can’t say what might happen in five or ten years, but for now, there’s been no decision made to change course.”

He said both formats would be supported, with big titles such as the upcoming new Batman film, The Dark Knight, due out in cinemas early next year, out on both formats by mid next year.

Gotta hand it to WB... give the denial off to your office in Australia....

Come on guys, it's business as usual until it's not anymore... Denials happen, it was bound to come up, WB wants that holiday revenue from the HD DVD stuff.

If they don't deny it and let it run rampant, it directly affects their bottom line.

[sphdle1]

That's just a copy of the same release they put out a month or so ago to calm down the rumors (I think it's word for word...).

It could be just me, but I have a gut feeling based on the latest rumors, comments from insiders, and the way Warner are trying to cover it up, that this is the most critical time in the entire format war to buy Warner titles. We are getting not so subtle hints on this from several good sources, and I think we have to act now, ASAP!