Ask the Insiders: Putting the Last Nails in the Coffin

[scott1256ca]

I miss a few posts, and suddenly I have no idea what people are talking about

Are you pretty confident that this is their objective? Is that why they are continuing to push so hard with their last breath in the market? How likely do you think a pay-off could be to end this cleanly?

I would think Toshiba would make far more off dvd disk royalties than player royalties. Especially since I hear that a lot of manufacturers don't pay the royalties, but make the players anyway (although I hear the same about the disks!).

I'm now wondering if Toshiba has offered lot's of money (or potential money) to Uni and Para to NOT support BD for now. Then they can go to the BDA/Sony and say "see they're locked up, but we can release them from their contracts if you pay us enough". Then when the BDA/Sony agrees, they exercise some escape clause in the Uni/Para contract so they don't have to pay them too much. It might be the most money the 3 of them can get from the BDA, since they have only 1 player to deal with, and can't go behind Universals back to Paramount or vice versa. Because if they get support from either studio, it severely weakens the negotiating position of the remaining studio and Toshiba.

The above of course assumes Dreamworks will follow Paramount, since Viacom owns them both.

Insiders, any comment? (have to tie it in somehow )

[assur191]

I have a question about TV shows. Is there any way to know which series will never show up on blu-ray? Even if it's in SD, just all the episodes are on one disc, or something like that. What about if the first seasons were in SD, but later transitioned to HD? Will the first seasons ever show up? I want to know which shows to go ahead and buy, and which ones to wait for to show up on blu-ray, even if it's several years. Thanks.

[monkyman]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

Toshiba still feel they can make a significant dent in Blu-ray, forcing other companies to put HD DVD legacy playback in their devices as standard (it's all about the royalties...).

If anyone needs to make a dual format player, it's toshiba. They are the ones, after all, that are missing 70% studio support. Then they can stay loyal to their fans and cash in on BD player sales. (if anyone would buy one that is)

[CAB]

G'day friends,

Request to Sony and other CEs which this may apply:

Internet distributed firmware on the Sony site come in a .exe package contaning the .iso file. Can I request also allowing people just to download the .iso or possibly packaging it in a .tar or .zip to help people who don't want to use an MS-DOS hybrid to build the firmware update disc?

Thanks for your time.

[mystiksuicide]

Max, Penton Bill or any other insider. We all know Paramount was paid by in Aug to hd dvd exclusive. Now we hear that toshiba has convinced Paramount to stay a few months more even though supposedly Paramount has an escape clause.

Did Paramount do this as a favor to hd dvd or did Toshiba have to grease Paramounts hand again?

[Neo65]

Originally Posted by TheRealBob

No, he means Toshiba hopes to move enough HD DVD hardware and software in the next few months that BD player manufacturers feel it would be in their best interest to include the ability to play back HD DVDs, and thus forcing them to pay Toshiba royalties on the hardware.

With all the reports of stacks of returned HD DVD players appearing in stores all over the country, I don't think this scheme is going to work. The word is out that HD DVD is dead, and if you still have a library of HD DVD titles, there are players to be had for cheap all over eBay and at your local retailer, so there's no need for all players to be dual-format.

Just a note and insiders can comment if this makes sense.

I don't think anyone believes this is remotely possible. To put it in context, in 1981, 2.5M betamax units were sold. That did not save betamax. How many HD-A3s can Toshiba sell with this push?

[PaulGo]

I just want to thank all the insiders for their integrity and honesty. I really have to say they are in the "no spin zone". They don't sugar coat the information, or twist the facts (like Microsoft and Toshiba). It is really refreshing to see a sense of ethics in the corporate world.

[CAB]

Any rumors about the hardware that makes up the CES previewed Pioneer full profile player? I've heard "more details in May" and an $1800 figure for MSRP. I'm not sure I want to wait till May just to hear more specifics about the guts. The Denon DVD-3800BDCI is looking pretty strong. It's hard for me not to pull the trigger next month when I see the Realta for video and the Burr Brown DACs.

[Dogdvr]

WOW!
AVS just closed their Insider's thread. Permanently!!

[sj001]

Originally Posted by Dogdvr

WOW!
AVS just closed their Insider's thread. Permanently!!

Good, they didn't have any Insiders anyways.

[elwaylite]

Sign of thing we dont know about?

[PaulGo]

Any of the insiders care to comment on this?

http://www.n4g.com/industrynews/News-102283.aspx

Paramount titles in Blu-ray on Amazon

whoelse - contributor

Take this rumor with a grain of salt but over at amazon.co.uk, it has listed Anchorman, Coming to America and Trading Places. Now this could be a simple mistake, or it could be a sign that Paramount is already getting ready to re-join the Blu-ray camp.
Updates:
UPDATE 1: 2 more titles have been added to amazon: Failure to Launch and Freedom Writers.

UPDATE 2: One of the members on this site was helpful enough to contact amazon about the listings and he got the following reply:

"We have checked our website and confirm that the DVDs you are
mentioned are scheduled to release in March.

Our editorial staff are constantly working on increasing the information we provide about each item as it becomes available to us. However, the information currently displayed on the product's information page is all that has so far been made available to us from the manufacturer."

[john_nemesh]

Originally Posted by CAB

Any rumors about the hardware that makes up the CES previewed Pioneer full profile player? I've heard "more details in May" and an $1800 figure for MSRP. I'm not sure I want to wait till May just to hear more specifics about the guts. The Denon DVD-3800BDCI is looking pretty strong. It's hard for me not to pull the trigger next month when I see the Realta for video and the Burr Brown DACs.

The 2500 + a new AVR-2808 or better would be a better deal. The 2500 is a transport only, no analog output, just HDMI. However, it still has the realta scaler and with a new reciever will sound just as good. Oh, did I mention? Its half the cost of the 3800! I sell these things (sorry distribution only, no sales to the general public) so I know whats going on with these. PM me if need any help/have any questions....I would be glad to help!

[spicynacho]

BDA should whip up some push cards, demo discs, or other marketing materials to get into BB, CC, and other stores to inform consumers about HD DVD's short comings. 3x the studio support, 4-5x the number of movies scheduled to be released in 2008, 2x the sales in 2007, 3x the sales in 2008, toshiba monopoly on players. Just in case someone goes to the store asking about HD DVD.

[DaViD Boulet]

any progress with 75 or 100GB discs? How about the BDA making sure that current hardware will play them?

I want a blu future... but I want 100GB to be part of it.

[Woody]

Originally Posted by john_nemesh

The 2500 + a new AVR-2808 or better would be a better deal. The 2500 is a transport only, no analog output, just HDMI. However, it still has the realta scaler and with a new reciever will sound just as good. Oh, did I mention? Its half the cost of the 3800! I sell these things (sorry distribution only, no sales to the general public) so I know whats going on with these. PM me if need any help/have any questions....I would be glad to help!

FWIW, the 2500 does not have the Realta chipset.

[navychop]

Originally Posted by mystiksuicide

.... or did Toshiba have to grease Paramounts hand again?

"Hand?"

[navychop]

Now that's sad news. I was hoping for 100 or better, 200, for a convenient backup medium for our server. Tapes take too long (unless you pay big bucks) and are too bulky- and external HDDs are just awkward to carry offsite.

[frank_t]

i appreciate the insiders who are here and posting.

are the other insiders whose threads are still locked planning on making any appearance? it's been a while (or feels like it at least) without a peep.

[ezcobar411]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

I wouldn't hold out much hope for anything beyond 50GB for movies. We might see 100GB for data storage, but even that doesn't seem likely now.

If they do decide to release the 100GB for data storage will it be be sometime this year?