Widescreen Review is an HD DVD fanboy rag! – Look at the March Issue!

[Jim L]

I just got my March 2007 issue of WSR and I am fuming!

In the past year they have been unabashed cheerleaders for HD-DVD. After the launch of PS3 AND the Sony, Pioneer, Panasonic and Philips players, AND all the great titles coming out, AND the disc sales stats AND the aftermath of CES 2007 – it looked like they were changing their tune and at least taking a neutral stance in the format war. But in this issue, they have the gall to continue their biased propaganda campaign with new vigor!

Listen to some of this:

[from their opening editorial titled “Editor’s Couch”]

“Two Smart Thinkers – Warner Bros. & LG Electronics

Thanks to smart thinking on the part of Barry M Meyer, Warner Bros. Chairman and CEO, and others at the studio, the new Total High_Definition Disc (THD) can play content in both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD formats. And LG Electronics has announced the world’s first dual-format high-definition disc player, capable of playing both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD content.
. . .
The wise men at the two companies obviously realize that widespread consumer apathy, confusion, frustration, and indecision is rampant when consumers (and manufacturers) are confronted with the choice between two incompatible competing formats.”


[NO! This move further clouds the market making it harder for either format to achieve widespread adoption and hence plays into Micro$oft's plans]

They go on to praise both companies for being “consumer-minded” and doing a great service in bringing unity to the market. BS! It sounds like the best HD DVD supporters can hope for now is a draw where nobody wins.


The next topic in the editorial was a report on HD DVD and Blu-ray at CES 2007. At first glance it looks like they devote equal space to HD DVD and Blu-ray. Of course HD DVD comes first. To paraphrase, they regurgitate the Toshiba/Microsoft sales pitch talking about Hdi, the new coming players from Onkyo, Meridian, Toshiba, and Shinco as if it is a coming tidal wave for success. They also spin about the new TL51 discs coming (Toshiba’s afterthought to compete with BD’s capacity advantage) and all of Microsoft’s wonderful software and Windows CE to be used in future products. He totally fails to mention what many others have said about CES – that Universal was a complete no-show and there is almost no content in the HD DVD pipeline.


Next he moves on to Blu-ray. He mentions the launch of PS3 and quotes from different BDA members about optimistic projections for Blu-ray. He does mention some of the announced Blu-ray titles revealed at CES but doesn’t make much of it.

Then halfway into the paragraph on Blu-ray, he starts rambling about how the porn industry is going to support HD DVD and repeats the unsubstantiated claims that BD is way more expensive to produce than HD DVD. He sums up this report by saying that things could go either way or the formats could just end up co-existing like SACD and DVD-A.

I wanted to rip this issue into strips and hang it on my toilet tissue roll.

Are there any other WSR subscribers here? Let’s start a letter-to-the-editor campaign at Widescreen Review. Maybe we’ll get some of them published or at least make them recognize that their readers aren't going to keep swallowing this crap.

Anyone else read this issue?