wow.....if this is true....universal has done a good thing read on

[joeorc]

well to this info...if true ..

VERY interesting e-mail from Bill Hunt.,link - Hide thread - By Brian on March 22, 2007:
VERY interesting e-mail from Bill Hunt.,link - Show thread - By Brian on March 22, 2007 - 28 responses - Last response on March 22, 2007
I know I just started another thread, but then this showed up in my e-mail box. I had e-mailed Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits about the Matrix on HD DVD and why Warner had chosen to release it on HD D... Show entire thread and 28 responses
- I know I just started another thread, but then this showed up in my e-mail box. I had e-mailed Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits about the Matrix on HD DVD and why Warner had chosen to release it on HD DVD first. He had some VERY interesting things to say about this and other subjects. Here is his reply. *****"Well... from my understanding, the Matrix films have been ready to go for a long time. Warner has wanted to release them simultaneously, but it's taking the BD-Java authoring tool sets and player compatibility longer to catch up. Warner wants to release all their titles with the same features on both formats. Which is why we haven't seen Batman Begins or V for Vendetta yet either on BD. I talk with people almost daily within the company, who I've known for years now, who swear to me that they're trying to support both formats equally. The Matrix release decision was apparently VERY controversial within the company and there's a TON of debate going on today. You may yet see the BD version on the same day as the HD, whether it has IME or not. The other interesting thing that's going on right now, is that friends who work at authoring facilities around town have been e-mailing me to say that Universal reps have been stopping by investigating Blu-ray authoring pretty seriously in the last couple of weeks. From what a lot of people I trust in the trenches are telling me, the writing is starting to be on the wall for HD-DVD. The Casino Royale sales numbers, coupled with the fact that Sony claims they'll have shipped 6 million PS3s worldwide by the end of this month, AND apparently promises by at least 4 major BD player manufacturers that they'll have players for under $400 available by the end of the year - all of those things have really changed a lot of minds around town in the last few weeks. As far as Warner wanting to sell out their HD-DVDs before the format dies, I think the feeling internally at the studio is that any profits they'd make by doing that are offset by the extra costs of having to author both formats. As I said, there's a lot of debate going on at Warner right now over all this."

http://www.eproductwars.com/dvd/..%5CviewComments.cfm

[miked924]

You must be very special for him give you that inside info....nice made up situation though

[theknub]

this has been posted in numerous places already. it was not given to him. as far as a made up situation, it is definitely a possibility.

[Jack Torrance]

I heard a rumor from some industry folk a few weeks back that said Uni were talking blu-ray. This, if it's really from Bill Hunt, would be major news.

[ra1024]

Seems Bill responded to this in the Blu-Ray section on AVS. In regards to Uni going BR, he had this to say.

"4. As for Universal, it would only make good business sense for them to keep their options open by at least exploring BD authoring, and my sources say that they are. That doesn't necessairly mean that they're switching formats or going format neutral anytime soon. Would I like them to go format neutral? Sure. Hell, at this point I'm all for ALL the studios going format neutral, including the BD exclusive studios. Anything to put an end at least some part of this needless format war."

This part, "my sources say that they are" seems to indicate that they are indeed actively considering it despite what the HD-DVD fans would have you believe.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=823589

[BTBuck1]

What did my boy JTK say a while back?

something about a fat lady clearing her throat and stepping up to the mic.

It's all but over.

Adios brick colored cases, it was real and it was fun, but it wasn't "real fun"

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by joeorc

well to this info...if true ..

VERY interesting e-mail from Bill Hunt.,link - Hide thread - By Brian on March 22, 2007:
VERY interesting e-mail from Bill Hunt.,link - Show thread - By Brian on March 22, 2007 - 28 responses - Last response on March 22, 2007
I know I just started another thread, but then this showed up in my e-mail box. I had e-mailed Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits about the Matrix on HD DVD and why Warner had chosen to release it on HD D... Show entire thread and 28 responses
- I know I just started another thread, but then this showed up in my e-mail box. I had e-mailed Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits about the Matrix on HD DVD and why Warner had chosen to release it on HD DVD first. He had some VERY interesting things to say about this and other subjects. Here is his reply. *****"Well... from my understanding, the Matrix films have been ready to go for a long time. Warner has wanted to release them simultaneously, but it's taking the BD-Java authoring tool sets and player compatibility longer to catch up. Warner wants to release all their titles with the same features on both formats. Which is why we haven't seen Batman Begins or V for Vendetta yet either on BD. I talk with people almost daily within the company, who I've known for years now, who swear to me that they're trying to support both formats equally. The Matrix release decision was apparently VERY controversial within the company and there's a TON of debate going on today. You may yet see the BD version on the same day as the HD, whether it has IME or not. The other interesting thing that's going on right now, is that friends who work at authoring facilities around town have been e-mailing me to say that Universal reps have been stopping by investigating Blu-ray authoring pretty seriously in the last couple of weeks. From what a lot of people I trust in the trenches are telling me, the writing is starting to be on the wall for HD-DVD. The Casino Royale sales numbers, coupled with the fact that Sony claims they'll have shipped 6 million PS3s worldwide by the end of this month, AND apparently promises by at least 4 major BD player manufacturers that they'll have players for under $400 available by the end of the year - all of those things have really changed a lot of minds around town in the last few weeks. As far as Warner wanting to sell out their HD-DVDs before the format dies, I think the feeling internally at the studio is that any profits they'd make by doing that are offset by the extra costs of having to author both formats. As I said, there's a lot of debate going on at Warner right now over all this."

http://www.eproductwars.com/dvd/..%5CviewComments.cfm

Thanks for the info, wish the rumors were true. Universal might decide to stay exclusive to HD-DVD for another year. Most likely Universal might have had talks with Sony in case HD-DVD fails or if in a year they decide to start making both HD-DVD and BLU-RAY discs.
The under $400 price for BLU-RAY players is a strong possibility toward the Christmas season. Most likely in April the Samsung BDP-1000 will be selling for $399. The Sony second generation BLU-RAY player that is scheduled to launch in June will list for $599 but most likely will be able to be purchased for $499 in July from Internet companies.
In October Sony could decides to lower the price of the PS3 to $399 for the 20GB model to increase sales. Also the second generation Sony BLU-RAY player could be lowered to a $499 list price in October with an Internet price of $399. Maybe Pioneer and Philips will have BLU-RAY players with street prices of $399 close to Christmas.
** My comments are all speculation only, The rumors people hear are not facts. BLU-RAY players would need to be made in quantity to be able to be profitable at a $400 price point. Of Course Sony could sale the BLU-RAY players at or below cost in the hopes of making the money up on future BLU-RAY movie or videogame sales. **

[BTBuck1]

^^^ Thinking outloud.

[Nismobeach]

The 20GB PS3 is only $99 above that $400 target. Phil Harrison said that they should have some wiggle room to lower the price come Christmas time.

[Chris Beveridge]

Honestly, even if it's not true, the perception of it being possible is now out there and those that aren't knee deep in forums about this like here and AVS will write off HD DVD even more.

Case in point; there's a lot going on with the anime side right now because of Bandai Visual's plans. $80 HD DVDs for movies and $40 HD DVD twin discs for 30 minutes of content. It's drawing ire from people just for the price, but they're actively trying to figure out what's going on with the format war since it's creeping into their domain now. We're running a poll of our readers, many of which aren't buying yet, but are stating their preference. It's 86% BD and 14% HD DVD. The comments are generally what many BD folks have been saying since the beginning; the specs look better, there's more hardware support, more studio support and the PS3 is playing a very large factor.

Now, if they hear that there's a chance that the only HD DVD exclusive studio is even looking at BD, and they're already intent on getting a PS3 in the next year, they won't even bother looking at HD DVD since it won't be compatible in their setup.

The writing is on the wall for a lot of people - whether it's true or not.

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by Chris Beveridge

We're running a poll of our readers, many of which aren't buying yet, but are stating their preference. It's 86% BD and 14% HD DVD. The comments are generally what many BD folks have been saying since the beginning; the specs look better, there's more hardware support, more studio support and the PS3 is playing a very large factor.

Are the Japanese numbers not a factor?

If I was a big anime fan, I would be looking to see how the formats are doing in the primary anime market. HD DVD has already lost in Japan.

Gary

[Damon Payne]

Would be nice if its true, but I dont' expect any major announcements until September at the earliest.

[theknub]

i know jtk and i were thinking june or july initially at least in terms of announcements. if the company has been investigating for two+ weeks, that means they have been considering it since BEFORE the CR launch and prob made a decision towards the end of Feb. This would mean they prob have been debating since prob the beginning of Jan. It actually seems like a fast-track scenario to me. I'll stick to my guns on at least announcements with hopefully first titles appearing sometime around October.

[Nismobeach]

HD-DVD is as played out as the Members Only jacket. If Universal wants to stay hip to the HD game they have to go Blu.

[ps3andlovinit]

Originally Posted by Nismobeach

HD-DVD is as played out as the Members Only jacket. If Universal wants to stay hip to the HD game they have to go Blu.

Yep I believe it is done. Given all the new releases for both PS3 games and blu-ray I'll be spending the whole year catching up on just March alone

So if there are any "slow" periods on the blu-ray front they will simply get filled by me catching up..I suspect there are more than a few other PS3 owners in that situation as well.

It's at the point now that if Universal doesn't at least go neutral soon...when they eventually do go blu - they will get punished for being the one to drag it out.

If I have x dollars to spend and it's an original Studio Blu vs Universal movie..I'm spending my money with a Studio Blu - unless Universal smarten up soon..they get until the end June to be considered in that group and then they don't exist for me....much like Toshiba laptops aren't even a consideration anymore.

[Spankey]

I think everything hinges on BD-J right now. Once all the kinks are worked out and Universal can release titles with the same features as HD-DVD then I think they will. Right now, things seem to be shaping up for a pretty significant fall. Blu-ray really just has POTC going for it this summer. Then get read for an onslaught through the holidays. Spider-Man, Warner releases, etc.

[Longshot]

Look at the exclusive potential Bd releases later this year;

Day & Date
Night at the Museum
Spidey 3
POTC 3
The Simpsons Movie
Fantastic 4 Silver Surfer
Live Free or Die Hard
Ghost Rider
Rush Hour 3

What exclusives does HD DVD have to counter with? Bourne Ultimatum and that's about it. I predict by the end of the year Bd will have sold over 1 million more total discs than HD DVD. If Universal continues to ignore numbers like these we will see another management shakeup come January 2008.

[Jack Torrance]

Originally Posted by Longshot

Look at the exclusive potential Bd releases later this year;

Day & Date
Night at the Museum
Spidey 3
POTC 3
The Simpsons Movie
Fantastic 4 Silver Surfer
Live Free or Die Hard
Ghost Rider
Rush Hour 3

What exclusives does HD DVD have to counter with? Bourne Ultimatum and that's about it. I predict by the end of the year Bd will have sold over 1 million more total discs than HD DVD. If Universal continues to ignore numbers like these we will see another management shakeup come January 2008.

Well Rush Hour 3 is New Line, so that's potentially on HD-DUD as well... but as to everything else... you're right. And what does Universal have up it's sleeve for their slate this year that would be exclusive to HD-DUD? Evan Almighty, Bourne Ultimatum... and apart from that I hear crickets chirping.

[Longshot]

Originally Posted by Jack Torrance

Well Rush Hour 3 is New Line, so that's potentially on HD-DUD as well... but as to everything else... you're right. And what does Universal have up it's sleeve for their slate this year that would be exclusive to HD-DUD? Evan Almighty, Bourne Ultimatum... and apart from that I hear crickets chirping.

My fault on Rush Hour 3. Well we can substitute Apocalypto in it's place. According to HiDef Digest it will be released on Bd May 22nd. More great news for HD DVD!

[Deciazulado]

Originally Posted by Longshot

I predict by the end of the year Bd will have sold over 1 million more total discs than HD DVD..

I think it might be a little sooner than that