HDannoyed

Blu ray players in one year dropped from $1000 to $300. How is that not dropping the prices?

dalejrfanfreak

NeoPoliticus

There's already hd-dvd equipped computers out there as well as blu ray equipped computers. The thing is consumers are very aware that blu ray is going to win the format war so don't expect anyone to be attracted to an hd-dvd computer.

dalejrfanfreak

Fat Checks? I suppose you would believe that from people that get info from the hd-dvd propaganda machine. As I said in a couple of posts above yours, the same guy who said Blu Ray bought out studios (Don Lindich) also said that Warner wouldn't be going exclusive to Blu ray. He said this less than two weeks before CES. I guess Don's sources are wrong about a lot of things. PLUS, the VP from Fox also said that any payout wouldn't be worth jeopardizing a BILLION dollar industry.

Blu ray has won this war, and they did it with SALES FIGURES and not payouts like the hd-dvd group.

dalejrfanfreak

berribrand

The format war is only going to continue, but take it to the next device which is computers... meaning a PC/MAC/Linux battle

majikan

Of course, if the PS3 remains the "only Blu-Ray player worth a crap now", that's also good (because it's the only one that can potentially support Blu-Ray 2.0, other than the combo HD-DVD/Blu-Ray players), maybe that's the only way the PS3 can "win" the console "war" too. (Except if developers see the millions of PS3s used just to watch Blu-Ray movies and not for gaming...).

Hrm. Business opportunity - repackage the PS3 guts into a standard formfactor and add IR support so it's more palatable.

(Also, no one really "loses" in this Blu-Ray / HD-DVD war. Microsoft gets money for VC-1 (in Blu-Ray), Sony gets money for DVD patents used in HD-DVD.)

Worf

Oh it's not the money, it's the copy protection? BR is better because AACS was cracked allready? How long do you think it'll be before BD+ is cracked? Didn't anybody learn anything about Sony's ability to create DRM? I'm not saying BD+ is another rootkit but still, if it's a Sony encryption scheme, it can't be good.

As soon as TVs start coming with hard disks in them and/or home media servers and extenders become more user-friendly and widespread and net speed goes up a few more ticks, we'll be dumping physical formats alltogether.

fsusmithc2

I read the article, but what I am getting at is there's all this talk about huge pay outs as well as Fox considering leaving the blu ray camp. However, it is never noted by gizmodo that when they mention Don's article of the 500 million dollar pay out, the same piece on his own blog has those references missing! Amazingly, when the VP of Fox called Don, Don decided to edit his article since he was being misled. However, Gizmodo doesn't explain this at all so it makes everything sound like this was just a huge bidding war, when in reality Blu Ray has dominated hd-dvd since its inception.

Plus, it's pretty obvious that gizmodo's reliable sources are anything but reliable since Fox didn't switch to the red camp.

dalejrfanfreak

kcmurphy88

"As it happens, I've actually spoken about this today with Fox's senior VP of corporate and marketing communications, Steve Feldstein, who echoed something Warner's Ron Sanders has also said in recent days: "The kind of money they're talking about [in these stories] isn't worth jeopardizing a multi-billion dollar business." In other words, payoffs would not have impacted Fox and Warner's decisions. Feldstein also told me that when The Pittsburgh Post Gazette piece broke, he contacted Lindich immediately to let him know that he was being misled by someone. When Don posted the same piece on his own blog, it was edited to reflect this. Specifically, the references to $120 million and $500 million payoffs were gone - something that's worthy of note."

dalejrfanfreak

" Syndicated columnist Don Lindich is reporting that Sony, the leader backer of Blu-ray, recently paid Fox and Warner Bros. to support the high-def format. Lindich says Fox was ready to jump ship and support HD DVD until Sony kicked in with the money. At that point, Warner decided to take a payoff as well.

Lindich quotes "sources" for his report without naming them or even characterizing them from coming from a specific unit.

I will not challenge his report -- it may even be true. But I have to point out that Lindich, a longtime HD DVD booster, also reported less than two weeks before the Consumer Electronics Show that Warner Bros. would attend HD DVD's big media event at the Las Vegas conference.

The columnist said HD DVD's attendance was evidence that Warner would not shed its neutrality in the race and support Blu-ray. (This reporter, and a few others, predicted that Warner would endorse Blu-ray.)

As we now know, Warner not only did not attend the HD DVD event -- but the event was cancelled 48 hours prior because Warner announced it had...decided to endorse Blu-ray.

Lindich was wrong about the HD DVD event. Spectacularly wrong.

So I am surprised that several online publications are now reporting his claim that Sony paid off Fox and Warner. -- without noting that his HD DVD "sources" in the past apparently led him astray."

ALSO, why in the hell would Fox leave blu ray when the sales of blu ray have been usually 3-1 in blu ray's favor? Perhaps you guys should also explain how blu ray has never sold less discs in a month since its inception compared to hd-dvd. This is why you can't truly believe in everything posted on the internet, you guys should do your homework better.

dalejrfanfreak

uberfu

I don't mean to come across as a condescending little bitch, but I missed this announcement too.

someToast

jcolingham

jcolingham

*NEWS FLASH* Britney Spears, Anna Nicole Smith and Elvis now exclusive to HD DVD! HD DVD STILL ALIVE!

rinwin

"Well said, man! I have an A2 and will probably return it this week, but sadly will be waiting for a while for a decent priced future-proof BD player to hit the stores. Although I don't want a PS3 for a player, just a standalone."

Like I've been saying: here is a person who opted into HDM, and who is now out again waiting for blu-ray prices to drop. There are thousands like him. Why? Because the format they could afford lost out to the expensive format.

All the new BD players just announced cost as much as last year's players when they came out. You can't drop prices and add features at the same time. Instead of waiting for the war to end, people will wait for blu-ray format to stop mutating and the player price to go under $200.

Not anytime soon.

kcmurphy88

holyforkingcrap

Galley

Fritz_L

You guys who are trashing both, saying that download is the future need a reality check. There's a lot of this country that is a long way from having the Internet penetration at bitrates to support that kind of stuff. You might be able to pull HD over your cable modem in NYC or LA, but out here in the other 90% of the US, we're stuck with slow speeds, high prices and few choices. I pay $40 a month for a whopping 128Kpbs each way.

TVGenius

shadowzen

Now would the studios PLEASE develop some high-definition video content worth watching? The much-discussed "format war" misses the point: if it's good content, people will buy it at whatever quality level they can get it. Inflate prices in order to bolster advertising for crappy content, and customers will not support it.

Take CD sales for example. They aren't plummeting because the CD is a poor format or because CD's are incompatible with iPods. The sales are plummeting because studios and artists today can't stay sober long enough to put out a full, complete, high-quality album. Hit singles? sure, there are a billion. But who's going to put out $16.99 for a disc with one decent track and 9 filler tracks including 2 covers of old tunes that were awesome when recorded by the man who wrote them but just stink when they are recorded by a bunch of kids who loop computerized hip-hip drumbeats over top of it and call it "new"? People know that it's a better deal to get that one lower-quality single song from iTunes for $0.99.

Film discs, like music discs, will see plummeting sales if studios continue to back stupid tabloid-cover "artists" instead of producing quality content that fills the disc. It doesn't matter what format the disc is: garbage content is always garbage.

my favorite car is a motorcycle

draiko

vertibraker

If this is true...this has got to be dumbest contracts OF ALL TIME!!!!!!

What idiot would agree to that??

knappoleon

By the way, I don't have anything against Pittsburgh at all, just pointing out that the "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" isn't exactly the first thing you would go to for Hollywood insider news. And although he's been writing AV articles for 18 years, it doesn't exactly automatically make him a dependable source for insider information.

That and logic doesn't agree with what's being reported. Example? Fox leaving a 2:1 winning format that's giving them the BD+ protection they specifically asked for? Warner leaving the format that's been earning them more money? Sorry, but I find it hard to believe.

Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against HD-DVD, just something against biased journalism. This is the second or third GIZ article about how HD-DVD should/should've won. Same goes with the choice of HD-DVD-pro "sources".

el bryanto

Blu-Ray technology is no more advanced than HD-DVD; it can hold more information. The informed tech geeks mostly sided with hd-dvd, because Blu-Ray has much stricter DRM; which is of course what won it for them in the end. We all know how the MPAA and RIAA loves DRM.

robinandtami

timerider42

timerider42

Vagabum

I don't care if Sony isn't the sole company behind blu ray. I don't like what BR stands for. Hollywood can kiss my ass. I really blame Hollywood more than the BR group.

I boycotted Sony a long time ago. The rootkit fiasco was the nail in the coffin for them with regard to me.

BostonPimpDaddy

Seiven

Seiven

It's also a lot easier to ship optical media all over North America than it is to give us all 100mbps internet connections. If someone wants to sell me that kind of internet for what I'm paying now, then I'd be happy to forget about discs, but it's just not going to happen except possibly in some small pockets of the US. Europe and Asia might be a different story, I don't know.

Brandson

Xenocide

alman783

askmattrix

wildness

mrAnderson

fastm3driver

izim1

theespacepope

frigg

What do you expect, that WB takes Toshiba out on a date, tells them that while they really really like HD DVD, to be honest, their relationship with HD DVD just feels more like a friendship - a good friendship! - than a serious relationship that will blossom into a monogamous distribution medium?

Oh what's the HD DVD? Don't cry! It's probably better this way for you too. Why, with all your wonderful features and fanboys, without big ol WB around your neck you'll be that much more available to errr... to other studios. Yeah, that's right, you deserve better and we honestly want nothing more than for you to be happy! Yeah, and while you may have heard rumors that we've been spending a lot of time with BR these days, that has nothing to do with this at all. Really! Just remember that we're always here for YOU.

frigg

Charles

GIZMODO! seriously guys... let it go already..... this "HDDVD isnt dead yet but they might.... we liked them better, blah, blah, " crap is really getting old. i have skipped over 3 of these articles this past week but MAN!! let it go already. this topic isnt only JUST dead, but it's dead, burried, mummyfied and already waiting for some archeological team in the 30th century to come along and "discover it"... LET IT GO GUYS.... you guys are hanging on to this more than the HDVD camp lead by toshiba, is...

izim1

Looks like the battle is lost for me though. Oh well.

Sean

Eventually all consumer computing will be "online" (a la Star Trek) but not for 15 years - it has to be completely established so that even granny finds it easier than washing dishes.

But until then, DVDs' reign will only last another 8-10 years making way for one last physical media, which will not be a spinning disk. Next breakthrough in storage media will be 3D organic memory (forget dual layer or even triple layer - think in terms of hundreds of thousands of layers) that will utilize optical technology for the first generation but will eventually use electrochemical processes (20-25 years from now)

And eventually this organic storage medium will be genetically engineered to interface directly with our own nervous systems (40-50 years from now)

that's my prediction anyway, and yes, there is really nothing practical this post.

Fierock

While I'm glad that the format war may finally come to an end... am I the only one irked by this:

Why do PS3 fanboys always proclaim "I'm so glad I invested in a PS3"?

One "invests" in something that they think will go up in value so that it can be sold or traded in the future at a higher worth than when it was acquired.

Sorry to burst your bubble but you "bought a video game machine", not "made a wise financial investment".

Trust me, claiming video game machines (or most electronic toys for that matter) as an investment is having the opposite effect of what you're thinking...

stan_i_am

This was a pretty big story when it came out less than a week ago. Stop being a condescending little bitch because you missed it.

Charles

"Merchandise: We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell with a full refund. Exceptions: Televisions, projectors, computers, cameras, camcorders, iPOD / MP3 players and cellular phones must be returned within 90 days of purchase for a refund."

DVD players are not on the list and is the one reason I bought mine from them. If HD-DVD movies disappear from the planet then my player goes back.

ItsDon

AJ_Syrinx

BostonPimpDaddy

Vagabum

AJ_Syrinx

Clue: it's the difference in time between proprietary audio downloads with masive DRM and low bitrates, and today's Amazon 256kbs DRM-free Mpegs.

kcmurphy88

kcmurphy88

mrgingis

AJ_Syrinx

kcmurphy88

mrgingis

Fritz_L

Building7

DrXym

AJ_Syrinx

AJ_Syrinx

A player's ability to access the internet should not matter to most people. What do they expect studios to do with this feature? Chances are most discs won't the extra feature at all, or if they use it it will be for a few lousy clips / trailers, or a game high scoreboard. I wouldn't put it past Disney and other studios to pack their disks with store fronts to buy their tat, and it may even be possible to install spyware (e.g. calling home when disk is played). For that reason I'd probably disable the network access anyway

Personally I think a far stronger reason for waiting is for the price of players and media to drop. There will be so many players this year they're bound to be

DrXym

ewilliams

BostonPimpDaddy

Warner and Toshiba had an extremely close relationship for more than a decade. They developed the DVD together and Warner's share of the patent has worked out to well over $1.5 billion over the years.

Granted, the people who were the bedrock of that relationship - including Warren Lieberfarb, Koji Hase, Steve Nickerson - are no longer with Warner.

But even so, why did Warner have to treat Toshiba in such a cavalier fashion? Why didn't they warn them that this was coming? Why do it in a manner that many might say was calculated to do the most damage to Toshiba?

SteveInHK

ffmusicdj

Aneurism

Azures

mastakilla

Have to admit, despite having both formats, I bought way more DVDs than HD-DVDs and Blu-Ray combined.

Worf

The combo disc movies are the number one selling point which BR missed. HD on one side, SD on the other - brilliant.

ItsDon

I couldn't disagree more. Last night while watching the NFL playoffs I saw several PS3 commercials, none of which said a single word about Blu Ray. I also saw several Blu Ray commercials which never said a word about a PS3 or Sony. The TV and Blu Ray player they showed weren't even Sony. I will say in the past I have seen commercials that say PS3's will play Blu Ray's, but I haven't seen those commercials in a while.

CruJones

My opinion is that this whole format-war is centered on the PS3 and Sony's desperation that the console MUST sell and succeed no matter what.

I'll buy a Toshiba BD player, LOL!

AJ_Syrinx

AJ_Syrinx

In my mind it had nothing to do with technical details, costs of production, or any of that. Blu may have more "teething pains" right now with the many profiles and so forth, but Warner probably assumed (rightly so) that these issues would get sorted out soon enough, and that they had to just end the war and then worry about the rest later.

redman042

BostonPimpDaddy

Brian Sexton

Seiven

craigkendall

Now it appears I will be the proud owner of two HD-DVD players and a half dozen or so movies.

Que Sera, Sera.

Windhawk

Seiven

Brian Sexton

DrXym

But then Sony started announcing that we should only buy PS3s if we want a Blu-Ray player. This is bullshit. They have designed their strategy to force their subpar game console on the masses so they don't have to consider it a failure. Why is no one asking the why the most powerful game console in history, beside the fact that it's a FUCKING GAME CONSOLE also, has more features than any other Blu-Ray player, but still manages to be the cheapest? We are getting fucked. Don't buy Blu until they get their shit together and start dropping prices.

Charles

DrXym

Good luck getting people to download actual high definition programming, not the faux-hd that they're trying to pass off. It's like if you ordered a dvd a couple years ago and you got a vhs instead.

Azures

It is fairly clear that blu-ray still has a year to go before it's stable, and that final-version player prices won't start to come down to the magic $200 point for at least a year after that. Call it 2010 or 2011 before they even have a shot at the mass market buyer.

HD DVD was there 6 months ago.

So, had Fox and Warner gone Red, killing blu-ray, we'd be talking about "the year of Hi-def players" in 2008. Now, it's more of the same for several years, while MS and the rest figure out how to do download with the same ease they've finally done for audio. Bet you they get there first.

So, Rah, rah, blu-ray. You've won the war, but not the battle. Short-sighted suits.

kcmurphy88

Azures

Indyhouse

Wilson Rothman

Crazysamz

Only a fanboy would.

el bryanto

FЯeeMan

Canadian Impostor

If you didn't jump in to the format war yet, good for you I guess. Most of us with HD-DVD players spent $150 on them or so and the discs still play fine. I've switched over to only buying Blu-ray discs from now on, but it's not a big deal.

Canadian Impostor

If you think the current download technologies like Apple, Netscape, etc qualify as 'works' you must have an SD television. HD downloads aren't actually "HD". They aren't even as high a quality as plain old DVD. Blue-ray is capable of more content and higher quality video than HD-DVD and leaps and bounds higher than plain old DVD and not even in the same universe as downloading. There's a great comparison chart on this over at ZDnet.com. Have a look.

Removable media for movies isn't dead until you can actually download a real HD-quality movie in less than an hour. And if AT&T has their way, you'll pay a dear penny to do it.

shawn_dude

But I have no love for Sony: proprietary formats, grudging (and late) acceptance of standard technologies, rootkits... Looks like I'll just skip the physical media for my HD needs and go straight to downloads. AppleTV, here I come.

ranum

yogibimbi

dead_red_eyes

Hmmm....

JustSomeDude

itwasthedog

My standard DVD player died this weekend, and when I compared the 7 free movies and upconvert to standard 100-dollar upconvert players, this was a no-brainer. And if that means I have to buy a Blu-Ray player in 2 years when it dominates and the prices drop below $150... so be it.

But it's HD-DVD for me, for the time being.

JustSomeDude

Also, would anyone like to buy a lovely Toshiba brick with a matching set of novelty coasters?

blank

francisrizzo3

oK, everybody else: welcome to language-KZ...(or CC, if you so wish)

yogibimbi

mykalt45

I don't care which format wins, like other people I shan't be wasting any money 'til it's good and settled and cheap. But in the back of my mind, I'm uneasy that Sony's lot have won - their tracks record isn't great when it comes to doing things that are in the customer's best interest...

Step666

mykalt45

We fell for that trick once - not a lot of people I know are going to fall for it on the new media. The new formats would sell better IMHO if they actually released the "ultimate" DTS MA/Dolby TrueHD - 1080p versions and skipped the - we copied our standard DVD transfer to the new media and slapped in an interview with the Gaffer and want to charge you twice as much edition.

boe

You have an HT set up good enough to get value from a HiDef Media format, but you're squealing about spending $300?

No offense meant, but perhaps you should have fully funded your retirement plan before jumping into HD HT.

Monoplex

keysereble

You know, that's one thing that been trotting in my head for a while... Isn't this war a bit pointless? I thought we were starting to move away from shiny discs and becoming more download oriented.

IrisMR

The 9-figure payouts certainly make a better story though.

James D

camel109

Also, my prediction: in 2-3 years, when HD userbase hits like 10-15% (the rest will still use DVDs), Blu-Ray will be dead. And its supporters - PS3 kids will be a part of the past.

Cable on demand delivery and movie downloads will replace physical media for early adopters of technology. The el-cheapo guys will still use DVDs.

What is going to happen with HD-DVD? May become the computer media format if cheap HD-DVD writers get to the market. And at that time evil Sony format will be in the dust.

OldPunk

kiwy82

IrisMR

tivoupgrade

A Lawyer

savager

Brock

ProSeven

The format war ended years ago. DVD is the winner.

Gadget Goat

ViewtifulJason

So, is that whole payola-to-support-my-format thing indicative of how the entertainment industry as a whole is run? (Yeah, I know it's unsubstantiated, but something smells a little off...)

turly

liveallnight

boe

The.Goalkeeper

Not again. I'm not buying another fu

You can slap paint on a canvas but that doesn't make it art. You can whip out a shoddy transfer on HDDVD or BR DVD and it doesn't make it a better copy than standard DVD.

Want to see the new formats take off? Try actually making all the transfers top quality the first time. You can still produce standard DVDs for those who dont' want the best quality possible and want to save 2 bucks but if you want HT enthusiasts to make the jump, give us a GOOD reason. DTS MA is here, 1080p is here - wasn't that the point of the new formats? Why buy the new formats if they aren't better than standard DVD?

boe

lulz. All your base are belong to Sony?

P3nnst8r

Seiven

SunZhiQian

TheGadgetGuru

xibis

So for the love of God, Toshiba, end this farce, let Blu-Ray win, and everyone get to the business of dropping the top end player price below $300 and releasing Blu Ray burners for my PC.

elvindeath

AmishJohn

adam12hicks

rubu