Universal Set to go Blu Immediately; Still Release HD-DVD

February 20, 2008

BluRay

From the files of the “No Shit” archive, media giant and former B.F.F. of HD-DVD, is already planning to go full Blu-ray as soon as they can. Universal does have future plans and releases in HD-DVD. There are still many people out there, myself included, who have some sort of an HD-DVD player or attachment. These people will still need media until they can make the switch. Here is what Universal had to say:

“While Universal values the close partnership we have shared with Toshiba, it is time to turn our focus to releasing new and catalog titles on Blu-ray,” said Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

No word yet on Dreamworks and Paramount, but both have titles set to release in the old format as does Time Warner. The format war is over; we know this. There still will be some new titles coming to appease the alienated millions who took the wrong side in the conflict.

By Steve Kohlbecker | Tagged , , , | Comments (2)

A Few Words for HD-DVD

February 19, 2008


As you may have read, HD-DVD is going to join Betamax in the Land of Misfit Media Players. Here is a eulogy that I feel is appropriate:

Donny was a good bowler, and a good man. He was one of us. He was a man who loved the outdoors… and bowling, and as a surfer he explored the beaches of Southern California, from La Jolla to Leo Carrillo and… up to… Pismo. He died, like so many young men of his generation, he died before his time. In your wisdom, Lord, you took him, as you took so many bright flowering young men at Khe Sanh, at Langdok, at Hill 364. These young men gave their lives. And so would Donny. Donny, who loved bowling. And so, Theodore Donald Karabotsos, in accordance with what we think your dying wishes might well have been, we commit your final mortal remains to the bosom of the Pacific Ocean, which you loved so well. Good night, sweet prince.

Good Night Sweet Prince in did. Now, I cannot wait for the fire sale on HD-DVD’s to come.

By Steve Kohlbecker | Tagged , | Comments (2)

HD-DVD Officially Dead, Format Wars Officially Over

February 19, 2008

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Ring the bell people. It’s officially over. How official? Toshiba held a press conference in Japan this morning where they stated they will no longer sell or produce HD-DVD players or media beginning in March, as in two weeks from now.

Toshiba said they have no idea what other studios will do as far as future releases, but I’d be willing to be Universal and Paramount already have some plans for producing BluRay titles really soon.

I guess I’ll leave my HD-DVD add-on drive for the 360 hooked up for a while… at least until the few HD-DVD titles I own make their way over to BluRay (specifically the Bourne series, Transformers, and Knocked Up).

By Matt Banks | Tagged , , | Comments (2)

Microsoft Releases Statement About HD-DVD

February 18, 2008

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As the format war crawls to an ultimatum, MS, the biggest HD-DVD supporter outside of Toshiba, released a statement on how the feel HD-DVD is doing as well as their future plans. It does not reveal much, but it seems that they are gearing up for a huge Plan B. Here is said statement:

We do not believe the recent reports about HD DVD will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace. As we’ve long stated, we believe it is games that sell consoles and Xbox 360 continues to have the largest next-gen games library with the most exclusives and best selling games in the industry. We will wait until we hear from Toshiba before announcing any specific plans around the Xbox 360 HD DVD player. HD DVD is one of the several ways we offer a high definition experience to consumers and we will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room along with playback of the DVD movies they already own.

I would not mind seeing a Blu-ray attachment, but for the price of close to $200 dollars, you are almost better off buying a PS3. I am waiting for the fire sale of HD-DVD’s to start. Once they dump it, those movies will see a huge drop.

[via Gamerscoreblog]

By Steve Kohlbecker | Tagged , , , , | Comments (5)

Wal-Mart to Stop Selling HD-DVD

February 15, 2008

Walmart Image

Toshiba’s HD-DVD format is backed way into the corner and getting the piss beat out of it. The referee is mere seconds away from jumping in and stopping the fight. How did this all happen? Wal-Mart today announced they will stop selling all HD-DVD players and discs by June of this year. Ouch. Here’s what Susan Chronister of Wal-Mart had to say on the company’s blog:

So… if you bought the HD player like me, I’d retire it to the bedroom, kid’s playroom, or give it to your parents to play their John Wayne standard def movies, and make space for a BD player for your awesome Hi Def experience.

Sick burn. I guess it all started with the Warner announcement earlier this year, followed by the quick one-two combo of Netflix and Best Buy turning to BluRay. Now almart has made the switch, which looks to be the final nail in the coffin of HD-DVD. Seriously, if Wal-Mart stops stops selling your format, just call it quits.

[via Check Out Blog]

By Matt Banks | Tagged , , , | Comments (7)

Best Buy: We Recommend Blu-ray

February 12, 2008


I know, I know, another format war related post, but alas, this is news. I also just set the record for the most commas legally used in a sentence. Anyway, as the death of the HD-DVD seems to become an inevitable truth, Best Buy has decided to pick a favorite child:

Because we believe that Blu-ray is fast emerging as that single format, we have decided to focus on Blu-ray products,” Brian Dunn, Best Buy’s president and chief operating officer, said in a statement.

The reason behind this, you better sit down…Best Buy believes that the consumer will benefit from a single HD format. Well, shave off my pubes and punch me in the face.

[via reuters]

By Steve Kohlbecker | Tagged , , , | Comments (10)

Netflix Dumps HD-DVD for BluRay

February 11, 2008

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Aaaand the format wars are coming even closer to being over. Blockbuster only rents BluRay in store, and now Netflix is dropping HD-DVD from it’s online lineup. Current library titles will remain until the stock is depleted, but that will be it.

HD-DVD is really hanging on by a thread. The longer is stays around, the longer consumer confusion will remain. It’s better for the industry as a whole to have one format, and hopefully the move by Netflix will push the bar further to ending this drawn out battle.

[via Reuters]

By Matt Banks | Tagged , , , | Comments (3)

Blu-ray Grabs 93% of Market After Time Warner Announcement

January 22, 2008

HD DVD and Blu-ray players sales pie charts
Many predicted the death of the HD-DVD to be a slow and painful one, but it seems that the consumer is making up its mind. In the few short weeks since the announcement of Time Warner to go Blu-ray exclusive, the Sony format has grabbed 93% of sales  for the lucrative players market. It had previously shared a 60% lead in player sales in December.

I understand that this is only a few weeks and may be a statistically insignificant sample size, but maybe the format war may be coming to an end much earlier than much of us anticipated.

[Images via engadget]

By Steve Kohlbecker | Tagged , , , | Comments (3)

Rumor Mill: Paramount to Go Blu

January 8, 2008

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According to the Financial Times, Paramount will be opting out of it’s exclusive contract with HD-DVD and making the switch to BluRay. This comes after the big news of Warner Brothers going exclusive with the BluRay camp.

Apparently, Paramount has a clause in the contact that will allow them to opt out and make the jump to BluRay should Warner do the same. Why they put this in the contact, I don’t know. But either way, this would essentially shut the door for HD-DVD in the movie realm. Currently, BluRay commands 70% of the movie studios, and that number would only go up should Paramount jump sides as well.

I think we can all say it’s a good thing that the format war is coming to an end. Consumers need to know what to buy, and one format is the way to go. I personally prefer BluRay for the disc size, since everything else is roughly the same. I think Toshiba will keep HD-DVD around for PC use, which will be a good fit.

[via Financial Times]

By Matt Banks | Tagged , , | Comments (2)

Format Wars: Possibly Now Over

January 5, 2008

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The HD format wars could be reaching an end. That’s right, the end is in site. The winner? It looks like BluRay has come out on top. Yesterday, Warner Home Video announced it’s exclusive move to BluRay. The studio was formerly on the fence and had released titles for both formats. It’s now being reported that New Line, a subsidiary of Warner, has gone Blu as well. Both are huge hits to the HD-DVD camp, and they didn’t take the news well.

The HD-DVD press event for CES has been cancelled. That’s right, they’re entire press conference, cocktail party, and after parties have been canceled. I know they need to come at this from a big PR standpoint and need time to prepare, but canceling your only press event at the world’s biggest consumer electronics event? Yeah, doesn’t look good for the format.

Rumor has it that Paramount is looking for a way out of their exclusive contract with HD-DVD to move over to BluRay as well. And with recent stats showing the sales of players and movies for BluRay are trouncing the sales of HD-DVD, how can you argue the move?

Only time will tell, but ending the format war can only benefit the customer. I highly doubt Microsoft is going to release that Xbox 360 Ultimate given this news (if they were going to announce it anyway).

By Matt Banks | Tagged , , | Comments (4)