Rumor: HD-DVD Fate Sealed, Paramount Goes BluRay?
Paramount is ready to pack its toys and go over to BluRay's house, leaving HD-DVD with only one friend to play with. The Financial Times have brought to light a certain clause that Paramount has in its contract with HD-DVD. This clause allows the studio to abandon its commitment with HD-DVD in the event that Warner goes exclusively to BluRay. Well, we reported just a day or two ago that Warner has done just that. Can we soon expect a formal announcement of Paramount's departure from HD-DVD to BluRay? I feel it is only a matter of time...actually, days. With only one heavy hitter in HD-DVD's corner, I say it's pretty fair to assume that BluRay has won the format war.
What do you think of this rumor that has yet to solidify? As I said sentences ago, tis' inevitable. Resistance is futile.
Paramount in HD DVD blow [Financial Times]
[via Gizmodo]
Super Timsy
Posted to Miscellany, Movies-DVDs on 8 January 2008
· Comments (8)
Other stuff like this: format war, hd-dvd, paramount
This item is crap. Every "exclusive media" agreement has a number of easy out clauses otherwise it would be an anti-trust/racketeering violation. Paramount is no closer to going Blu-Ray than they were 3 months ago - they pay attention to their sales and avoid the grandstanding.
It's not even a done deal that Warner Bros. will follow through with their May 2008 warning - 44% of their HD sales were HD-DVD in the last quarter - despite what the dumbass CEO laid out, Warners left lots of room to change their mind between now and then.
Blu-Ray is a colossal DRM-laden rip off for consumers, the only beneficiaries are the companies that make Blu-Ray products. Another Sony controlled technology that is doomed to fail as soon as it "succeeds".
Why don't you guys stop playing into the frenzy of hype and start raging against the consumer being screwed if choice/competition disappears? Get off the lemming bandwagon!
David B.
On a little bit of a happier note compared to the previous commenter...
I hope this means that all of the rumors and reports on the subject will stop for our benefit. :) I enjoy hearing about them, but it's been so long and I just want someone to win already. I completely refuse to purchase one or the other (even if it means buying a PS3) if there is no clear winner. Basically I'm waiting for one to completely drop dead, then I'll buy in. I want high-def movies too! I'm just cheap. :)
So it sounds like we might be close... *crosses fingers*
You should care about it. Blu-Ray discs are 2-3 times more expensive than HD-DVD (as are the machines) - and they have fewer features - except the notification ones that Sony is trying to quietly implement in their new internet ready devices that report to their servers if the media is believed to be copied.
what do you mean fewer features? are you talking about the bonus features. if so that has nothing to do with the format but the cheap companies that don't add that data to the disk.
also, yes they are more expensive. but did you know they hold much more data? which means it is much more future proof.
I as well hate certain sneaky things Sony does to fu_k the consumers. they were exposed with that rootkit manipulator treachery. who knows what kind of back-stabbing conspiracy they have going/planned for blu-ray.
Paramount made an announcement to quash the rumor: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aQMGgh2LV_bU&refer=japan
Of course, people who would prefer Blu-ray to be dominant will just claim Paramount is being coy, just as people in the HD-DVD camp are saying Warner will back down before May.
Doesn't really matter to me as a movie buyer because I'm not buying anything with copy protection I can't break. But the idea of a movie format owned by a movie studio really alarms me, and I've never been able to understand why it doesn't alarm all the other studios.
Not to mention porn makers, but the press is treating that one porn studio's Blu-ray announcement as some kind of indication that the entire porn industry is going Blu-ray. I can't believe they even make HD pr0n in the first place..... I like pr0n but ewww. The light glistening on certain lubed up or sweaty body parts is alluring at 480i, but the extra details visible at 1080p might not be as appetizing.
so you guys are pissed because you can't illegally copy blu-ray discs?
got it.
To my knowledge, I can't copy either HD-DVD or Blu-ray discs at all, not even for legal uses.
DVDs have been copiable for a long time, so that I can copy a movie or TV show to my DS, portable video player or whatever. I can also play them on Linux, something I don't think either HD format will allow at present.
Until I'm able to do the same things with my legally purchased high-def discs (what, you think I'm going to buy two or more copies of every movie? Is that you, Dan Glickman?), I'm not going to buy into either format. Meanwhile, I'll continue telling my friends and family members who ask me before making any kind of technology purchase that both are ripoffs. I'm not the kind of guy who will pay more to get less flexibility; I leave that to Apple users.
But make an illegal copy of an HD-DVD or BD? Who would bother when there's bittorrent?
To David B,
It is completely untrue that the blu-ray disks are 2 to 3 times more expensive than HD-DVD disks. The consumer price is the same. The manufacturing costs of blu-ray disks are diminishing as well, and will be lower due to economy of scales.
The quanlity of the blu-ray disk itself is better, because it has a protective layer, and HD-DVD does not.
If you compare prices of the machines, they are really comparable. The difference is that HD-DVD are offering 1080i (interlaced) quality machines at a lower price and the blu-ray machines are always 1080p (progressive) quality