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Hey HD DVD: It's Not Just a Flesh Wound


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[url="http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/01/hey-hd-dvd-its.html"]http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/01/hey-hd-dvd-its.html[/url]

[quote][size=4][b]Hey HD DVD: It's Not Just a Flesh Wound[/b][/size]

You've got to hand to Toshiba. Even now, when faced with overwhelming evidence that Sony's Blu-ray has won the high def format war, the mortally wounded HD DVD backer just keeps on prolonging the inevitable.

First, Toshiba decides to dramatically cut prices on its HD DVD players in the U.S. following Warner Bros. Blu-ray defection earlier this month. Now, for reasons that also escape us, the company has decided to buy a 30-second Super Bowl spot for $2.7 million to advertise its desperation those marked down HD DVD players.

Of course, none of this is really convincing consumers. As Ars Technica recently noted, in the week following the Warner Bros. defection, weekly HD DVD player sales tanked big time, falling from 14,558 the week previous to a measly 1,758.

Meanwhile, Blu-ray saw a reverse trend, climbing from 15,257 to 21,770. In fact, the format ended up capturing approximately 93 percent of the market that week, according to NDP.

On Monday, Toshiba received another blow, this time from the U.K.'s Woolworths chain. The retail store announced it will be switching exclusively to Blu-ray after it discovered that the latter titles outsold HD DVD 10-to-1 during the holiday season. Woolsworths will be the first major retailer to solely back one of the new high definition DVD formats, but I'm guessing we'll see plenty more when Warner Bros. goes Blu-ray exclusively in May.

Gartner also decided to weigh in on those HD DVD player price cuts on Monday -- yup, the ones that Toshiba is going to spend 2.7 million advertising -- and concluded that they amount to nothing more than "useless resistance" in the battle against Blu-ray, at best prolonging the format's life by a few months.

So why, after the market has clearly spoken (in a loud and deliberate tone), is Toshiba still pretending like it has a chance to win this war? We've already wasted close to two years waiting for this HD mess to resolve itself, and it seems more than a little insulting to have to endure Toshiba's prolonged death scene for another year.

So to the HD DVD camp I say this: You've put up a good fight, guys, but seriously, what are you going to, bleed on Blu-ray? Let's move on with our lives.[/quote]
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I agree that HD-DVD is pretty much screwed, but this is an extremely biased "article."

How can you fault a company for fighting to keep their product alive?

I disagree with the statement that the "market has clearly spoken." The $500 million payoff to Warner for going exclusive has done the most talking.
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i didnt know Smooth_kw wrote a blog...




anyway.. a good SB commercial could easily revive sales.. people are sheep, "oh noez i heardz HDDVD isnt going to winz" but a good commercial stating they arent going anywhere in the SB along with cheaper players would likely revive sales...
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[quote name='GoBengals' post='627997' date='Jan 29 2008, 09:42 AM']i didnt know Smooth_kw wrote a blog...[/quote]


:lol:

[quote name='Bunghole' post='628004' date='Jan 29 2008, 09:46 AM']He does have a blog, but it's about PS3 upgrade issues, not HD DVD/BluRay stuff....
:ninja:[/quote]


:lol:

[quote name='GoBengals' post='628035' date='Jan 29 2008, 10:22 AM']ah, good, glad he sticks to what he knows is right.[/quote]

:lol:

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I have DVD player, about 1 year old. Plays HD movies I rent just fine.

Will some one tell me what blue ray is, and if I should get one to replace my dvd play?

I have a Akai 54'' big screen. 90% of the time its not on HD, But I have cable, over 100 channels, and 19 of them are in HD. My Tv is HD TV though, and switches to HD when I watch those channels (really nice). But the wife and I are saving for a LCD or plasma TV in the next 1 to 2 years. Should I just wait to get a blue ray then?

thx
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  • 2 weeks later...
Awww...some people got's da sand in their vag's 'cos da blu-ray, like I told you about a year ago, dominated?


Where's that line you guys always come back with when the HD format "war's" were going being waged?


Why'd y'all stop being so vag-tastic when talking about BLUURAAAAAAAAAAAAY?
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[quote name='sm00th_kw' post='631388' date='Feb 11 2008, 01:44 AM']Awww...some people got's da sand in their vag's 'cos da blu-ray, like I told you about a year ago, dominated?


Where's that line you guys always come back with when the HD format "war's" were going being waged?


Why'd y'all stop being so vag-tastic when talking about BLUURAAAAAAAAAAAAY?[/quote]


Your an idiot, people didnt say that blu-ray was dead they were saying you were dumb for making that one of the reasons to buy a ps3 when at the time there was no clear leader. But hey enjoy that ps3 that is still losing the next gen wars.
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[url="http://news.wired.com/dynamic/stories/N/NETFLIX_BLU_RAY?SITE=WIRE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-02-11-09-54-37"]http://news.wired.com/dynamic/stories/N/NE...-02-11-09-54-37[/url]

[quote][b]Netflix Opts for Blu-Ray High-Def DVDs[/b]

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) -- Netflix Inc., the online movie rental company, said Monday it is switching exclusively to the Blu-ray format for high-definition DVDs, following four major movie studios in selecting the Sony technology over one pushed by Toshiba Corp.

Toshiba and Sony have been vying to set the standard for high-definition DVDs for several years. The stakes are high because the winner will also get a boost in sales of DVD players needed to read the new format.

The Walt Disney Co., Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures, News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer have endorsed Blu-ray. Paramount and Universal Studios publish their high-definition DVDs in Toshiba's HD DVD format.

Netflix has stocked both formats since they became available in 2006, but said the decision of four of the six major studios to issue films only in Blu-ray format made it likely that the Sony format will prevail.

"From the Netflix perspective, focusing on one format will enable us to create the best experience for subscribers," the company said, adding that not many customers order high-def DVDs.

Many consumers have held off on buying a high-def DVD player until the dominant format is decided.[/quote]
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[quote name='Montana Bengal' post='631432' date='Feb 11 2008, 11:30 AM'][url="http://news.wired.com/dynamic/stories/N/NETFLIX_BLU_RAY?SITE=WIRE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-02-11-09-54-37"]http://news.wired.com/dynamic/stories/N/NE...-02-11-09-54-37[/url][/quote]


Shit,shit,shit. I would of chose the blockbuster service if i knew this was going to happen. Oh well, i only have 4 months left on my subscription
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[quote name='bengalrick' post='631417' date='Feb 11 2008, 10:26 AM']HD DVD should have thought of a cool name and they would have dominated... HD DVD makes me go to sleep...

i have seen neither of the technologies, only going off the name... blueray is much cooler of a name...[/quote]
True dat. Blu-ray rolls of the tongue with ease. HD-DVD is clumsy and unimaginative.
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Does this mean I do not need to worry about buying that LG Blu-ray/HD-DVD player. I seriously have that thing in a shopping cart online waiting a few weeks to hit the checkout now button. I've been waiting to see how this whole war pans out, but was gonna get the dual player in the meantime.

Are there any movies that will only be on HDDVD, that I could never get on Bluray? Like the Transformers or something? Anyone?
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[quote name='steggyD' post='631544' date='Feb 11 2008, 08:29 PM']Does this mean I do not need to worry about buying that LG Blu-ray/HD-DVD player. I seriously have that thing in a shopping cart online waiting a few weeks to hit the checkout now button. I've been waiting to see how this whole war pans out, but was gonna get the dual player in the meantime.

Are there any movies that will only be on HDDVD, that I could never get on Bluray? Like the Transformers or something? Anyone?[/quote]


i'm sure wants its all over they will make bluray versions of the hd exclusive dvd.
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[quote name='steggyD' post='631544' date='Feb 11 2008, 08:29 PM']Does this mean I do not need to worry about buying that LG Blu-ray/HD-DVD player. I seriously have that thing in a shopping cart online waiting a few weeks to hit the checkout now button. I've been waiting to see how this whole war pans out, but was gonna get the dual player in the meantime.

Are there any movies that will only be on HDDVD, that I could never get on Bluray? Like the Transformers or something? Anyone?[/quote]
Here's the current studio breakdown:

Blu-ray:
Warner Bros.
Fox
Disney
Lion's Gate
MGM
Sony

HD-DVD:
Paramount (includes Dreamworks)
Universal

Not to mention Blockbuster and Netflix have gone Blu-ray only, and also
[url="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080211-best-buy-netflix-join-hd-dvd-dogpile.html"]Best Buy says today it will no longer recommend HD-DVD players to customers.[/url].
[img]http://media.arstechnica.com/news.media/tombstone.jpg[/img]


Here is a complete list of movies that you will have to wait until Paramount and Universal see the light to get them on Blu-ray:
[url="http://www.thelookandsoundofperfect.com/hddvd/movies/catalog/all/"]http://www.thelookandsoundofperfect.com/hd...es/catalog/all/[/url]
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[quote name='steggyD' post='631544' date='Feb 11 2008, 08:29 PM']Does this mean I do not need to worry about buying that LG Blu-ray/HD-DVD player. I seriously have that thing in a shopping cart online waiting a few weeks to hit the checkout now button. I've been waiting to see how this whole war pans out, but was gonna get the dual player in the meantime.

Are there any movies that will only be on HDDVD, that I could never get on Bluray? Like the Transformers or something? Anyone?[/quote]

I wouldn't buy the combo player. You can buy an HD player and a PS3 for less.
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[quote name='whodey24k' post='631435' date='Feb 11 2008, 11:41 AM']Shit,shit,shit. I would of chose the blockbuster service if i knew this was going to happen. Oh well, i only have 4 months left on my subscription[/quote]
dont switch, i just switched back to netflix.

Blockbuster now only allows you 2 exchanges in store and no longer a couple free rentals. It is more expensive than the netflix plans now too and the online setup sucks
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[quote name='steggyD' post='631578' date='Feb 12 2008, 12:58 AM']Not really. I'm getting one that will be part of my PC setup, which is also attached to a hi-def TV. The drive is only $250ish, plays DVD's & Blu-Ray.[/quote]

My bad... I thought you were talking about the stand alone combo player which goes for like $600.

I think the combo drive for the PC is a good idea. If HD does die soon you will be able to get a lot of discs for <$10.
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[quote name='sm00th_kw' post='631388' date='Feb 11 2008, 01:44 AM']Awww...some people got's da sand in their vag's 'cos da blu-ray, like I told you about a year ago, dominated?


Where's that line you guys always come back with when the HD format "war's" were going being waged?


Why'd y'all stop being so vag-tastic when talking about BLUURAAAAAAAAAAAAY?[/quote]

the diss was to the ps3 being overpriced and having a lame duck blu ray player in it, thus making it almost double the price of the competition, driving unit sales to the cellar..and having minimal market share...

and the ps3 tools barking that blu ray was making it worth buying at that ridiculous price, and since its a gaming console discussion, and the only reason given for the ps3 being great, was a non gaming feature. which is silly.

but who would expect you to actually comprehend what people write?

BLUUUURAAYY!!!!!!!!!
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