Universal HD DVD exclusivity contract has expired, sits non-renewed
By Steven Kim 
posted Jan 10th 2008 12:39PM
posted Jan 10th 2008 12:39PM
More news from the format war today, and it isn't good for the red camp. Daily Variety has confirmed that Universal's agreement to stick with HD DVD has ended and has not been renewed. Additionally, Paramount has an escape clause in its contract that can be exercised following Warner's departure from the (now dwindling) HD DVD ranks. The article highlights various ongoing commitments both companies have to the format, but we've heard these kind of promises before from studios. It's feeling like a party where everyone leaves at once; nobody wants to be the first out the door, but everyone's looking in that direction. [Thanks, Mike M!]
Right now, Universal is the power behind HD-DVD. They can end the madness of this format war and put Blu Ray on the road to become cheaper :) End the madness so everyone can start adopting BD.
They will...they're just waiting on their $500M.
Sorry you get that for helping turn the tide, not being washed ashore by it. Universal and Paramount trying to remain HD DVD exclusive will harm no one but themselves at this point. If they want to sell Hi Dref Media, their only option is Blu-Ray... Other than, of course, that big clearance sale that's coming.
Sorry you get that for helping turn the tide, not being washed ashore by it. Universal and Paramount trying to remain HD DVD exclusive will harm no one but themselves at this point. If they want to sell Hi Dref Media, their only option is Blu-Ray... Other than, of course, that big clearance sale that's coming.
come on universal u can do it.
I prefer HD DVD, but I most prefer that the format war come to an end.
At this point, both Universal and Paramount should go format-neutral, in my opinion. That way, we can finally be done with this format war and move on to the main event - HD Media vs. SD DVD.
I still think you're a bunch of jerks, though, Blu-ray :)
I whole-heartidly agree. As much as I don't want to do it, it looks I will have to buy a BD player this year. I'm going to wait until a Profile 2.0 player is under $300 though, and all of the studios are officially on board.
I didn't buy an HD-DVD player, but I bought my father a $99 A2 for x-mas, and now I feel like a shmuck for doing so.
I prefer HD DVD, but I most prefer that the format war come to an end.
At this point, both Universal and Paramount should go format-neutral, in my opinion. That way, we can finally be done with this format war and move on to the main event - HD Media vs. SD DVD.
I still think you're a bunch of jerks, though, Blu-ray :)
Sorry about the double post! All I did was reload the page!
I agree TrentD, I believe HD-DVD is a better format but the war does need to come to an end. Although, in retrospect I could care less as an adopter of both formats.
"It's raining red...hallelujah is raining red...raining red"
lol...but honestly Universal should just go Neutral til May like Warner followed by exclusive Blu-Ray support....same for Paramount.
I'm ready for Heroes on Blu-Ray.
It's a relief for me to see the format war showing signs of coming to an end. I used to be a big collector of DVDs, thinking that they represented the end-all perfect digital representation of my favorite flicks and shows. When I got my first HDTV was the first time I realized that DVDs were *gasp* not in HD!
I have players for both formats but I've been trying as hard as I can to buy as few discs as possible. I probably have about 10 discs in each format. If Paramount and Universal support Blu-ray, I'm sure that there'll be a considerable spike in sales of HD media in general since the risk of investing in a potentially dead format will be lifted.
So even though HD-DVD is objectively the more capable format at this point in time, I'd prefer for the war end quickly. Blu-ray's catching up anyway, and the mass market really won't be confused about Profile 1.0 vs 1.1, etc in the end, since the mass market won't be buying out of date players in the future when the tech becomes mainstream.
So cheers to Warner for making the right decision to tip the scales and end this silliness for everyone.
"the mass market really won't be confused about Profile 1.0 vs 1.1"
No, they'll be confused by Profile 1.1 vs 2.0 instead... Then Blu-Ray Plus, Blu-Ray Triple Layer, Blu-Ray x4, Blu-Ray Deluxe, Super Blu-Ray, Even Bluer-Ray, Blu-Ray Lite, Blu-Ray Mini...
Toshiba rightly launched the DVD standard complete and left it alone for 10 years. Todays discs will still work in a 1997 player! That's why it was so successful.
Couldn't agree more, Larry. I picked the losing side, and now I've got a another box that, like my laserdisc, will be kept around just in case I decide to watch one of about 20 or so movies I have in that format. I should have learned that lesson before, but this time I'm going to try to not get burned... I'll be holding off on Blu at least until Profile 2, and then I'll see what the landscape looks like. My New Year's resolution is to stop by dead-end gear...
Larry, actually, DVD didn't launch complete and if you have a first generation DVD player NOT all of today's discs will work in it. Prime example - discs that only have DTS soundtracks. The first gen players didn't support DTS at all, that was a revision.
@Larry
Since when do 1.1 discs not play in 1.0? The new profiles only add features. If you don't have the most recent profile, only the features that are part of the profile you don't have will not work, but the disc will still play.
Hopefully they will go at least neutral!
Business' only fire ppl on Fridays.
Paramount announcement was fridy in august.
Warner's was last Friday.
Expect a Friday this week for Universal maybe.
Sounds like a possibility considering that, technically, CES is over Friday.
Yeah, they won't want to do it at CES - the Toshiba reps would come over and beat them!
Let's hope so. I've been waiting for this thing to end so I can start a collection. I'm new to buying movies, I don't even have any DVDs so it'll be good to start from fresh with HD (whether that's HD-DVD or BD). I think a lot of people assume everyone has a full DVD collection already and won't "upgrade" their movies to HD, but there's plenty of people like me with disposable income that were too young or busy to get into buying DVD's, and now want to start. We're just waiting for a winner so we can get on with spending some money.
Thanks to engadget for your reports I've found it v interesting.
"Business' only fire ppl on Fridays."
Not true at all! I got shafted on a Thursday!!
I agree lets go Universal lets end this you know you are going to anyway and Paramount won't be too far behind. Nothing wrong with HD it's just everyone is now going Blu...
I can't wait until 2009 when the format war is a distant memory, and I can watch Serenity and Transformers on Blu-ray.
I feel really bad for the people who do have HD DVD players, but it does give them a great upconvert player for a second-room HDTV. Plus all their HD Discs will still play. Those Samsung $600 combos coming in may look pretty good now.
http://www.betanews.com/article/Bluray_Early_adopters_knew_what_they_were_getting_into/1199841379
Representatives at the Blu-ray booth at CES told BetaNews that the PlayStation 3 is currently the only player they would recommend, due to upcoming changes to the platform."
"When BetaNews asked developers of BD Live whether they were concerned about a backlash from early adopters who supported the format from the beginning, we were told: "They knew what they were getting into."
"When BetaNews asked why these manufacturers rushed out players that were not fully capable and potentially buggy due to their BD-J implementation, the Blu-ray partner pointed blame across the room to HD DVD. "We should have waited another year to introduce Blu-ray to the public, but the format war changed the situation," he said. HD DVD was already coming and the BDA had no choice but to launch Blu-ray."
This is exactly why people should not buy a blu-ray player until the spec (2.0) is completed. I suspect blu-ray hardware (stand alone) sales will still be very low again in 2008, even if blu-ray wins tomorrow.
Early adopters I don't think can really come back and cry fowl if it changes (I'm an early adopter). Yes the DVD Spec may not have changed, but considering a "standard" DVD Player now does MP3, WMA, DVD, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, maybe even Divx which are things the earliest DVD Players could'nt do, this is about the same. Like ANY technology the longer you wait the better it gets. Most of the time anyways.
Let's get Real! HD-DVD was a limited, stop-gap format that was going to rely on heavy compression to play long format HD (not even mentioning 4k resolutions now being used in production and talked about being used for high end gaming).
4k video is a heartbeat away from desktop computing. So what does that get you with a HD-DVD player? .... 15 minutes of uncompressed media or a picture so compresed it look like extend play VHS.
Good riddance to a format I would need to replace in 2 years!
I'd advise Universal and anyone else to gouge as much cash out of Blu-ray as possible.
Why not?
Warner just took them for $500 mil.
Unfortunately for Blu-ray they will not actually be seeing their player or media sales leap during the 2nd half of 2008.
The bluff has been called.
Later when (as those nice inexpensive upscaling Chinese DVD players - that just happen to also play HD DVD beautifully - sell in multi-millions.......like they do right now) Warner, Universal etc etc can all say they gave Blu-ray a chance and it fell flat on it's face.
Then they will be set to tap into that huge pool of potential HD DVD owners (with a huge advertising campaign, ironically, funded by Sony et al).
Blu-ray have 'done' nothing concrete so far.
In fact as the mask slips (with things like the "you knew what you were getting into" comments they can expect nothing 'great' this year at all.
There you go, spreading those lies again.
Cheap Chinese upscaling players that will magically play HD-DVD's = active imagination
"Selling in Muli-Millions" - that was funny, I'll give you that.
WB took $500M - Care to provide a reliable link there liar?
You did get the right idea though, Paramount DID take that HD-DVD money, and thanks to them, has the funding to hit the ground running with some BLU releases.
You need to start re-reading your posts prior to pressing send and saving yourself the constant embarrassment your posts have become.
Welcome back Truth Teller!
Up to your old tricks selling your same old shite!
The tidal wave of Chinese HD-DVD players are still coming?
Also see you jumped on the old Warner conspiracy pay-off FUD that the disgruntled HD-DEAD fan-bois have been spreading round the net.
Give it up!
Hey TruthTeller,
I recall some very very arrogant and snide sounding posts from you prior to CES just "prooooomising" CES would be nice to HDDVD and shut up all BD fans.... well?
After all the bravado and arrogance of those posts, what's your explanation.
Everyone else click back a few weeks and read over this guys stuff.
I was never a fanboy but fell into BD due to the PS3, and just specefically remember the promises you were making about CES and now would like details.
Truth Teller, you're living in cloud cuckoo land. Shouldn't you be over your denial phase by now?
Well, one thing is for sure, the format wars drew a lot of people to this web site and looking at all the posts, any dealing with the format wars drew many many comments and others dealing with other topics drew very few. So I am not sure what you are all so happy about as once this all dies down which will happen extremely fast now, you will get far less hits on this web site. So good luck with that. As for the format war, although I choose HD DVD, I pretty much knew it was the losing format when I bought it, but also knew that the format war would drive prices down. I did not buy many movies (I have 5), only rented them, so at this point I just have a great upscaling DVD player that at $200.00 I over paid for. And I am sure I will be able to pick up HD DVD for a steal and someday when I have grand children they can look on my video shelf and ask what are these. And I will not be running out to pick up a Blu-Ray player anytime soon, I will give it about 2 years. I have tons of HD content with DirecTV. But again, I am not so sure what you guys are so happy about, it sure was good for your business.
As a PS3 owner and Blu-Ray supporter I just want to see the war end now so I can go ahead and build my Blu Ray collection. I have 5 now because I got them as Christmas presents after I got my PS3 but I have waited to really drop money and participate in bogos on Blu Rays.
I was actually about to go out and buy a HD DVD player because I wanted lots of movies that are only on HD DVD right now. I was also going to buy the Sammy BD5500 thats coming out but now I may not need to waste the money. I dont hate HD DVD but I got a PS3 first so I chose Blu. Also I think as a future storage and computer media format Blu Ray would have won out due to capacity.
I Would like to know where to buy a profile 2.0 blu-ray player that has blu-ray interactive with a network port for upgrade? i dont want to be stuck with a player that can not do everything i just saw at CES and i dont want a playstation 3.
DEEZNUTZ the only thing genuinely "embarrassing" here is the manner in which you (like so many of your fellow game console devotees) routinely have nothing to say except some tired old PR and a line in rather pathetic and infantile personal abuse.
S'funny how all the comment about problems with profiles was written off by you guys as pute 'lies' and HD DVD 'FUD'.
Now the mask has slipped and even the BDA themselves have publicly admitted the truth
(but typically leave profile 1.0 standalone owners with a 'f*ck you, you're on your own, you knew what you were getting into'
Well, you were the one that kept saying just wait for CES.
You make it too easy to pick on you Liar...
Those so-called Chinese HD-DVD players aren't meant to come to the US market, they're meant to be sold in China to combat piracy in China, hence HD-DVD China being INCOMPATIBLE with HD-DVD elsewhere. But you conveniently ignore "minor" fact don't you?
Even if there was a spec of truth about those players coming to the market, come March, All studios will have already jumped shipthere won't even be a market for them cause no retailer in their right mind is going to buy up inventory in players with the doomed HD-DVD logo on it. It's simple business, not blind fanboy rubbish you conjure up.
Seriously though, both formats fought it out in the market. And you know what? Maybe the "Better" format lost, but that's the free-market.
Why trash WB when they gave HD-DVD a VERY fair chance at taking the HDM market? They gave HD-DVD timed exclusive content with BATMAN Begins and the MATRIX, both BIG titles. WB HD-DVD transfers have consistently been great. They've given more support for HD-DVD being neutral than PARAMOUNT has being so-called exclusive.
WB saw that it's better for the consumer, their bottom line, and for the growth of the HDM market in general competing with DVD to have one format.
Those fire-sale HD-DVD players (which I myself bought and proudly) wasn't enough to turn the tide for HD-DVD. BD still outsold them on players over the holidays despite costing more. It was content that moved those players, not price.
DEEZNUTZ, even if China has some HD DVD variant, it won't stop Chinese manufacturers making cheap Blu Ray players. Indeed, they'll be absolutely delighted to. I think it's largely irrelevant what format China chooses anyway unless someone wants to watch a load of Chinese domestic crap and nothing else.
*quote* Blake
Welcome back Truth Teller!
=====================================================================================
Thank you Blake, but I never went away.
What I have previously said was the truth as it was then knowable - and even the most devoted Blu-ray fan knows (whether they admit it or not) that this all came so close to going the other way entirely.
*************************************************************************************
*quote* Blake
The tidal wave of Chinese HD-DVD players are still coming?
=====================================================================================
Since when was it a secret that HD DVD China launches in march?
Do you really think the manufacturers who currently sell SD DVD players are not going to come and sell their new lines of better DVD players (that also play HD DVD)?
That's just the truth, no bull no tricks.
*************************************************************************************
*quote* Blake Also see you jumped on the old Warner conspiracy pay-off FUD that the disgruntled HD-DEAD fan-bois have been spreading round the net.
You think they did it for free and out of the goodness of their hearts then?
From what I have seen, Warners made the switch based off of the sales over the xmas season showing Blue favored over HD. If you would like to offer some proof that Warners did take a pay off from BDA, please do so.
Where in the article does it say it was not renewed?
Where are the deals? Get $100 off your Blu-Ray player purchase when you turn in your old HD-DVD player...
All through this war I always had faith in the Blu-Ray format, but thought the Blu-Camp made some really bad choices in picking the movies to push the format. HD DVD has hands down had the best exclusives, with a few notable exceptions.
Makes me wonder about the taste in movies of fellow early adopters :-)
The Fat Lady sang last Friday. The remaining studios are now just going thought the motions of moving over to Blu without getting into legal trouble with Toshiba. If Toshiba had any respect for the paying customer, they would at the very least accept defeat and release the remaining studios from their contracts.
Make the death of HD DVD a clean kill, don't let an unwinnable battle drag out and make consumers even more wary of the high-def format. The best way for Toshiba to start getting some of it's losses back is to start making bad ass blu-ray players.
Let it go. To quote my hero from "The IT-Crowd";
I'm sorry about your loss. move on.
If Universal decides to leave, they need to drive Toshiba out to a field and tell them they stole a going away present, then pull out an HD-DVD player and a baseball bat and let Toshiba have at it while "Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangster" plays in the background.
Aha, nice one. LOL.
Of course, this is a "completely hypothetical" heheheh situation.
heres the thing, it says they are ending thier exclusitivty with HDdvd and going bluray, But it doesnt say they are being exclusily wiht bluray. So they might still release movies in both format, whcih means it wouldnt be the death of HD, it means they could double thier profits by selling in both formats
No. I am tired of people thinking this. It does not matter if they go exclusive Blu Ray. If they do dual support from either Paramount OR Universal this thing will be over. period. Blu Ray would have too much support from studios. They would have Sony, Fox, Warner, Disney, Lions Gate and then on top of that Universal or Parmount. HD DVD would have Universal, Paramount. Where the hell would any incentive be to buy an HD DVD player. The cheaper price, the irrelevent extra features, the completed spec would mean absolutely nothing to the average consumer if it only could play a handful of studio movies compared to a different player that played 90% of the films made. Warner was the knockout punch, and either of these studios will be the kill shot. EXCLUSIVE OR NOT!