Warner's stance on restocking HD DVDs: only if demand necessitates
By Darren Murph 
posted Feb 14th 2008 7:19PM
posted Feb 14th 2008 7:19PM
[Thanks, Sebastian]
posted Feb 14th 2008 7:19PM
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
I have a feeling this will turn very sour quickly with comments like
"HD DVD is dead, no one buys them anymore"
"I'm stupid"
"HD DVD is going to make a comeback"
"I'm stupid"
"HD DVD, FTW"
"Blu-Ray, FTW"
"Ours(HD DVD) are cheaper"
"Ours(BRD) sell more"
"Ours(BRD) have studio support"
"I'm stupid"
"Why don't you cover any HD DVD news"
and finally another "I'm stupid"
Well I think I covered most of em. Have fun folks.
Just to clarify this, they are talking about HD DVD's ALREADY OUT, not new releases after the May cutoff.
To clarify, "there may be isolated instances that an HD DVD title will be created, but as a general rule, our titles will be out in SD and BD only after May 31" means there may be isolated instances that an HD DVD title will be created. New movie(s) in HD-DVD.
If they put out as many as one or two HD-DVD movies a month they'll be on par with Universal and Paramount.
Who Cares? Why aren't there more Engadget posts or discussions about Upconverting DVD players being the main reason HDM hasn't hit home with the public more and how can we fight that battle...?
BluRay vs HDDVD is like arguing about which person needs to be eliminated from American Gladiators, never mind the fact that HARDLY ANYONE IS EVEN WATCHING TO BEGIN WITH!
lol...
TFG
The best analogy for this format war I've heard yet is -
'2 bald men arguing over a comb'.
But it is fun taking the pi$$ out of the PS3 console kiddies and watching them get all puffed up & indignant over not beng taken seriously as a/v enthuisiasts just cos their PS3 has a BD player built in (possibly hooked up to sometyhing "awesome" like a Logitech soundman 5.1 set up)
.....wow!
That actually made me laugh out loud...
Sigh...
Man, I only have two friends that actually care about HDM (One has a PS#, the other a HD DVD player). My other friends either don't have HD sets due to pricing or apathy, or they HAVE an HD set but "don't see the difference" enough to justify the cost of stepping into HDM when play "good looking" upconverted DVDs...
I'm a film/tv editor so I try to school them but when they don't have either the funds or interest, what else can you do?
I don't care about choosing the format that's getting the spanking lately, I'm more upset that they're still not educating the public to HDM.
But then again we are talking about the general public...Even after DVD took over, it took years for people to understand what "Widescreen" and that the black bars on their TV wasn't their movies being "cut off"...
Quite, TFG.
We're also seeing it again with the switch to digital, some think that is connected to high def.
(and they wonder why some of us are convinced that the niche beckons HDMs on disc)
@Truth Teller
You are a fucking idiot. Just go away and die. Neither side wants to hear anything from you...
also want to clarify that they are not producing new HD DVD discs (except isolated circumstance: BBC titles). They are simply supplying it to retailer if there is demands. Once warner does not have anymore in their warehouse, that's it.
No, the article expressly says that "there may be isolated instances that an HD DVD title will be created". This means that new titles on HD DVD could be issued.
They are not talking about BBC, which has already stated that they will stick with HD DVD.
over 1 million HD-DVD players out there. I think if they have a title that everyone sells there stupid not to release it for hd-dvd if only 10% of those ownwers buy a title thats a 100,000 copies thats a lot of cash
Hey, I watch American Gladiators.
The reason they don't post things like that is is because its not news, it just is.
uhhh here we go again...
I've seen various scuttlebutt around the forums about how the "isolated incidents of new titles being created" quote is somehow a victory for HD DVD. I certainly wouldn't go that far, although lately for HD DVD lovers, anything that sounds like hope for the future of HD DVD has got to be like a drop of rain to a man dying of thirst.
To me that quote makes it sound like Warner was NOT paid off or otherwise contracted to go exclusively to Blu-ray. If they were contracted to Blu-ray only, then certainly there could never even be an "isolated incident" of HD DVD creation after the end of May. Maybe we can actually take them at their word that they were doing what was best for the general consumer by voluntarily moving to Blu-ray in order to help end this stupid format war.
Right... if Warner was really paid $500 million like we've all heard 10,000 times by now, this kind of comment would have Sony asking for a refund...
But I'm sure the payoff rumors will persist from people who also hail this comment as HD-DVD winning something despite the obvious contradiction.
I just don't get why people are so into buying DVDs, BDs or HD-DVDs. Seriously, how many movies are there that are worth re-watching so many times that it necessitates buying them? Do people buy them more as collectibles versus actual useful items?
couldn't agree more and on top of that i think at least 90% of the hdm didn't even disserve the transfer. i really can't beleive some of the catalog titles that have been released on hdm that and comedies like superbad and knocked up how people can spend that much on a hd/bd version of a comedy is beyond me those types of movies to me don't make any difference if they are in hidef or not... but then again it's just my opinion and you know the saying opinions are like a$$holes....
well there goes Nfinity's stupid/false/lame argument that Sony bought off Warner Brothers...because we all know that there's no way that Warner would have ANY plans on continued support of ANY kind after May 31, because no company is so stupid to have supposedly paid "billions" of dollars for non-exclusivity
They got the cash OK, just under their own conditions
another sites have followed the footstep and posted it:
http://www.homemediamagazine.com/news/html/breaking_article.cfm?sec_id=2&&article_ID=12100
http://formatwarcentral.com/index.php/2008/02/14/latest-videoscan-market-share-and-toshiba-to-drop-hd-dvd/
wonder why not engadgethd
Screw Warner and all the other studios. They're just a bunch of blood suckers that lead us around like a bunch of sheep.
'Course there couldn't be a connection between this story
(Warner's not quite ditching HD DVD as clearly as some claimed/wanted)
and the Hollywood Reporter story
(which btw if you read it dishonestly uses a comment from Toshiba PR which was made in relation to the Netflix story - and which is highly unusual for the HR, they are usually better than that).
Even if the story isn't true, if the formats were competitive at this point, we wouldn't have stories of blood being supposedly in the water, because everyone would dismiss it as ridiculous.
HD DVD wasn't a bad format. There was just very little to differentiate it from Blu-Ray, and with the PS3 support, studio support, and the like, it is just a matter of time before HD DVD gives up.
I didn't really care either way who won, I just wanted a unified format. I blame Microsoft we had this format war in the first place - if not for their greed and desire to own monopolies, we wouldn't have had this format war to begin with.
@ Truth Teller
My PS3 is hooked up to a Samsung LNT5281FX 52" 1080p LED LCD [500,000 to 1 Contrast Ratio] and what's with the use of the word "kiddies" is that one of your "pick up" lines? Are you trolling EngadgetHD trying to hook up? I though you & nfinity were an item???? What gives...has their been a break up? Taking some time apart to work things out?
Oh by the way 81% BD VS. 19% HD DVD [week ending Feb. 10, 2008]
Toshiba to drop HD DVD, sources say.....
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ib77125d96b22e86027d0bfb0c25aa58d
JDS
Oh dear.
Another abusive sex obsessive.
You really do have problems, don't you?
81% and 19% of 4% of the DVD buying market...
Sigh...
Arguing over Peanuts.
TruthTeller aka Dave: "Another abusive sex obsessive."
Don't get your hopes up Dave.
I don't think there is another
quite like you.
YESSS! YESSS! YESSS! I love you warner! Restock HD DVDs forever! We need this: A Blu-Ray/HD-DVD Mutt! :)!
Down boy, down.
The reason they haven't posted that yet is because ENGADGET HD is a socially responsible site. Posting that would send NFINITY, TRUTH TELLER et.al. over the edge. Seriously, there's been enough HD DVD bloodshed on this site this week. Is your thirst for blood unsatiable?
@ Truth Teller
no problem here mate...I just enjoy dissecting your rhetoric....when I have absolutely nothing better to do.
I thought the Toshiba abandoning HD DVD article would cheer you up............put a smile on your face etc....
cheers
It's almost over... I can taste it
Yeah, lets bucket the product, write as much bad press as we possibly can, and lets see if we can scare over a million customers into not buying movies.
There must have been a truckload of consumer protection laws broken in this whole process, what an absolute travesty of justice.
blu ray will never see a dime of mine
Don't spit in the air... you'll eventually own a PS3.
I'm with TT, I'm not interested in a kiddies console in my AV rack and i wont support the corruption and anti consumer cartel that is blu ray, pretty simple really.
This is all just smoke and mirrors. There will be an HD-DVD announcement, and I don't know what it will be, but I'm certain it will put all you Blu-ray PS3 kiddies in your place. Maybe they'll modify their agreement with studios and force them to make all newly released discs dual-format, so that they can boost their sales numbers by piggybacking on the DVD juggernaut. Or maybe they'll offer a BOGO on players so that more people will be turned on to the format, you know, buy one and give the other one to your brother. Or maybe... maybe...
Holy crap that's hard! I suddenly find myself with renewed respect for the HD-DVD fanboys. You try it... it's so difficult it deserves it's own cliche: Trying to get a lug nut off without a tire iron? "That's like trying to explain how HD-DVD is going to win the format war".
@ Truth Teller and Nfinity
I am Singing.
but, can you really hear me while spreading your lies?
How blind do you have to be? It says nothing about releasing new titles only creating titles. This reads very clearly to me that they will MAKE more of the HD dvds that they have out not release new ones on hd dvd. Maybe im dumb who knows
What's the point? Demand won't necessitate any new HD DVDs.