http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/ Engadget HD Comments for http://hd.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://hd.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/Mar 2nd 2009 11:59PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/Mar 3rd 2009 2:06AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/Mar 3rd 2009 6:40AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/
It will be interesting to see if they manage Triple Layer 51 though.]]>Mar 3rd 2009 12:29AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/
I am a former HD-DVD adopter (still am, buying bargain deals on hd-dvd discs from inetvideo.com or any other place where I can get new or combo discs for under $3.00) but the future is definitely "Blu" for the next 7 years.

New discs prices may be high new releases are around 29.99 MSRP from stores and thats not super far off since DVD's are MSRP around 19.99. Im predicting as blu-ray sales continue to pick up soon they'll be 27.99 and then 24.99 and then 19.99.
]]>Mar 3rd 2009 12:41AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/Mar 3rd 2009 2:08AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/Mar 3rd 2009 5:37PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/Mar 3rd 2009 3:32AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/
Another reason to not get excited is that Warner China was linked to CBHD in the past, so this isn't big news.

There are good reasons for Warner to backtrack and allow the format war to restart, given their gamble last year has totally screwed everyone over (HD DVD sales and Blu-ray sales combined last year were only fractionally lower than Blu-ray sales this year.) But this is too little, too late, and I seriously don't think the US Warner has any desire whatsoever to push CBHD as anything other than an outlet for a few sales in China.]]>Mar 3rd 2009 7:29AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/Mar 3rd 2009 8:49AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/Mar 3rd 2009 10:16AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/Mar 4th 2009 3:15AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/Mar 3rd 2009 3:39AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/Mar 3rd 2009 7:37PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/Mar 3rd 2009 5:14AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/Mar 3rd 2009 8:48AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/
Worse, making use of CBHD-only technologies means eschewing cross compatibilities with Blu-ray. Back when Warner was a neutral shop, they'd use a subset of HD DVD's video and audio features, and then remux them and add Blu-ray menus to make the Blu-ray version. It meant all the major work only needed to be done once, so it didn't cost them much to support both formats. If anyone wants to support CBHD and Blu-ray, then they're faced with a choice: either do the encoding work twice, or forget about saving money with the MPEG LA for CBHD.

So you can save money in one area, and end up spending more in another, or vice versa, but one way or another, supporting both formats doesn't really save you anything.

I'll admit, I'm heavily biased against CBHD. Everything that was bad about HD DVD is in CBHD. But CBHD doesn't feature what made HD DVD the superior format over Blu-ray. The HD DVD framework itself, that removed the barriers between online and offline content, by creating an infrastructure using Managed Copy, TCP/IP, and Advanced Content is gone. But it still has that great 15G per layer limitation, and the access controls are worse. There's now semi-proprietary crap in their in terms of codecs that lack any real world (outside of CBHD) implementations.

And it all seems unnecessary. If you just want a "cheap" HD format, BD9 or 3X DVD will do it. Ship 720p24 discs to China, with DD+. Dual Layer DVD is more than good enough to do that.]]>Mar 3rd 2009 9:31AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/Mar 3rd 2009 9:37AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/]]>Mar 3rd 2009 9:42AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/Mar 3rd 2009 9:53AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/Mar 3rd 2009 10:27AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/Mar 3rd 2009 12:01PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/
Yet companies from America and elswhere can't resist outsourcing every last job while at the same time trying to get the American people to flip the bill for diplomatic solutions to the piracy problem. ]]>Mar 3rd 2009 9:27AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/
($7.30 - $10.22) per disc

and that is profitable? Why did we go Blu-Ray again?

damn.
]]>Mar 3rd 2009 12:59PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/
"An average Chinese wage of $0.57 per hour -- or $104 per month -- is about 3 percent of the average U.S. manufacturing worker's wage"

No matter the product it is priced for the market where it is being sold. If CBHD disc's were sold in the US they would be comparable to DVD - Bluray prices.]]>Mar 3rd 2009 2:40PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/Mar 3rd 2009 3:41PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/
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]]>Mar 5th 2009 1:07PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/03/02/warner-bros-plans-to-support-cbhd-the-format-war-is-back-on/
a) have a board full of retards, or
b) have members of the board married or married to Chinese, or
c) owned by the Chinese government, or
d) all of the above

Why would the hollywood studios back up a format that's born in the country that probably doesn't support the most important format called authenticity. When this format prevails we might as well all move to China because we can buy movies before they even come out. That's how bad this country is in terms of piracy. Trust me, I've been living in Shezhen for 8 years now and I still have a hard time finding a shop that carries authentic DVD's or BD. Yes the hardware (players) will have exponential growth but softwares (discs) will be nil.]]>Apr 25th 2009 4:01AM