Warner goes Blu-Ray exclusive

[Will]

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/01/04/warner-goes-blu-ray-exclusive/

CES should be interesting this year...

[gb4fan92]

Now we know which hi-def player to buy!  Some how I thought blu-ray would win. I'm just glad its finally over!

[gparris]

Okay, I updated our HDM players listing in this forum to reflect this.

More BDs are bought or rented by me personally for BDs, but that's just me (or it's just more movies available on BD that I want to watch).
Although I cannot see any difference in either, having both formats, picture wise or audio wise, something has to "give", eventually to end the confusion or lack of caring on the part of the average consumer for HDM.

Going either way (HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc) as an industry or at least as a studio eliminates some confusion for the consumer.
I don't remember how many times I asked where the HD DVDs are and got sent to the DVD section-only.
-But ask for "Blu-ray", you get a clearer answer (if the sales clerk knows what it is to begin with).
To some, "HD DVD" sounds like "DVD" and it can be confusing, at times.

"Joe Six Pack" or "JSP" (from avsforums) is the "average consumer" who has stayed away from both formats (by buying standard DVDs only), may go BD in the end, maybe for his/her future disc buying, if it goes one way or the other (HD DVD or BD).

This "format war" has not ended, IMO, but this is a big dent on the HD DVD side at least for now, with Warner Home Video going Blu-ray exclusively.

But is this the "final word" from Warner?
-Remember "THD" with BOTH HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc on each side from CES 2007?
-This never happened !
So what will occur for CES 2009? (Just asking).:confused:

Maybe the changeover to BD only for Warner is that BD offers lossless audio available for 50GB space (for LPCM)- that's probably not available using the format of HD DVD at 30GB.
However, there is an advanced audio codec Dolby TRUEHD (found on both formats) that does offers some compensation for this, too.

[GBK]

Neither until they come down to realistic prices :-) I wouldn't buy either player.. I got the xbox HD DVD addon cause I got it for $129... when the players with 1080p drop to that price I will consider a stand alone player.. the beauty of Netflix is I don't have to buy HD-DVD or Blu-Ray disc at all.

[gparris]

GBK:
Good point, too. Many HT enthusiasts rent their HDMs (high def media as HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc) instead of buying them.
While many "BOGOs" (Buy One Get One free) have happened for both formats, pricing still keeps many player owners from buying HDM discs.

One thing to remember is that many standard DVDs start out at a $19.99 list price with sale prices of $3-5 dollars off this list, especially when these first come out for release.

-HDM discs list from $24.99-$34.99, depending where you buy them when released and over time, these fall in price to less than the standard DVDs intro-list pricing, too.
The only way to look at a higher-priced DVD in HDM format is the added video and audio value @$5 more per disc on average...not at all that bad, IMO.

[GBK]

gparris

the prices aren't too horrible for the actual movies after the sales... but I'm at a point where I have to question owning the movie... I own the same stuff on multiple formats.. it's gets a little cluttered around the house..
I want to get to on demand High Def downloads that cost me nothing more than the standard monthly service like netflix ... someday the bandwidth will be there..

sorry I think I'm getting off topic... it's hard to say if it's good news or not (I don't like Sony hate to see them win this one)  but at least it's a move towards one format for all of those that want it so badly.

[RLJSlick]

Yeah that's nuts, it's no way I'm paying $34 for a HD movie I can get for $15-19 on SD.  
As far Warner i think that's really too bad. I think they should have just stayed with both. There are millions of HD-DVD players out there, and Warner just alienated all of them.
I'm glad I have both.

[gparris]

GBK:
That's again true, nobody wants to duplicate the DVD they already own with a High Def Disc once again - unless its an extremely favourite DVD they own.
Example: I am nuts for "The Fifth Element" movie and I waited for Sony to re-release it (the second, good time in Dolby TRUEHD audio) and bought it.

All new movies I never saw - and - missed in the theatres (that) I wanted to see:
-Are bought or rented in the High Def Disc formats, however, no standard DVDs ever again.
I won't buy another DVD again after seeing High Def Disc in action on a decent HT setup, period...but that's me.

That's why I encourage folks to visit highdefdigest.com (see link, this forum) before buying or renting...many are authoured very good or some bad, but check before you do anything first...its definitely worth it.

[gparris]

Yeah that's nuts, it's no way I'm paying $34 for a HD movie I can get for $15-19 on SD.  
As far Warner i think that's really too bad. I think they should have just stayed with both. There are millions of HD-DVD players out there, and Warner just alienated all of them.
I'm glad I have both.

Ricky, just wait awhile if you don't need to buy it right away.

Many BDs or HD DVDs come down in price to that of DVDs in about 6 months, based on my experiences.
As far as pricing goes, BDs from Warner and their corresponding HD DVDs have been retailing at $35 a piece (for a high) regardless of format, too.

But if you get a deal with a BOGO from either (Warner included), wait for a sale or a few months, the pricing goes down to SD-DVDs standard initial-release pricing.

IMHO, if the High Def Disc costs $5 more than the standard DVD in release without a sale, its worth it to me due to the improved picture and audio with a good HT setup.
Many setups I have done recently have a PS3 and when we play the DVD and the "free" BD that finally comes (arrives) with it is compared against, the clients want to watch the BD instead, everytime!
Sometimes, when I show them a BD I own vs. their DVD of the same movie, the BD wins everytime, too.

[GBK]

gparris;

totally agree HD movies looks absolutely awesome..  there is no comparison between HD and SD dvd's but I still to hate to see how the industry manipulates the formats and hurt consumers in the process... major reason why I chose to get my HD DVD addon drive for Xbox just to lightly tick off sony in the process :-)

[FiberOptic]

Now we know which hi-def player to buy!  Some how I thought blu-ray would win. I'm just glad its finally over!

So as an owner of just a standard DVD system, should I feel safe to go with a Blu ray player.  I want a hi def player, but I am so concerned about making the jump and finding out the lake I am jumping into is filled with alligators and beta tapes

[RLJSlick]

Well I have both, I got my HD-DVD for next to nothing because I bought a 61" HDTV, but I was hoping the Format War would go on a bit longer, because there was such great deals out there. Now that Blu-Ray may run away with the Format War, they can start charging whatever it wants for their players and media.
I'm a huge believer in competition, and this was a good one going on. At least for lowering prices. Look how low the players have dropped just over this past year.
Movie prices are way too high right now, I can get Rush Hour 3 for $19 for SD, but if I want a HD version it's $34, there is no way in hell I'm paying that much for a movie. Not gonna happen.


As far as BOGO, I've already brought 5 BOGO deals between Best Buy and Amazon.

Ricky, just wait awhile if you don't need to buy it right away.

Many BDs or HD DVDs come down in price to that of DVDs in about 6 months, based on my experiences.
As far as pricing goes, BDs from Warner and their corresponding HD DVDs have been retailing at $35 a piece (for a high) regardless of format, too.

But if you get a deal with a BOGO from either (Warner included), wait for a sale or a few months, the pricing goes down to SD-DVDs standard initial-release pricing.

IMHO, if the High Def Disc costs $5 more than the standard DVD in release without a sale, its worth it to me due to the improved picture and audio with a good HT setup.
Many setups I have done recently have a PS3 and when we play the DVD and the "free" BD that finally comes (arrives) with it is compared against, the clients want to watch the BD instead, everytime!
Sometimes, when I show them a BD I own vs. their DVD of the same movie, the BD wins everytime, too.

[gparris]

So as an owner of just a standard DVD system, should I feel safe to go with a Blu ray player.  I want a hi def player, but I am so concerned about making the jump and finding out the lake I am jumping into is filled with alligators and beta tapes

Do what I did, just as a suggestion:
Get a PS3 player like I did last Christmastime!
Now that these are $399 (or less), you have a gaming machine, internet device, upconverting player, music player AND Blu-ray player, too.
Every month, I find a new application or something I didn't know about it and it keeps adapting and upgrading.
It loads fast, plays extremely well and has had few problems.

Its no alligator at all, but that's is what I would do, but that's me.

[SRW1000]

I saw the news here on Friday night, and I have to say that my heart sunk as the reality set in.  I'm still in shock.

Up until Christmas, I had been contemplating a Blu-ray player to go along with my HD-XA1, under the assumption that this war would continue for a long time.  The Warner decision has changed all that, unless the HD DVD group has some kind of incredible plan to turn things around.  This is highly unlikely.

Given all that, I'm less enthused about Blu-ray than ever before.  The biggest benefits of Blu-ray were were the changes they were forced to make because of the competition from HD DVD.  Increased capacity, better codecs, lower hardware and software prices, etc. were all a direct response to what HD DVD was doing.

With the probable end of the HD DVD threat, I'm not optimistic on the future of Blu-ray.  I know that a lot of people thought that two competing HD formats would lead to a divided niche market, but I have a hard time seeing Blu-ray doing any better on their own.  Prices for good, fully-compliant players will remain high, the need for BOGOF sales will vanish, and consumers will keep buying sizable amounts of DVDs.

Honestly, I think the market would have been better served with two formats, and cheap players from both sides, or reasonably-priced dual-format players.

Time will tell.

Scott

[jkane]

My regular Sony DVD player won't play a movie we just got (ratitulli or however it's spelled) but it works in other players.  I am thinking it time to get a HD one.  Guess BluRay might be the choice after all.  Still want to wait for the less than $200 price range.