Posted on 09/10/2007 4:50:41 PM PDT by Las Vegas Dave
Warner Bros. Weighing HD DVD Offer? The Los Angeles Times says so, quoting "Hollywood insiders." By Swanni
Washington, D.C. (September 10, 2007) -- Warner Bros is considering a "lucrative offer" to back HD DVD exclusively in the high-def disc format war.
That's according to an article in today's Los Angeles Times.
Warner Bros. is now releasing titles in both Blu-ray and HD DVD and the studio has preached that the two-format approach has led to increased sales of such titles as The Departed.
But the surprise departure last month of Steve Nickerson, Warner Home Video's senior vice president for High-Definition, has raised speculation that the studio may be reconsidering its policy. Nickerson was an outspoken booster of the two-format approach in the high-def war.
The Times writes that "Hollywood insiders" say Warner is "mulling over a lucrative offer that could bring such popular titles as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix into the HD DVD camp." The newspaper doesn't say, but the offer is presumably from Toshiba, the leading backer of the HD DVD format.
If Warner were to endorse HD DVD exclusively, it would follow similar exclusive endorsements last month from Paramount and DreamWorks. (Universal is also backing HD DVD exclusively while four major studios are supporting Blu-ray exclusively.)
While a Warner switch would seriously boost HD DVD's chances in the high-def format war, the Times reports that the Blu-ray side is also busy trying to line up exclusive deals with studios and retailers.
Wal-Mart, the newspaper said, had set a mid-August deadline for deciding which format to keep in its stores; it now carries both players. But Toshiba supposedly offered a large promotional budget to support HD DVD sales in a recent meeting at Wal-Mart headquarters.
Wal-Mart would not comment on that, but told the Times that "it would be good for the studios or somebody to make the call (on the high-def format war.)."
The pinged subjects will be those of HDTV technology, satellite/cable HD, OTA (over the air with various roof top and indoor antennas) HD reception. Broadcast specials and any and all subjects relating to HD.
Lasvegasdave
Pinging the HDTV list.
Seems to me Blue-Ray would be the better choice, since it provides more data storeage if that was the desire.
I’d like to see this system win out, unless others know something I don’t.
Let me guess, Microsoft is throwing more money at studios to try to prop up HD-DVD when the *market* has been siding with Blu-ray?
Looks like multi-format players will be emerging.
The winner of Bluray vs HD DVD will be whoever Microsoft and WalMart backs.
Beta may have been better, but while Sony’s R&D department was great, it’s marketing department (or CEO) was incredible inept.
You assessment concerning Microsoft and Walmart may be more accurate than I’d like to think.
I’m sitting on the sideline as well. I’m quietly rooting for hd-dvd, for the pricing restraint it represents, the reduced DRM infestation, as well as the underdog status it holds at this point.
Betamax Redux
thanks.
I always thought the data storage idea was irrelevant anyway. HD-DVD players have USB ports and apparently can be connected to hard drives.
According to insiders, the problem for Blu-ray is and has been it’s need for subsidy. The format apparently can’t stand on it’s own economically and therefore can’t reach certain price points profitably.
If these reports are true, blu could be lose before Christmas.
“blu could be lose “...or it could be lost as well.
Thanks. I didn’t think the storeage was irrelevent at all. If it comes to roughly double the data, I’d prefer the larger storage medium.
Other than that, I don’ have any vested interest either way.
What I would like though is for recorders of either medium to enter the market.
I have seen some media recorders, but not HD DVD or Blue Ray video.
The Toshiba HD-DVD players are getting too cheap to resist. You’re going to have a $199 player on the market by Black Friday. With three good exclusives under their belt (Universal, Paramount and Warner), HD-DVD is going to have a huge Christmas.
For me all the disks need to do is have the movie and sound on them; so the HD-DVD 30g disks have been just fine (they usually have much more than the movie and sound).
For recording, I can see your point. That btw was the reason I chose VHS over Beta. I was using that format for recording. I’ve read that you can get 20 minutes or so of 1080i video on a regular dual layer DVD. I was planning to try it but I haven’t gotten around to it.
Thanks Varda. Your comments are similar to what my views would be overall.
That tip about dual layer DVDs was interesting.
I subscribed to cable HD serveral years ago even though I didn’t have an HDTV yet. I was able to view and record movies wide screen, but they were at the non-HD resolution.
Now when I play them back on my HDTV, they don’t look all that good. I haven’t tried a player with the enhancement mode.
My recorder can’t hand the dual layer either. Oh well.
I'm going to use this thread to try home made HD DVDs -The Official AVS Guide to HD DVD Authoring
Thanks Varda. Good luck.
I don’t know who the players are but I bet Sony loses (again.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.