General Blu-ray News and Discussion - PART 4
01-07-08, 08:03 PM
#552
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Originally Posted by Arpeggi
This is CES for CE companies to announce new products, not for studios to announce releases.
01-07-08, 08:07 PM
#553
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With Blu-ray the aparent winner, are we going to see more catalogue titles?
Bob says song of the south won't be covered here today,
Bob says song of the south won't be covered here today,
but one of the pinnacle moments was when we decided to take out Snow white, which signaled it was mass market, sing this was a most cherished title. This time they are releasing Snow while this October.
01-07-08, 08:23 PM
#554
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So, from the BR press conference at CES:
What a loaded question; followed by a BS answer.
Q. Bill from the Digital Bits asks Does Warners decision decision carry over to new line and HBO, and does the switch have anything to do with BD+.
A. No, not really, it was the consumer choice.
A. No, not really, it was the consumer choice.
01-07-08, 09:59 PM
#557
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Originally Posted by Superman07
So, from the BR press conference at CES:
What a loaded question; followed by a BS answer.
What a loaded question; followed by a BS answer.
01-08-08, 01:20 AM
#558
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Originally Posted by Superman07
So, from the BR press conference at CES:
What a loaded question; followed by a BS answer.
What a loaded question; followed by a BS answer.
Toshiba Corp. executives had a tough moment Sunday, when they had to face reporters just two days after its HD DVD movie disc format was dealt a potentially fatal blow by the defection of Warner Bros. Entertainment to a rival technology.
"It's difficult for me to read the comments of the pundits that HD is dead," said Jodi Sally, vice president of marketing for digital audio and video at Toshiba America Consumer Products. She was speaking at a news conference ahead of the International Consumer Electronics Show, which starts here Monday.
Sally indicated that Toshiba would continue its fight with a Sony Corp.-led group to dominate the market for a replacement to the DVD.
"We've been declared dead before," Sally said.
Only two major U.S. studios now support HD DVD, while five support Sony's Blu-ray disc. Warner is the last studio to put out movies in both formats, but will stop publishing HD DVDs in May.
Akio Ozaka, head of Toshiba America Consumer Products, said the company was surprised by Warner's announcement Friday.
"We were particularly disappointed that the decision was made in spite of the significant momentum HD DVD has gained," Ozaka said.
HD DVD players, practically all of which are made by Toshiba, had their best sales ever in the fourth quarter of last year, Ozaka said.
Sally said HD DVD players represented 49.3 percent of the players for high definition discs sold as of Dec. 22, quoting figures from market research firm NPD. However, the figures don't include sales of Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 game console, which plays Blu-ray discs. The format also has consistently beaten HD DVD in the number of discs sold.
While Toshiba sounded a defiant note, a media event scheduled for Sunday evening by the North American HD DVD Promotional Group, which includes Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp., was canceled because of Warner's defection.
"We are currently discussing the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies and evaluating next steps," the group said in a statement.
Warner said its decision to drop HD DVD was based on consumers' preference for Blu-ray.
The availability of two competing formats, and the confusion and uncertainty it's sowed among buyers, has been widely blamed for the slow adoption of high-definition players in general.
Warner Bros. Entertainment is owned by Time Warner Inc.
01-08-08, 02:01 AM
#560
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Originally Posted by Arpeggi
It's geared to the PS3 crowd.
01-08-08, 08:22 AM
#561
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Originally Posted by Guy with poor typing skills
With Blu-ray the aparent winner, are we going to see more catalogue titles?
Bob says song of the south won't be covered here today, but one of the pinnacle moments was when we decided to take out Snow white, which signaled it was mass market, sing this was a most cherished title. This time they are releasing Snow while this October. "And what's the price point Bob?" "Wow" -- and as a result we know where this is going. David Bishop says most of lived through DVD and just like it we look at the core and try to release products that are valuable to them.
Bob says song of the south won't be covered here today, but one of the pinnacle moments was when we decided to take out Snow white, which signaled it was mass market, sing this was a most cherished title. This time they are releasing Snow while this October. "And what's the price point Bob?" "Wow" -- and as a result we know where this is going. David Bishop says most of lived through DVD and just like it we look at the core and try to release products that are valuable to them.
And why did Hunt bother to ask if Warner's decision had anything to do with BD+? It seems obvious to me that they didn't care about it. They didn't pull out completely like Fox or halt catalog releases for 5 months like Disney. They just kept right on releasing titles.
01-08-08, 10:26 AM
#562
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I thought The Invasion was pushed back to 1/29, but I saw a bunch of copies out this morning at Fry's (BD, didn't look at HD section).
FYI for anyone looking for this.
FYI for anyone looking for this.
01-08-08, 10:31 AM
#563
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Originally Posted by bunkaroo
I thought The Invasion was pushed back to 1/29, but I saw a bunch of copies out this morning at Fry's (BD, didn't look at HD section).
FYI for anyone looking for this.
FYI for anyone looking for this.
How about is this movie any good?
01-08-08, 10:45 AM
#564
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Originally Posted by GizmoDVD
Really? Wonder if this was just a goof then on Warners part? Was it really ever "officially' announced it was delayed?
How about is this movie any good?
How about is this movie any good?
As far as movie quality, I think the RT rating was 19%?
Probably not a safe blind buy - can't see the resale value being too hot.
01-08-08, 01:01 PM
#565
Porn distributor Digital Playground becomes Blu-Ray exclusive:
http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/01/08...-to-the-plate/
http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/01/08...-to-the-plate/
PS3 owners demand porn, Digital Playground steps up to the plate
Posted Jan 8th 2008 12:40PM by Erik Hanson
Digital Playground has moved from neutral to Blu in the format war. Given recent events, it's not a surprising turn, and the studio's Blu-ray library that debuted with "Pirates" will swell to nine movies by January 11. Coming to the roster are: "Island Fever" 3 and 4, "Babysitters," "Jack's Teen America 3," "Jesse Jane: Sexual Freak," "Hush," "Contract Star" and "Jesse Jane Pink." Studio founder Joone (yeah, only one name) does not credit any picture quality issues in the decision, and even said there was no difference between the two formats. The real reason was consumer demand -- specifically PS3 owners. No mention of how the titles might leverage interactive features, although we're willing to, uh, review sample discs.
Posted Jan 8th 2008 12:40PM by Erik Hanson
Digital Playground has moved from neutral to Blu in the format war. Given recent events, it's not a surprising turn, and the studio's Blu-ray library that debuted with "Pirates" will swell to nine movies by January 11. Coming to the roster are: "Island Fever" 3 and 4, "Babysitters," "Jack's Teen America 3," "Jesse Jane: Sexual Freak," "Hush," "Contract Star" and "Jesse Jane Pink." Studio founder Joone (yeah, only one name) does not credit any picture quality issues in the decision, and even said there was no difference between the two formats. The real reason was consumer demand -- specifically PS3 owners. No mention of how the titles might leverage interactive features, although we're willing to, uh, review sample discs.
01-08-08, 01:26 PM
#566
DVD Talk Legend
I'm stealing Grubert's post from the blu-ray forum because I thought it was interesting and insightful. Thanks for doing the work and posting it in the first place Grubert.
Very interesting USA Today article:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/...slippage_N.htm
Going from the aggregate sales and the YTD ratios published on Home Media Magazine, we can work out the individual sales, and a top 10 by SKU:
Those figures from the Redhill Group are obviously higher than the Nielsen ones (David Vaughn said that YTD Nielsen only showed 9 titles doing six figures, and Ratatouille was just under 100K). So these estimates you see above include retailers outside Nielsen.
Very interesting USA Today article:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/...slippage_N.htm
The HD format war so far
Blu-ray Disc vs. HD DVD
No. of discs sold in 2007:
Blu-ray: 5.7 million (64% or $172.8 million)
HD DVD: 3.2 million (36% or $97.2 million)
Discs sold since inception:
Blu-ray: 6.1 million (62%)
HD DVD: 3.7 million (38%)
Source: Redhill Group
Top-selling high-definition discs of 2007 (through 12/30/07)
1. 300 ([both formats]/Warner): 472,400
2. Planet Earth: The Complete Series (both formats/BBC Video): 294,300
3. Transformers (HD DVD/Paramount/DreamWorks): 239,100
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Blu-ray/Disney): 219,300
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (both/Warner): 179,500
6. The Departed (both/Warner): 171,800
7. Casino Royale (Blu-ray/Sony): 169,800
8. Bourne Ultimatum (HD DVD/Universal): 162,300
9. Spider-Man 3 (Blu-ray/Sony): 145,300
10. Ratatouille (Blu-ray/Disney): 117,500
Source: Redhill Group
Blu-ray Disc vs. HD DVD
No. of discs sold in 2007:
Blu-ray: 5.7 million (64% or $172.8 million)
HD DVD: 3.2 million (36% or $97.2 million)
Discs sold since inception:
Blu-ray: 6.1 million (62%)
HD DVD: 3.7 million (38%)
Source: Redhill Group
Top-selling high-definition discs of 2007 (through 12/30/07)
1. 300 ([both formats]/Warner): 472,400
2. Planet Earth: The Complete Series (both formats/BBC Video): 294,300
3. Transformers (HD DVD/Paramount/DreamWorks): 239,100
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Blu-ray/Disney): 219,300
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (both/Warner): 179,500
6. The Departed (both/Warner): 171,800
7. Casino Royale (Blu-ray/Sony): 169,800
8. Bourne Ultimatum (HD DVD/Universal): 162,300
9. Spider-Man 3 (Blu-ray/Sony): 145,300
10. Ratatouille (Blu-ray/Disney): 117,500
Source: Redhill Group
Code:
1. 300 315,200 2. Transformers 239,100 3. POTC: At World's End 219,300 4. Casino Royale 169,800 5. Planet Earth 162,500 6. Bourne Ultimatum 162,300 7. 300 157,200 8. Spider-Man 3 145,300 9. Planet Earth 131,800 10. Ratatouille 117,500 xx The Departed 106,700 xx Harry Potter OOTP 100,000 xx Harry Potter OOTP 79,500 xx The Departed 65,100
01-08-08, 01:33 PM
#567
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Whats interesting is that no catalog titles are in that list. I think this is one example of the fact that people are happy with their DVD catalog and will not be as inclined to replace it with HD discs.
01-08-08, 03:04 PM
#569
BDA is predicting 10 million players by year's end + $1 billion in software sales.
The article mentions there are 500,000 standalone players now. I believe Toshiba said they sold almost 1 million dedicated players in 2007, of which roughly 250,000 where the 360 add-on. The standalone comparisons are pretty close, especially with Toshiba being a much cheaper option. And with BD outselling them on standalones in December, it does appear BDs exclusive catalog finally started showing its strength.
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/sh...s_In_2008/1350
The article mentions there are 500,000 standalone players now. I believe Toshiba said they sold almost 1 million dedicated players in 2007, of which roughly 250,000 where the 360 add-on. The standalone comparisons are pretty close, especially with Toshiba being a much cheaper option. And with BD outselling them on standalones in December, it does appear BDs exclusive catalog finally started showing its strength.
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/sh...s_In_2008/1350
Last edited by Mr. Cinema; 01-08-08 at 03:06 PM.
01-08-08, 03:10 PM
#571
Here's some possible news about Panasonic players.
Take this one with a grain of you know what, but an AVS member posted in the BD30 owners thread that he was at CES and was told by a Panasonic rep that the BD30 would receive a firmware update this year that will enable TrueHD decoding. possibly DTS MA as well. He was told the BD50 is very close in design, and it does look almost identical to the BD30.
The BD50 is supposed to be priced slightly above the BD30, so prices floating around are $549 - $599.
Take this one with a grain of you know what, but an AVS member posted in the BD30 owners thread that he was at CES and was told by a Panasonic rep that the BD30 would receive a firmware update this year that will enable TrueHD decoding. possibly DTS MA as well. He was told the BD50 is very close in design, and it does look almost identical to the BD30.
The BD50 is supposed to be priced slightly above the BD30, so prices floating around are $549 - $599.
01-08-08, 03:23 PM
#572
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Originally Posted by RockStrongo
Whats interesting is that no catalog titles are in that list. I think this is one example of the fact that people are happy with their DVD catalog and will not be as inclined to replace it with HD discs.
01-08-08, 03:50 PM
#573
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Originally Posted by jackson walker
You must admit there are not a lot of classic library titles released in the Hi Def format yet. I picked up "The Searchers" and "Rio Bravo" in Blu-ray, and would have bought "Casablanca" if Warners had released that in Blu-ray.
01-08-08, 04:08 PM
#574
DobyBlue, who works for Panasonic and has some inside sources, says that he was told by his Warner contact that The Matrix and most of the other IME titles are "ready to go", but they are waiting for more 1.1 players to hit the market.
