“Just when it seemed that the Blu-ray Disc had gained the upper hand in the high-definition video disc battle, HD DVD has recruited two studios, Paramount and DreamWorks,” Mike Snider reports for USA Today.
“The availability of lower-cost HD DVD players led to the studios pulling their support from Blu-ray. Toshiba currently has players in stores for less than $300,” Snider reports.
“Rival Blu-ray, which counts studios Sony, Disney and Fox as supporters, had been gaining market momentum in recent months. Blockbuster and Target announced they’ll carry Blu-ray exclusively, and Blu-ray discs have been outselling HD DVDs about 2-to-1 this year. However, HD DVD releases (81) have outpaced Blu-ray’s (55) in the past three months, according to DVD Release Report,” Snider reports.
Full article here.
The deal covers all of Paramount’s properties, but does not include films directed by Steven Spielberg as his films are not exclusive to either format, according to the Viacom (parent of Paramount) press release.
Full press release here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “JadisOne” for the heads up.]
I wonder if the $500 million dollar investment in DreamWorks from Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen has anything to do with this.
Naaah. Probably not.
I hate it when inferior technology wins…
I wonder if the studios and electronic manufacturers ever care about consumers and the fact that they don’t want to choose from 2 incompatible formats. Didn’t they learn anything about the VHS Betamax V2000 war ?
For a great opinion piece on this whole thing… http://www.digitalbits.com/
These two formats will keep on fighting, meanwhile the immense majority of consumers will simply keep on watch from the sidelines. On-line downloads will become feasible by the time this thing sorts out, and both formats will be dead.
Willie G’s comment is worth repeating:
I hate it when inferior technology wins.
But, I do hipe this puts a fire under the other studios’ butts and the hardware manufacturers’ butts to bring BD to the masses.
Didn’t they learn anything about the VHS Betamax V2000 war ?
^ Amen!
Let’s settle this quickly the American way.
Put the studio heads in an ultimate fighting cage match.
The survivor picks the format.
I wonder just how much money went under the table this time. M$ can win anything they want by losing a few nickels of their billions in cash reserve…Apple has been smart to hold out…but once again, inferiority and low price win while the rest of the world passes us by as we stagnate. Thanks yet again, Micro$oft.
Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD — The Winner? Downloadable HD Content.
If I had to choose today I’d go with HD-DVD for a few reasons…
1) I can add one for $179 to my XBOX 360 (yes I have a Microsoft product… and yes… I actually like it)
2) I’ve been burned by Sony’s formats before.
3) see #2
Apple is really with both camps so they’ll just go with whatever. While the Blu-Ray format has more storage, HD-DVD offers better outlines on requiring the players to have uncompressed audio – and some other features that I don’t feel like writing about.
Inferior? they both are.
Umm, Paul Allen has been divesting his investment in Dreamworks, so do we really think that his association has played that much of a role in this at this point? (perhaps in the past it shaped the directions MS and DW went with the new formats. It’s funny how MS picked the technically inferior technology again.)
Personally, I prefer a mutli-format player – and won’t buy anything until the prices come down to < $300/machine & <= $20/disc. I’m not falling for the crap I did when I bought DVDs early on – only to see players fall to 20% the price I paid, and the discs I bought fall to < 50% the prices I paid early on. Not to mention having to re-purchase some movies (e.g. Bladerunner) because the original is a poor mastering.
I’m also not impressed with the level of DRM either (as I’m already being affected by region coding, having moved continents.) That’s just a load of $#@!.
@ Get a clue ?
You forgot CED and Laserdisc
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Too bad. Bonehead move.
I agree that both formats may be dead when download movies are sorted out. However, as a video producer, I need to deliver HD projects to clients on some kind of media.
I prefer BD.
Why?
Because of the studios that do support it? – no
Because it’s a Sony product? – definitely no
Because most manufacturers support it? – no
Because Microsoft doesn’t support it? – no
Because Apple leans more toward it? – no
I prefer BD for the same reason I went with VHS… more storage capacity than the competition.
As far as a home unit? I’ll probably hold off until I can buy some cheap, “no-name” Chinese unit that will play all formats. (as long as it doesn’t blow-up or poison me)
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AMERICA
Where mediocrity is king!!!!
Meanwhile Foz and MGM are pushing Blu-Ray.
There ARE hybrid players that handle BOTH formats. I still think that Blu-Ray will ultimately win, because of the storage capacity.
Sony inadvertantly killed the Mini-Disk by NOT selling them as storage devices. This was in the days when delicate and unreliable 100MB Zip disks ruled the computer storage world. Mini_Disks were essentially magneto-optical disks… much more storage capacity and virtually bomb-proof physical media.
I think they learned their lesson. 50GB of storage on a $20 Blu-Ray disk is a pretty good deal. More and more computers are shipping with Blu-Ray… so where’s Apple in this? maybe waiting for hybrid burners that’ll fit in a Macbook Pro? Maybe…
Yeah. I wonder of the “investment” in both Paramount and Dreamworks in the amount of $150MM by the HD DVD association (lobby) has anything to do with this?
Why the hell is this about America?
Companies across the world are involved in this……what an idiot.
DVDs = RIP
iDVD = Who cares
SUPERDRIVE = Will die soon
HD DVD also features a nice ability to use your regular DVD movies on HDTVs. Has the BlueRay disk drives done this yet, they never advertise this ability?
A lot of lessons were learned with the old betamax/vhs wars.
The least expensive format the gives the highest perceived quality for the money wins.
Back in the 70’s even though betamax was the better quality format you had to own a studio color monitor to see the difference. There was still a large presence of black and white sets and if you just wanted something to record “Dark Shadows” the black and white TV with the crappy vhs format made the special effects of a hackneyed vampire soap opera seem more compelling. Cable was still in it’s infancy and most broadcast were still off air. This battle between between BluRay and HDDVD will most likely be won by BluRay. In this computing intensive era more capacity put you ahead of the competition by allowing you flexibility. Along with a movie in the highest resolution your can implement target marketing, co-market games, perhaps manufacture special limited R/W sections that can embed powerful tools that will allow for the ultimate in the home entertainment interactive experience with special virtual reality head sets. Picture Nintendo WII on steroids. Exercise videos like train on the Tour De France circuit. Games where you can compete against legends of the past. Blu Ray will have the ultimate advantage to provide a better quality experience in all of these areas. We have not even approached training videos and simulations yet. Plus the ultimate BluRay player will be able to play both formats. I would pay an extra $50 for that feature.
Mediocrities everywhere! I Absolve you all!
I don’t think Apple has a dog in this fight. In Steve Jobs first reign at Apple and at NeXT, he made some disasterous technology choices on losing technology — the variable speed floppy (too expensive and non standard) and the optical drive (too expensive, non standard and buggy). He has since learned the difference between the bleeding edge and the leading edge.
Face it. If Apple backed HDDVD. Some here would think a lot higher than they do.
I love how people are quick to assume it’s all Microsoft’s fault.
Just when I thought it was going to be safe to buy a blu-ray player… this crap happens. I think I will end up buying a PS3 and get the dual use (Madden 08 Player and Blu-Ray player). Though I really like my Xbox…. guess I will have to visit some friends with the PS3 and 360 and see what system I like more.
The Dude abides.
HD will win. BD suck! Sony sucks! I will never buy anything from sony…. do you really need 60GB for HD movies or even games. wasting space…. if you not going to use all 60GB…. why waste it. HDDVD will win because they are cheaper to make, the player are cheaper than BD player. it about making money….
I honestly believe that, as long as there are two formats, neither will win. The public just doesn’t care enough about high-def discs. Most don’t have HD sets. Those that do mostly have moderate-sized sets (36″ or less), on which the difference between DVD and HD discs isn’t as obvious. Many of them don’t even have their sets setup correctly. As long as there is any confusion about HD formats, the average consumer will not consider it worth the bother.
The compelling reasons that made people abandon VHS for DVD just aren’t there with HD discs. DVD offered a plethora of killer features over VHS: smaller size, greater durability, random access, interactive menus. HD discs’ sole advantage over DVD is a better picture that, as I said, isn’t better enough for most folks.
(Think about it: If better picture alone was enough to sell a new format, why didn’t laserdisc take off? Or Digital VHS?)
Man, Microsoft if pumping money into the dying HD-DVD format to benefit their X-Box Live movie download service. They’re getting low cost masters in their shi* VC-1 format and driving consumers to use their downloads since the HD Disc market is confusing. This company just keeps screwing the American consumer more and more every day.
Paul Allen pulled all his interest from Dreamworks three weeks ago.
Dollars to donuts, he pulled out because of the decision to go exclusively with HD-DVD.
Money can delay the inevitable, but the struggle is futile. Sorta like being in the grips of an anaconda. With each exhale the grip tightens.
The market will pick the winner not Paramount or Microsoft. Choice is more appealing than cost and I believe the market will walk away from HD-DVD and everything the relationship with Microsoft implies.
Hitachi, IIRC, has developed, but not brought to market, a player that can play both formats so in the cycle of things, content is what will matter most and Paramount hasn’t exactly cornered the market on talent.
Where are my blank El-Cassettes??!!!…!?
Folks…I second MSInsider’s suggestion…read this blog from a NON-Apple user who is a digital media insider…I reiterate, he uses an HP, so he’s apparently not an Apple fanboi…bottom line…Microsoft is throwing its weight around and screwing the consumer again.
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/mytwocentsa141.html
What the @$%#$^@%$!!?
Microsoft’s all-American investment strategy at work, Pay them off and/or Buy them out.
Is this what capitalizm was meant to be? I think not!
So M$ is throwing it’s weight around b/c HDDVD has been getting clobbered, due to SONY throwing IT’S weight around … So why all these crys of “foul”? What else is MS supposed to do – let their investment die? That wouldn’t be smart for them, any more than it was for SONY to watch the PS3/BluRay paradigm they were trying to create go down in flames. their both just doin’ business.
Still, I can’t help but be amazed at how few people are pissed at SONY, and how many are jumping all over M$. I mean, I relaize this is an Apple site, but come on …
Here are the facts: HDDVD is a much cheaper format for both consumers and producers – both players & discs are much cheaper to make/sell/buy when compared to BluRay technology. The image quality is exactly the same for both. The performance of the players has favored HDDVD since they both debuted (except for the PS3 which seems to be on par with the best HDDVD players). The storage capacity differences favors BluRay initially (25GB/side vs 15GB/side), but multi-sided HDDVD discs are easier to manufacture than BluRay, and the consensus in the industry is that a dual sided BluRay disc (50GB) is probably all the consumer market is ever going to see. Meanwhile, HDDVD already has triple-sided discs beyond the testing stage (45GB), and may be even will make it to quads (60GB). And frankly, except for storage and backups, when it comes to that many GBs for movies (as well as multi-disc packaging), the relative differences no longer matter. Even full on 1080p movies & every extra you can think of will fit in a standard-sized DVD box. Also, the durability factor has favored HDDVD in most of the testing I’ve seen – the BluRay sheathing over the aluminum substrate is thinner, and thus more easily scratched, even with BluRay’s new ‘anti-scratch’ coating.
Oh and one more thing – the brand recognition that comes from putting “DVD” in the title of an optical disc technology really can’t be underestimated.
So what am I getting at – just more fanboism? No. All of the above simply points to – in fact continues to point to – HDDVD as the more rational choice for the industry to get behind. The fact that it didn’t speaks more to SONY’s tenacious greed, its penchant for imposing it’s own high-priced standards on the world in pursuit of satisfying that greed, and the insane popularity of the PS2 convincing EVERYBODY that SONY couldn’t fail with a new format based on the PS3.
Except here we are, still arguing over which is ‘best’, with movie studios still subject to coercion from both camps, M$ fighting SONY’s tactics of fire with it’s own, and discs & players still costing way too much for all of us … in short, we have a still-born HD movie industry.
Well, for now I’m sticking with DVDs. I may decide to pick a format for storage purposes, and in that case it will probably be the cheaper & more durable HDDVD. But for HD movies, I’ll either go straight to downloads (provided the highway robbery Apple & Amazon call pricing is moderated soon), wait for ever-cheaper flash memory to take over the physical media realm, or … Well, I hate to say it, but if things don’t shake themselves out in a consumer-friendly manner sooner or later, I’ll probably start doing the P2P thing again. Like I did with music before Apple made that clusterfuck rational and affordable again.
Maybe Jobs will be the Hero again this time. But it seems to me he’s just as smothered in shit as the rest of the industry pigs on this one. I won’t be holding my breath.
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*Shrug*
BluRay DRM sucks. HD-DVD DRM sucks.
I’ll stick with DVD, thank you. It’s enough that every software I use these days treats me like a criminal. I don’t need hardware that does the same.
paramount sux goat-balls through a donkeys ass
everything bad @ M$ is all billG and everything good @ M$ is well… that will never happen! so its all billG’s fault.
Midnight,
I totally agree. I don’t give a damn which format comes out on top. All I’m interested in is that when I buy a dvd can I make an archival copy. At the moment both formats provide me with a big fat no!
Used a Xbox 360, one cord melted, another box fried. Three hot G5 processors. HD-DVD extra. Typical Micosoft Medicore Products Sucks. Will have to buy next model soon as this one is already obolete or soon to die due to hot G5’s, poor manufactor and poor cooling.
PS3, 9 core Cell processor, wicked fast and full potential not being tapped but by only a few sample games. Lots of future potential, especially as a home PC. Backwards compatable with PS2/1 games. Superior Folding at Home machine. BlueRay included!!! Warm, cools well, either laying down or verticle.
Dying: PC’s and Mac’s for HD 3D Gaming.
I have my doubts that HD DVD will make it in the end. to many studios market Blu ray over HD DVD. That is going to make the difference in winner or looser. Sure HD DVD are cheaper at the moment but blu ray will catch up. 399 for a gaming system and blu ray player all in one. Both could win to but i doubt it. People want simplicty and they dont want to know ok i have to get an HD DVD player to play these movies and blu ray for these.
Todays market is totally different then the days of beta vs VHS. We have Tvs that are huge and people have home theater systems with 15 foot screens its not who has a color Tv to see the difference. Price is not the deciding factor today either. Price will come down for both and they may both be around for a long time. I wont support HD DVD simply because if microsoft gets another product out there of thiers they will control the market the price and everything. Granted Sony is not the best but at least Sony makes decent products
@jason
why do you think MS will control… HD DVD isn’t own by MS. BR is own by Sony… who want to control the price like everything else. Why BR player cost more because of sony. HD DVD player will get cheaper. The people who can afford a $500 or more BR player have already bought one, not many if you don’t count ps3 as BR player.
Price is the biggest deciding factor! what is stopping people from buying HD DVD or BR Player… the cost. Studio “doesn’t have much” impact on this war. It all about the price and cost. The studio who have sided with HD DVD are going to profit more than those studio wiht BR. Because it cheaper to put a movie on HD DVD vs. BR. who want to buy a player that cost over 200 bucks. When HD DVD player reach the price of $100 before BR player…. when people start buying HD DVD player because of the cost… the major studios who sided with BR will have to switch to HD DVD bigger consumer base. The only way for BR player to win… if sony cut ps3 price to 279.99 because most of the gamers doesn’t buy BR nor watch them. Even Apples doesn’t support BR…. it isn’t that great in technologies… apple doesn’t see it.