Or it could be that Warner Bros are saving their big titles to release on BD and HD DVD at the same time. It really is completely up in the air at this point as to what in the hell they are waiting for.

People have to remember that WB are not exclusive to HD DVD, so chances are when they start releasing their big summer block busters this fall/winter on HD DVD that you will also be seeing BD releases as well.

It was pretty widely quoted and Sony even responded to it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4756645.stm

This is true, but isnt WB using VC-1 and Sony doesnt want any studios releasing BD with VC-1 encoding?

I would think that this would be an issue for studios. Using MPEG2 would take up so much room, that special features all or some might have to be removed.

Ill be curious to see the first WB title to compare with the HD-DVD release.

Honestly though, I have this feeling that we wont see a WB BD release this year.

WB will eventually be using VC-1 on Blu-ray. Same encodes as HD DVD, and at least until the BD-50s start being churned out, they'll ditch extras to fit on a BD-25 if necessary rather than let the video take a hit. It's nice to hear that that's where their priorities are. Warner's first few titles will reportedly be encoded using MPEG-2, though.

It's not that Sony doesn't want anyone using VC-1 -- it's just that they internally aren't the least bit interested, and the initial authoring tools didn't support any advanced codecs at all, so no one else could use 'em either. When Sony moves away from MPEG-2, it'll almost certainly be to MPEG-4. Anyone else can use VC-1, MPEG-4, or MPEG-2 if they have the right tools at their disposal.

They should wait until BD50's exist or a better encoder is used then.

Releasing on BD and HD-DVD with one having special features and the other void of them is really absurd.

I hope it translates into lack of sales for WB BD titles. I surely would not buy a title that doesnt have at least the same special features as a standard DVD.

Come on, at LEAST give us a second disc thats sd with special features. I wonder if BD can do this though. Since technically BD is not DVD. Who knows.

seems like Rock and I tend to disagree with everything lately.

I'd agree that this is definitely possible. Why would they want to be "old news?" It's better to drum up a shitstorm of publicity and exciting releases to quash the BD bs.

Then why is being first to market an advantage then?? They could release simultaneously and let the big titles sell them.

Word of mouth is HUGE right now.

If I have Batman Begins and brag to all my friends that it looks great on my HD-DVD, it peaks their interest. Telling them that Chronicles of Riddick looks good just doesnt have the same weight at all.

Take the 360 for example, the buzz around it was widespread last fall and the low supply just drove it even further. Articles galore was written about it. Everyone wanted one! HD-DVD should be the same way. Lack of big titles just doesnt help that. Just like lack of games hurts sales of a console.

Waiting to release your big titles just seems like bad strategy to me. It makes me lose confidence in the captain of this ship.

And again...makes complete sense to me.

You're right. Word of mouth IS huge. And word of mouth is selling out every freakin' player they have right now. To be honest, I obviously don't need huge titles to be sold on HD. I've had it for a few months and only have 4 titles. I don't give 2 shits about Doom and I hated Van Helsing. However, I can still appreciate the quality of those movies and what HD DVD can and will give me. I know what titles are coming out....PLUS I know how great my old SD DVD's look and sound because of this new player. That's what sold me. I don't need 100 titles out right now to buy.
Opening the floodgates and showing up with a ton of releases doesn't make sense to me either. They're probably still working out quirks and getting them manufactured quickly enough. They're being cautious and matching BD's every move. I like that. THAT, to me, inspires my confidence. They're not being arrogant. They're being calculating.
And again, i don't understand this bitching about the "captain of the ship." You're either on the boat or you're not. There's nothing else you can do and I don't see a point in bitching over something that ain't broken. As Mr Baldwin said "you don't like it, leave."

Besides, the films that are out look amazing. Are you saying that people aren't interested in Unforgiven, Goodfellas, Serenity, The Bourne Supremacy, etc.?

I know Batman or HP would be a killer app, as will Superman, but goddamn, I could watch the 8 discs I have all freakin' day, they look so good.

Exactly. As if those titles are the end-all of the format. It's not like we're talking about Star Wars or Lord of the Rings here.

It's Batman and little Harry Potter.

Obviously, you and I are both sold...thats not the point....others are not.

I bet most people dont even know what HD-DVD is (BD too). Why? Because you hear NOTHING about it in the media. They arent even hardly advertising on tv.

When the Xbox 360 was in short supply, everyone knew it. Why? Because supply was low, demand was high and the media/word of mouth made you feel like you were missing out if you didnt have one. HD-DVD could be like that too! I bet you an arm and a leg that PS3 will have that buzz this holiday season.

Oh im not saying open the floodgates, but some major hits like the ones in their aresenal could do wonders for the format RIGHT NOW.

]

This is my perception too....thats why I dont think the strategy spoken of is really viable.

F Blu ray....forget they even exist right now!! Just sell your damn product. What is going to make studios jump on board?? Sales. Demand.

If these studios see the buzz for HD-DVD, they will get on board. Pure and simple. I dont see that buzz right now. Its just not there except for between us dvd nerds.

I can state opinions about what i think they are doing right or wrong. Im invested, so I have that right. You dont have to right to tell me that I need to be either on board or not. Frankly, its none of your business.

If BD picks up and excels past HD-DVD, ill ebay my player and switch. Im not loyal to either.

Its just frustrating to see advances that HD-DVD can be making and that they arent doing it. If its for manufacturing reasons, then thats ok, but if its some sort of strategy to counter BD, then its absurd.

Those are great movies, but come on....we all know that Batman Begins, The Matrix, Harry Potter and so on are the big draws. We all know what they can potentially do for this format.

I think those movies could rival new releases on HD-DVD for sales (which right now, none are doing).

This fall, HD-DVD should rely on more catalog releases and day/date titles to drive the format.

Now, they should release as much as possible. There should be no waiting if thats what is happening.

It's funny because if Harry Potter and The Matrix and Lord of the Rings were the only announced movies for this format, I wouldn't own one right now. Not interested in any of them.

XBOX 360 is (from my limited amount of knowledge about VG systems) a new system. it does new things. It has new games. etc. HD DVD isn't something COMPLETELY new to people. It's essentially an upgrade. I'll be the first to admit that it's a huge upgrade, but to most it's still just an upgrade.

I dunno. I guess time will tell how much good they will do. The public still doesn't care and, for the most part, neither does the media. They're too concerned with the format war. It's more dramatic and much more interesting than having to choose a side and promote.

I never said you had to be. I just said you sounded like you were whining.
Obviously you're not the head of a multi-billion dollar company and I have no reason to trust your word over theirs. The HD DVD side hasn't really let me down thus far. I'm not sure what they're doing right now but I'm not going to immediately say "they're fucked" especially when you look at the competition. I know you said to not even look at BD but if we didn't, we wouldn't be having this discussion. There would be no rush. No competition. And no need to convince anyone of anything within a short amount of time.

Again, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. To try and analyze it or speculate is foolish, at best. They've given no sign that there are problems. They've given no sign that they don't know what they're doing. They're just doing what they're doing. I don't understand this "panic."

If those movies were out right now (esp LOTR), Toshiba could launch a huge marketing campaign that I think would instantly make HD-DVD a huge success. I dont just believe that hardware sales is going to make this a big success. I think they need to associate high definition movies with THEIR format. Right now, they have the clear time frame advantage.

Well, I dont ever say it in the threads, but you sound like you whine alot too. Bitching/Whining is perception mainly.

That means nothing either. They make mistake every day....just look at the problems Sony is going through.

They havent let me down yet, but they sure seem to have gone to sleep in the past month or so. Maybe in the next week or 2 things will change. Their will be a flurry of announcements and I will shut up.

But, time is money and going to market first was a huge advantage for HD-DVD. They should capitalize on it asap.

I havent said that either.

Thats not what I mean and you know it. Basically, if they focus on selling their product and not worrying about what Sony is doing, they can do well.

Im not saying they ARE focused on BD, but from your comments, thats what you make it sound like.

For all we know, both formats will exist together for a while. So, a must kill BD mentality just might not work. They need to get their name recognition out to the public associating hd discs with HD-DVD.

I never said that I do know. Im no where near the first to speculate what their strategy is. Im just expounding on what others have said could possibly be the delay for these titles.

You follow this enough to know that. So, dont point the finger at me and say that analyzing is foolish. Everyone does it...you included.

Obviously we'll just have to agree on some points and disagree on others. Toshiba isn't going to stay silent forever because they can't. They're not stupid.
I'm just sitting back and watching what happens.

I think of this as "the calm before the storm." And I can't wait to hear me some thunder and see some lightning.
Of course, with the typical Sony/BD forecast, there's always the chance that the storm will be pushed back to next week/month/year. Their meteorologists suck.

I sure hope so...my fingers are crossed

I still think it all depends on the costs involved in making the hardware and software (with the exception of the 360, its fucking time now for them and the video game makers to step it up)...At this point in time, it isnt cost effective to be pumping out a great deal of product.

I don't think Toshiba has been silent at all. I keep hearing executives saying things like "360 will have internal HD-DVD drive soon!" And "More studios are moving to HD-DVD soon!" It could be overenthusiasm, or just marketing bluster, but those Tosh execs sure like to flap their lips lately.

And this isn't a big time of the year to release stuff, anyway (aside from movies in theaters). No big video games are coming out right now. Look at it this way: If you release HP, Batman, and The Matrix right now, you'll get a few people who were on the fence but waiting for one or all of those movies. If you release them during the holidays, and make a big deal about them coming out, you will get people who didn't even know HD-DVD existed. Why? Because people are paying attention during the holidays. They're looking for the latest toy, and it's one thing to say "Batman Begins: Now Available On HD-DVD" or to say "NEW! Batman Begins in HD! Low price!" Even if that low price is $500 for a player, people are far more receptive to it during the holidays.

The WB flyers in their discs say those films are coming summer 2006. Late August is summer 2006. Something to keep in mind.

I think it's unfair to expect Warners and Universal to pump out product when they are the only 2 who's released on HD DVD. New Line isn't releasing until the holiday season, Paramount is likely going to wait until they feel there are enough players sold to release, and LionsGate is likely preparing for their HD DVD titles, if rumors are 100% true.

I think WB and Universal are doing a good job. I'm sure they don't want to be the only 2 releasing titles, but that's what will be happening for now.

I believe WB is going to make their HD DVD push in the Fall. I would think Universal would also start pushing the format during a similar time frame. That would be a perfect time to drop a mega hit like Harry Potter or King Kong (though this was a rumored Summer title), especially since it would be near the release of the PS3/Sony standalone player.

I said in another post that I think HD-DVD is slowly wasting their opportunity they have right now. If they are committed (which I believe they are) they need to have at least one A+ blockbuster that helps sell systems. King Kong, Batman Begins, Harry Potter, something along those lines. Don't get me wrong, I own 10 HD-DVDs and intend to buy many more, but there's nothing my friends are dying to see in HD yet. I just strongly believe that the longer HD-DVD goes without making a real impact, the more trouble they're in come the holidays.

With the price of BD players being what they are, I don't think they're in as much trouble as you suspect. Sure, a few people will buy a PS3 for their BD playback, but I think Sony is going to find out a lot of people buying the PS3 this holiday season will not be doing so for BD. Most will be avid gamers, which means that disc sales on BD could slump.

But players are selling out with the current selection of movies. I think it makes more sense to release a title like King Kong when there are actually players in stores. Releasing a blockbuster title when there are only a handful of players in at a time doesn't make alot of sense to me.

Agreed. That's why late August makes sense, as that is when Tosh has said they'll be getting a surge of player shipments out.

Agreed. Which is what I've been saying all along.


Agreed. Which is what I've been saying all along.

If, by the end of the summer, HD DVD/Toshiba is still in the exact same place that they are now, then I'd say that maybe we have reason to bitch. At the moment, not so much.

And besides, we get Pitch Black this month. Radha Mitchell...