Saw this looking at the Yahoo stock boards today.


Why the PS3 will Bankrupt Sony

I still don't think Fox would release on HD DVD anytime soon. This is posted from AVS:

None of this is confirmed but this was posted in the HD-DVD forum by Ronald Epstein(I believe works for hometheaterforum....) I gather he is an HD-DVD fan who got flammed for this one.....http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/show...32&page=1&pp=30
Post #17
"Folks,

I am at a Fox Blu-Ray event here in Los Angeles.

As one of the biggest supporters of HD-DVD I can tell you
confidently that Blu-Ray is about to be launched in a HUGE
way and that a 50GB title is about to be released from Fox.

I can also tell you that at least Fox has absolutely no plans
at this time to cross over to HD-DVD. They do plan, however,
to have at least 50 Fox/MGM titles out by year's end on Blu-Ray.

I'll have more to tell you on my website in a few days."

Interesting article. I think the headline and some of the points are a little exagerated, but Sony is in trouble. I really think there is some merit to it, but maybe not that much. They are going to sell lots of PS3 I think - the herd is pretty brainwashed. Microsoft and Toshiba would be smart to turn up the heat this Christmas and try to force Sony into serious financial trouble. We know that to and extent MS can and will spend the money to drive the competition out of the market. The PS3 may look like the goose that laid the golden egg in a few years, but right now it looks more like the spruce goose.

It's entirely possible that they could get them out. And they could all be on BD-50...but without people buying 1k players, a decreased # of PS3's, no guarantee on quality OR complete extras...all of this is just another "wait and see" game.

Does Anchor Bay still have the rights for Wicker Man? I'd love to see that one in HD.

If they did flip, I think Sony would have to cut the hardware prices to the bone and get them into a better bracket. If they lose the studio support, they lose the big feather in their cap.

Yeah. They reissued the DVD last month. Whether or not those rights extend to HD DVD, I have no idea.

Oh, that would be a tough one. Because the increased resolution would just make the difference in quality between the US and extended scenes all that more apparent.

I'd still buy it in a heartbeat, though.

If Anchor Bay does come aboard, I want Time Bandits.

Maybe they can finally release the actual theatrical cut of Manhunter. Then I can retire my R2 Japanese DVD.

The bit about Fox at the end leaves me skeptical of the rest of these claims. Fox has been pretty vocal about their love of Blu-ray and disdain for HD DVD.

Only as long as they don't use the crummy DiViMax transfer with the screwed-up colors.

Doesn't MGM have the rights to that now? I'm sure Anchor Bay would find some way to screw it up yet again.

Samsung offering HD DVD laptop.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/28/s...op-yes-HD-DVD/

Samsung? HD DVD? Geez...I didn't know ANYTHING about that...

They can say what they want publicly (Mike Dunn), but if (like has been reported) HD DVD outsells BD by 11:1 it is hard to defend sticking it out in their internal meetings. I'd love to be fly on the wall to hear what they say in private.

In Mike Dunn's case what he was saying was completely untrue (Blu-ray is being embraced by the early adopters over HD DVD, for example ). I don't think he even believes it. If he does he may end up getting sacked like the Sony Home Video president Benjamin Feingold did (nicknamed "Blu-ray Ben" for his leadership role in spearheading industry support for Blu-ray).

There is also a political/PR advatage to switching support to both formats. You can look magnanimous by 'allowing the consumer to decide' while also doing what is in the best interest of the company (i.e. the bottom line).

While I'm also skeptical and I think that Fox will probably be the last to consider switching sites, I also think it's important to remember that what Fox (or any company) is "vocal" about publicly doesn't necessariliy reflect what they're actual plans are. All public comments from companies are propaganda in one form or another. Remember:

"We believe that Divx is a great proposition for the growing number of consumers entering the digital video marketplace."
-- Pat Wyatt, Acting Head of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (Feb 1998)

Did Fox ever exlusively support Divx though? I think I remember then starting to support DVD around the same time, just that they supported Divx more.

Also, the distinction isn't that the studios are necessarily lying in public statements. Fox very likely really wanted Divx to succeed. However, the distinction is that plans are always fluid and thus subject to change. Fox very likely has no plans currently to support HD DVD at any time in the future. However, those plans could come into being within a very short timespan.

And I'd like to take you back not too long ago to a statement by Samsung (please reference the post above):



Statements mean shit. Production is the only thing that matters.

I may have my dates wrong, but I believe that Fox was a DVD holdout (not supporting the format at all) until they announced titles at VSDA in August of 1998. Said titles came out in November of that year.

Absolutely 100% agreement. I didn't mean to imply that Fox is lying in their press statements, just that those statements don't necessarily reflect exactly what is going on in the company. If they look at Q3/Q4 sales and start thinking about HD DVD, they're not going to run to a microphone and say they're considering it. They may continue to push BD in statements, while behind the scenes, they're exploring options.

Yes.

Companies routinely couch their public statements in such a way that, while true, don't necessarily reflect all of the internal goings on within the company. And that is for good reason. If word leaks out regarding a new, as yet unreleased product that could potentially damage sales of an existing product, it is in the company's best interest to downplay that information. Case in point: when word of Toshiba's G2 HD DVD players leaked onto the Internet, their public response was that they had not announced any new players for 2006. Many took that to mean that they would not announce any new players in or for 2006, when in reality it only meant that the announcement had not yet been made public.

Anyone who thinks Fox isn't watching sales of both formats very closely is kidding themselves. And I'm certain the same can be said of the other studios.

I'm not sure. The R2 Japanese DVD I have is an MGM disc. And MGM did release Manhunter over here, albeit in 4:3. So there's no telling who has the rights at this point. And if it is MGM, do they have the rights to the bonus materials on the Anchor Bay discs?

Thanks for that information. I am always curious to know how much wholesale prices are for DVDs and, now, HD DVDs and BDs.

While I assume that Amazon is likely getting a bit of a better wholesale price than your store, when they sell HD DVDs to us for $17.95, they aren't making much, if any, money on them. Especially considering free shipping.

I am not sure I understand what you are saying about the prices you paid. YOU paid $18.38 for each HD DVD?

You said you paid $85 shipped for all of these:

Batman Begins
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Adventures of Robin Hood
Corpse Bride
Mission Impossible Ultimate Collection

If you don't count the MI set, that would be over $90. How much did the MI set cost you?

No, this comment simply shows that you simply have not a clue what I was trying to say. Dont remember ever saying anything regarding people seeing commercials. As for what you do for your wife, best to keep that stuff to yourself.

PS..