Yup. This was completely untrue, and those WalMart rumors have not been really shot down.

Actually, I think it may date all the way back to this case:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Co...l_City_Studios

The Digital Bits posted a lengthier denial:

That's about as good of a way of saying No that I can think of.

I know many keep throwing out this idea that Toshiba has a deal with Universal to be exclusive. What report claims this? If Universal hates Sony so much, I doubt they need a contract to be exclusive to HD DVD. Maybe, just maybe, they are exclusive by choice.

..."has switched allegiances to support Blu-ray are totally false"

I don't know, their quote says the rumors of them switching allegiances are false. It does not deny the rumors of them going neutral and publishing on both formats. There is quite a bit of wiggle room for them there if you ask me. That being said, I still don't think we will be seeing any BD's from Universal anytime soon, but that quote does not slam the door on it. Contrast the universal quote with one published today from Disney:

"We made our bed with Blu-ray because we believed more in that format for a variety of reasons; some technical in nature, some due to the fact that it simply had broader support from a variety of industries, notably the motion picture studios but also what I’ll call the consumer electronics and the tech industry.

What we are seeing lately is that sales of Blu-ray discs are outpacing HD discs by at least two to one. As more quality Blu-ray product comes on the market, which is going to happen, notably with Pirates on May 22, we actually believe that the difference or the advantage of Blu-ray is only going to widen.

What we are also seeing is that the adoption of the platform right now is being held back a bit by a perception among consumers, really, that there is a format war; and that the hardware or the players are too expensive. We see the players coming down in price nicely, particularly by the Christmas season. We also believe that if Blu-ray continues to outpace HD DVD the retailers are ultimately going to weigh in, because they only have a limited amount of shelf space, and they are going to have to choose a format in order to manage their own shelf space. Once that happens, the advantage is going to go even more in Blu-ray’s direction.

I think the single greatest thing we can do right now is to not waffle, but to be very, very blunt about it, to continue our support of Blu-ray because we sense a real advantage. The best thing that could happen is for the format war to end, which will be very pro-consumer, particularly as hardware comes down.

The other thing I want to note is, if you look across the globe, the only place there is really a format war is in the United States. In other markets where next-gen DVD is starting to penetrate, Blu-ray is winning, and substantially; so much so there isn’t even a perceived format war.

So I think we made the right decision, the trends we are seeing seem to validate the decision. We think long-term, this is going to be a nice growth area for the company, because as you know sell-through DVD is a big business for the Walt Disney Company, even though we believe in things like VOD and the rental model. People want to own a Disney DVD, particularly in the next-generation format."

Now that is completly slamming the door shut on Disney going neutral.

I wouldn't read too much into it. They're both toting their company lines, and if/when there's a compelling reason to take a different stance, they'll do whatever's in their best interest even if it completely contradicts what they're saying now. I mean, you say "slamming the door" as if this is legally binding or something.

That said, I'd be shocked if Universal isn't on Blu-ray at some point in 2008 -- probably earlier in the year rather than later.

Not legaly binding, but I think that any company wants to leave wiggle room in public statments so that they can not be labeled as liers or having mislead people or investors if company policies change later. My point was that I see some wiggle room in how it was worded in the Universal statment, where as the Disney statment left no wiggle room at all and it will make them look really silly if they go neutral at anytime in the next year.

That announcement was about why they chose BD, and the bottom line of what that says is pretty much "market research says this is our best bet right now".

All they would have to do is say the market has changed.

And do you seriously think anyone will care or think they are silly? $$$

(this is still a pretty small market)

Yep, thats why reports of Universal switching can't be taken seriously now. Why switch to sell a few thousand more copies of around 100 titles?

Yeah, because companies NEVER lie to consumers or mislead them .

Didn't say they never lie, but do you really think they want to be known for lieing and misleading?

Lying, no, but misleading is a lot more subjective. Besides, if it makes them money, do you really think they care?

Funny, I remember a very similar statement from Fox during the Divx days why Divx was better then DVD. 6 Months later they announced their first DVD titles.

Once the Wal-Mart player hits its gonna be game over for Blu-Ray exclusive studios. Wal-Mart plays a big factor is selling DVDs, and if they want Disney to support HD DVD, they just might go neutral or Wal-Mart does not need to carry their DVD movies.

Wow, not a whole lot of speculation in that post...

Not as bad as some people on AVS (beatboy).

I honestly think you are not thinking clearly. There is more to this format war then cheap players.

They don't have to lie. The article you quoted is just why they chose BD right now. They never said "we are BD forever"!

"If" the market changes, all they have to do is say something like "The market has changed and we want to provide blah, blah, blah, to reach the most people and expand our customer base."

Shareholders and consumers would be happy. $$$ (Again, this is a tiny market right now)

True, but to downplay WalMart's potential role is also "not thinking clearly." If Wally jumps behind HD DVD, and phases down or out BD, then you bet your ass Disney will do a 180, and they'll be the first ones.

I personally would not speak in such assurance. There is no way to know what would happen. What if they release 299 players at walmart and they sit on the shelf? Or 50% get returned? I think the HD Scene is so complicated with different resolutions, so many ways to get your audio out, hdmi, component, spdif, optical, analog out, blah blah. You and i both have no clue what is going to happen IF it were to happen. I'd prefer a wait and see approach, but from what ive seen so far, what walmart does isnt very meaningful when the vast majority of people using a PS3 are using Composite and thinking it is HD. Just my 2 cents, anyway. I personally believe content is going to be the key to this holiday season, and the BD side has a lot of the blockbusters from this summer exclusive to them. We shall see how it plays out tho.

If you think WalMart has no bearing on HD sales then... I just don't know what to say.

Casual shoppers are the mainstream, and WalMart= casual shoppers. If this business about the cheap HD DVD players is reality, and if they come in and sit on the shelves, there is no way in hell WalMart will say "Sheesh. HD DVD failed, let's give the more expensive Blu-Ray a shot!" It will be the end of any hopes of mainstream penetration for both formats.

If WalMart is successful at moving HD DVD players, then that content you BD faithful so strongly cling to will surely slip away to HD DVD.

WalMart has been very succesful moving HDTVs and I see no reason to think that they will be just as successful moving HD DVD players with those TVs if the price is right.

Additionally, I think that HDMI is designed to alleviate exactly some of the angst you are talking about. One cable to tv. Done. HDMI practically has "J6P" written on the wire.

The word from a couple of people who attended a panel at EMA is that Universal's Ken Graffeo mentioned several times that Universal is under pressure from GE to support both formats. Pressure from corporate parents has influenced these sorts of decisions before (Warner Home Video was rumored to be HD DVD exclusive until execs higher up the chain mandated support for both formats), so maybe things will change.

LIAR! HERETIC! FANBOI!!!!!!!!




Seriously, that's pretty interesting. Maybe that's Graffeo's way of saving face if they do go neutral...

I love HD DVD, but if Universal goes, BD wins and HD DVD fizzles by next year.

I see this happening and I see this as the result. Why own HD DVD when everything is on BD?