Doesn't bother me either way, but I do hope I can dump my Toshiba for a better stand-alone player before HD DVD fizzles out.

That argument definitely has a lot of merit. Still, I think it's still too early to say either way. After all, what if the Blu-Ray group counters with similarly priced units and also sells them at Wal-Mart? We'd be back to square one.

Honestly, there's too much to speculate at this point. I'd rather HD DVD win (not for any hatred toward Sony but because I find both formats capable of excellent quality and thus I favor the one that hurts my wallet the least) but I think we're all better off enjoying what we have and just let the markets fluctuate as they will. For all we know, both formats could end up a niche market akin to Laserdisc and eventually some other better format will emerge and both HD DVD and Blu-Ray will be forgotten by all but those of us that purchased the players and enjoyed all the software available.

Why should Universal buckle under pressure to go nuetral before any of the other studios? Graffeo should tell them that he'll be glad to go nuetral, just as soon as Disney, Fox and Lions Gate do.

For what is worth in Germany Concord Video who are directly under the Universal distro-umbrella have chosen to go neutral even though they still carry the Universal logo on each of their releases. Many of the US HD-exclusive titles will be coming out through Universal/Concord on BR.
There was plenty of buzz on the German forums when the news broke out but stateside I did not see any reaction until about a week ago.

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...etc....

Pro-B

That covers very scary.

I wish they'd just hurry up and go neutral so it will finish the stupid war.

Apparently this isn't too far off.

The 'couple of people' I referenced upthread turned out to be someone using different usernames on different forums, and the moderator from the event says drsiebler/Ben Williams' account is way off-base.

I just wish that Disney and Fox would go neutral so it will finish the stupid war.

:hscratch: Please explain. This makes no sense.

It makes perfect sense to me.
Disney and Fox going nuetral could create a victory for HD DVD just like Universal doing it could create a victory for Blu-Ray.
But we all know neither is going to happen, at least not anytime soon.

Still makes no logical sense. All it would do is continue with two competing formats, both with tremendous studio support. The goal is to have ONE format. All this would to is prolong two.

Exactly. Even if Disney and Fox went neutral, BD would still have exclusives. If Universal went neutral HD-DVD would not have any left. I don't care which one dies off but I hope it happens soon.

No, because if Universal goes neutral then Blu-Ray has all the major studios that are supporting films in HD. Disney and Fox would still be Blu-Ray exclusives so there's no pint in getting an HD DVD player even if it is cheaper than a Blu-Ray player.

However, if Disney and Fox go neutral then HD DVD would get all the major studios that support film in HD. Why pay more for a Blu-Ray player when you can get the same quality for less money on an HD DVD player?

Either side going neutral would end the current stalemate.

These argument assume many things that may or may not happen. The only that WILL happen is if either goes neutral, the war continues.

Explain this to me: If there were 100% equal content available on both formats, and new releases kept coming out at a steady rate, why should it matter to you whether one format won or both survived equally?

Well I did forget all about Sony itself in my previous post. :blush: So I guess the stalemate would continue regardless. :(

Also LionsGate and MGM.

And Anchor Bay.

Did anyone read this story:
http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6461381.html

Looks like Bill Hunt is there to lead the charge against HD DVD! According to Bill, it seems like people aren't adopting HD DVD because they get confused - not because the prices are high!! Because you know, its great that HD DVD is a cheaper alternative to Sony's inflated prices - but when the purchase Blu Ray Discs for an HD-DVD player its Toshiba's fault.

You are 100% right my friend. And that's my point. BOTH will continue. Both formats continuing does end the war, it prolongs it. If they have equal studio support, it prolongs it indefinitely.

Jp6 will never have the brain power to manage the question you pose. They simply won't buy either, because they don't understand any better. If we want to have HD/BD truly advance as the replacement of DVD, we need to get better than 1% of the market. And you don't do that with competing formats, even if you can get titles on either.

I guess I should make it clear that "end of the war" is to me, ONE format, and as you said, it doesn't matter which one. Just because you can get all titles on both formats doesn't mean the end of the war to me. I actually would see it destroying the market for both.

Eh, to be fair, though, from a format war ammunition standpoint, Anchor Bay is of essentially no significance. Don't get me wrong -- their support of Blu-ray was a factor in me picking up a PS3, and I plan on getting just about everything from that first wave -- but their support is marginal compared to what it'd mean if Universal, Fox, Disney, or even Lionsgate went neutral.

Plus you can bet the minor players such as Anchor Bay would follow suit after seeing Fox/Disney go neutral.

Isn't MGM a part of Sony? I'll grant you Lionsgate but Anchor Bay hasn't been a major studio in a long time. Sure, I love their releases but I don't see them driving a format.

How is it Toshiba's fault here? Bill Hunt said that his family friend bought an HD DVD player and Blu-ray discs. I guess Bill never informed his friend, which he should be doing since he loves Blu-ray so much, about the difference between the two.

His friend bought the HD DVD player because it played HD movies and because it was cheaper. I mean there's no way you can really confuse the two with all of the logos emblazoned all over all of the packaging. I mean unless there were no HD DVD movies next to the Blu-ray films and there were no Blu-ray players next to the HD DVD players, then how could they honestly be so confused at the store?

Its not Toshiba's fault, I was being sarcastic. And of course, logically, it could be the exact same situation with a Blu Ray player and HD-DVD disc.

Looks like the person that started this rumor has been posting under two names...hmm..our own DVD Talk member caught him too