Bacon

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents
scroll down to near the end of the column

NO LUCAS HATING OR OTHER SW DEBATE OTHER THAN HD, PLEASE

clemente

That doesn't really surprise, I remember the talk years back that Star Wars wouldn't be released on DVD until it was a proven format.

Gizmo

Yes, its from TDB. Even IF it is real, it won't matter since Lucas would never release his movies when HD is 1% of the market. Took 10 years for DVD.

Supermallet

It's no surprise at all that Lucas isn't even looking at the HD formats right now. They're way too small. Even if one format won the war today, you still wouldn't see Lucas interested in releasing right now.

RoboDad

Not quite. Episode I was released on DVD in 2001, and Episodes II and III were released nearly (if not exactly) day and date with their VHS counterparts in 2002 and 2005, respectively. It may be true that the Original Trilogy wasn't released until 2004 (seven years after the launch of DVD in the US, not ten), but that had more to do with Lucas not wanting to divide his attention between film production and DVD production than it did with lack of confidence in the market.

As for how long it will take to see the films released in an HD format, only time (and the pathetic stubbornness of people on BOTH sides of the war) will tell. If there is a clear winner by the middle of next year, and people (and by people, I mean the early adopters who consider themselves "format warriors") can put aside their petty grudges, then the only hurdle will be to mount an effective advertising campaign to raise public awareness, confidence and desire for HD.

But, if it goes much longer than that, it may just never end. Which would mean no Star Wars in HD for a very long time.

RocShemp

Here I was hoping he'd release them on both. But, yeah, it really is no suprise. I guess the same will hold true for the Indiana Jones films (and anything else directed by Spielberg).

The Bus

If he doesn't want my money, fine by me.

Stupid studios. I wish more of them were like WB and Paramount.

RoboDad

Warner and Paramount are taking a huge risk, though. Whether or not there is any real "instant obsolescence" in the losing format when a winner is declared, there will still be a perceived one in the minds of many, many consumers. And that will translate into anger and distrust, especially for the studios who backed "the wrong format".

Besides, we all know that HD sales can't possibly take off the way the need to until a winner emerges, and Lucas won't release until there is at least some saturation in the market. It's a chicken/egg problem. Many consumers refuse to back a format until a winner emerges, but a winner can't emerge until enough consumers back one format to give it a dominant edge.

darthdelegate

This war is not going to be over by the middle of next year. It's not going to end at all. There will be no clear winner.

Artman

I'm hoping for the Indy series to be released holiday 08, and SW in 09... hopefully it's not wishful thinking. You'd think marketing would want to tie them into whatever new releases the franchises get...for Indy that'd obviously be the new movie next yr, and maybe for SW one of the new tv shows in 09.

RoboDad

Time will tell. But if you are right, both formats will remain tiny niche products and as I said, neither will see Star Wars for a long, long time.

RocShemp

I think all the studios that can afford to do so should go dual format. All others should sit it out. Then just let the customers decide who they wish to back. Eventually a victor would emerg and then the smaller studios can start producing discs for the victor.

buckee1

Sucks, but as it's been said, not really a surprise.

Maxflier

I guess they'll never come out then, because neither format is going away.

DthRdrX

Yea I feel the same way about either going away.

In reality, both formats are splitting a very small percentage of the market. Growth is happening much slower than the industry expected. If Blu-Ray can't expand and defeat HD-dvd within the next 2-3 years then it is game over for one format only, because you know MS will be pimping a new X-Box with a cheaper HD drive within this timeframe.

The Cow

They will both go away eventually, obviously.

The question is "will either of them succeed (become commonplace)?"

And yeah, I agree, it'll be a long time before SW is visited again on a newer home media. (I would not be surprised if we see some other DVD release before a HD type release)

DthRdrX

Would that be the Anamorphic and Restored OT? If they did HD masters they'll eventually release in HD IMO.

eedoon

Will they also include the Guido shoot first version?


Seriously, I think this is a good decision. If SW is being released on BD, one could imagine how Lucas basher who happen to be a HD DVD fans would react. Or even worse, if it was being released on HD DVD.

JACOB

you guys know that you can get all 6 star wars in HD from HBO.. I have direct tv in HD, and I was able to record all 6 movies.
and they look awesome.

Jacob

DVDFreaker

Why not release on both formats and be happy?

coli

If Lucas resists releasing the OOT on HDDVD or Blue Ray (whoever wins), then this debate will go on forever, SE vs OOT. Hopefully Lucas can come to his senses and decide to release the SE/OOT in EVERY future release, so we can all enjoy whatever versions we like.

As for when SW comes to HD, I believe it wont be for another 3-4 years.

ITALIAN926

If theres a winner , it'll be short lived. With faster internet like Verizon FiOS , one day, everything anyone can ever want will be on-demand. I feel as though Ive already wasted tens of thousands on DVD's... and I continue to waste more almost every day

Commander Dan

I also have always thought this to be the most likely scenario. And as it stands now, I still think that both formats will survive the foreseeable future as niche market products.

starving dvder

I already have the Star Wars discs I want. My Toshiba up-converts them just fine.

The Bus

Lucas should release the OOT in one format, and the SE in the other.

Italian: The problem with On-Demand is that it's not quite there yet. The biggest hurdle I see is not the technology: most movies will be able to be compressed to 15GB or so, even in HD. At some point in the next ten years, it will cost about $1 for a terabyte. That's 50 movies in HD, give or take. For $10,000, you have the technology to hold 500,000 HD movies. Or 5,000 TV series and 400,000 movies. I can stream HD now. The technology is not the issue.

It's the rights management. What will studios let us do with these files? How much will each movie cost? From a rental standpoint, this is a no-brainer. It's easier to hit a few buttons on your remote than drive down to your local video store, especially when the remote holds more movies than your store. But what makes sense? Certainly no one can buy 500,000 movies, nor would anyone want to.

Rental pricing is $4-$6 per title now, which is fair-ish. Not overpriced, but it would be great for it to be cheaper. Something akin to Netflix's rental programs at $15-$25, would be better. Maybe instead of buying cell minutes we buy "movie minutes"...

Physical media will only disappear once it becomes less convenient, less secure, and more expensive. If you could permanently hold, on your own hard drive, your entire movie collection (in HD + every language), for $1 a movie, and you could back it up to a disc if you wish, I think most people would do this instead of buying $10-$20 DVDs.