Cardiac161

Though I have both formats, I'm very happy for HD-DVD in regards to Paramount's exclusivity considering all the "gloom & doom" news that has been constantly coming out in recent weeks. It's a great "kick-in-the-ass" to the Bluray group who have been releasing press releases as to how the format war is over with Bluray dominating the market.

Does this news mean that Paramount will be cancelling upcoming Bluray discs of Top Gun & Jack Ryan series or are they still going to be released?

Adam Tyner

How so?

Do you think this deal was made overnight? If you agree that this was in the works for some time, you can't find it even a little bit realistic that Paramount would've made plans as to what they'd do if the deal didn't work out?

To go back to the point you glossed over earlier, you're taking the specs of one unreleased disc, extrapolating it to a blanket statement that Paramount has been giving Blu-ray discs more lavish treatment recently, and forgetting that Paramount has often been giving their Blu-ray discs lower quality audio than the HD DVD equivalent.

Artman

Hey now, which side has the red cases?

Dysoman

+1, I own all three as well and the difference can be seen.

BTW, Forbidden Planet HD looks fantastic too!

Artman

Once you sell your soul, there is no other plan!

tonymontana313

So you basically approve of Paramount's "tease" to their BR supporters and allowing retailers to pre-order titles and then just yank it abruptly?

Adam Tyner

No.

You're too pissed off to have a meaningful conversation with right now, so I'll wait until you've simmered down. The forum would be better off if you step away for a while.

GMan2819

Selling more does not always mean more profit. If that was true, why would Paramount abandon BD? It doesn't make sense. The only thing that makes sense is that HD DVD currently makes more money (or will allow them to recoup any investments quicker) for them.

tonymontana313

I'm sorry you feel that way but it is still a valid question. I'm annoyed that Paramount feels the need to treat their BR customers as pawns and as a fallback plan while they're too busy making deals under the table. How is that irrational?

egy971

Godfather & Godfather Part II on HD DVD? (Rumor)

If its true, THANK YOU PARAMOUNT!

PopcornTreeCt

As a person who doesn't have a HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player yet I am more pissed with Blu-Ray's exclusive titles than HD-DVDs for the simple fact that that a Blu-Ray player costs more than 2x an HD-DVD player.

Onto more fun things, here's my wishlist:

Paramount

1. Once Upon a Time in the West
2. Chinatown
3. Days of Heaven
4. Braveheart
5. The Conformist *drool
6. The Godfather Trilogy
7. Zodiac Director's Cut
8. Nashville
9. The Machinist
10. The Truman Show

Dreamworks

1. Collateral
2. Gladiator (Theatrical and Extended Edition)
3. American Beauty
4. Road to Perdition
5. Almost Famous

Timmio

Could this be because HD DVD seems to have a higher attach rate?

Adam Tyner

You're twisting everything everyone posts into this ridiculous "us versus them" mentality. No offense, but I think you're so aggravated that it's severely tainting your perception of the messages in this thread and causing you to post inaccuracies like your statement about Paramount's recent trend of giving Blu-ray preferential technical treatment based entirely on one disc.

Yes, I think it's a bad idea for Paramount to cancel Blades of Glory, if the press release is accurate. (As far as I know, we haven't had any confirmation on this, right? No cancellation notices from any online retailers?)

No, I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that they prepared for this contigency. (It's not any worse than what Fox did.)

Yes, I think this deal has been in the works for a while. (I did think it was strange that given Paramount's usual lead time with their review copies that neither high-def release of Blades of Glory has shown up in the DVD Talk offices.)

QuePaso

Microsoft paid off Paramount. There is nothing more to it. The head of Dreamworks admited to a 50+ million payment in the LA Times or NY Weekly article, not sure which it was, in addition to having free advertising. Paramount sold out, it has nothing to do with any other factor.

Mr. Cinema

Maybe they said "if Fox can do it, so can we!"

egy971

Your point? It's business, stop crying.

Arpeggi

Paramount's catalog is sick.

Adam Tyner

There's absolutely nothing to point to Microsoft paying anyone off aside from the fact that they're such an easy target. I'd have to dig up quotes, but I've heard that even a lot of the Blu-ray insiders on some of the usual forums are saying that the accusations against Microsoft have no basis in reality.

PopcornTreeCt

Yup they sure did. The big question is; are they getting as much as money as Disney and Fox are from Sony?

Supermallet

Sony has been paying people to buy into Blu-ray from day one. If you think any of these studios are somehow better than any other, boy, are you in for a rude awakening. If you rounded up every movie and music executive, you'd probably have the most unethical group of people alive. Get over it. There's no honor or loyalty amongst these studios.

And in order for this to be considered "selling out," Paramount would have to have had principles in the first place. They didn't.

Gizmo

Ahh, but Fox teasing everyone with Blu-Ray is OK?

The Third Jake

"Sold out"? Are you kidding? That's all any of them should be doing. They're businesses. Their sole function is to maximize profits. What, was there some integrity or something to supporting Blu-Ray that I'm missing?

tonymontana313

Hopefully Fox will show up the second time around!

Gizmo

I imagine like many other studios, they truly thought Blu-Ray would be the CLEAR winner as of now. Why? The PS3. Remember before PS3 had launched? Blu-Ray was non-existent. It was ranked REALLY low on Amazon charts. Then the PS3 launched...it changed a bit. I still think the reason why many studios are BR exclusive is because they thought the PS3 would sell like nuts and be a video game leader this generation...and that has not happened. A format with 4+ Million Blu-Ray players against one with what, 500k is only selling movies at a 2:1 advantage? That's not very good.

stingermck

We all sell out for a paycheck every week. Business is Business.

Can I get The Saint on HD now?