a top exec of a major studio has been quoted that wb are rumoured to be going bd exclusive. that is the information of relevance. if the vice-chairman of paramount said something similar it would be similarly newsworthy. has a top paramount exec said anything similar?

I wouldn't take it as fact, but I'd want to see the full quote. I'd be interested.

The first 2 quotes you cited are from 2005, before either format was selling. The last two are from an article right after the Blockbuster announcement which many did consider to be significant in terms of perception. I read the entire article and didn't find it biased. The part you left off after the 3 dots was "...Toshiba is hardly down for the count." His comments about player sales in the article those last 2 quotes came from is hardly positive for Blu-ray.

How significant the rumor is, I don't know. But others should read the entire article your last 2 quotes are from to determine if they think it is biased.
http://www.businessweek.com/technolo...tm?chan=search

I definitely take this seriously. Warner going Blu-ray means the end of the war, but I'll believe it when I see it. One thing that is telling is disc sales. Blu-ray continues to sell more discs so Warner may feel it benefits them more to side with one side while the formats are still in their infancy.

if that's the case, then WB needs to release the older catalog titles that are on HD-DVD only and release them on Bluray as well.

I think once the PIP feature becomes avalible, Warner will begin to do so. I've been waiting for Batman Begins.

I hope it's true. If they chose BD, then the war will end sooner. If they chose HD DVD, then we'll have 2 formats, and slow adoption for the next several years.

I think what they will do is wait until after January to see if the cheap HD DVD players help with pulling software sales closer to 50:50. I'm sure alot of those $99 A2s were bought as gifts, but I don't think we've seen a big boost in software yet for HD DVD.

BD has now caught up in terms in interactivity. We should get several 1.1 player announcements at CES and maybe some 2.0 players. Also, pricing should drop more on hardware.

The holdup for Universal, I think, would be the fact that not every BD player will have an ethernet port for network features. Of course, the PS3 will probably be 2.0. I'm wondering if there's some way that BD could incorporate HDi programming for those non-BD studios as a way to convince them to switch.

Why do so many people, especially people who lean BD want one format? You can thank the existence of the HD DVD format for all those excellent disc deals you've been getting of late.

Two formats=competition=good for the consumer. I don't want to see on format, and I sure as hell don't want that one format to be run by greedy Sony.

i'd prefer a large selection of classic movies to a few modern blockbusters at reduced prices. the majority of the people i know who are interested in highdef media won't get in the game until there is only one format. this is almost certainly true for the general population at large, since i have a fairly broad mix of friends. without a large uptake of highdef the studios have no incentive to release their catalogues, and we won't have the selection to chose from.

two formats=slow adoption=less choice of titles=bad for the consumer. as to the anti-sony embaressment, that can speak revealingly for itself.

Well it's a good thing then that the BDA is made up of more than Sony.

There's already two formats without HD DVD.

Blu-ray and DVD

That'll be enough competition IMO. And I don't think we've seen the start of what that competition can do for prices.

Once we get a true sub 300 BD player ( not including jumping through hoops to get deals), things will definitely look better for the BDA. It would be even better if the sub 300 player came from anyone but Sony as well.

let's not forget confusion because of 2 formats=bad for consumer growth. I'd rather get Spielberg titles and Star Wars sooner than later. With 2 formats, I think that would push those even further down the line.

Yes, 2 formats were great because they got the prices down on hardware. So now that has happened, let's get rid of one so others will start buying into the format and move away from dvd.

Could not agree with you anymore. The question is how much longer do we wait for a unified format. If Warner goes BD at any point, the writing is on the wall for Hd-dvd but I can only see Warner making that decision until BD gets 2.0 players out in the marketplace.

Sony is greedy? Microsoft isn't? 1format is needed for mass adoption and lower across the board software prices.

Yeah, and I'd rather win a billion dollars in the lottery than not win a billion dollars in the lottery. Have fun waiting for that to happen. George Lucas held off releasing Star Wars on DVD for 7 years because he didn't think that format was "mature" enough, despite it being the fastest-growing, most popular consumer electronic product in history. Do you honestly believe there's even the remotest possibility that he'd release the franchise on either High-Def format quicker than that?

star wars was released on laserdisc far earlier in the format's lifecyle, and with a far smaller consumer base. because something has happened once doesn't mean it will happen again, as this example proves. we shall see... though two formats, and stymied highdef growth will not speed up the release of this title any...

So you're saying there isn't the remotest possibility Star Wars or Indy will be released on a HD format within the next 5 years?

With Star Wars already on several hard drives after being broadcast in HD on HBO?

A little over the top?

It took 8 years for Star Wats to appear on DVD, and thats when the format was not in any type of war. We will be lucky to get Star Wars by 2013.

You must have missed where the original idea of it being released was predicated on one format having won out.

I think we might get an Indy release in either format when Indy 4 comes out. Paramount would be really dumb to not have any type of promotional tie in for it. Now as far as which format it comes out on or how Spielberg feels about it, God only knows.

Looks like we have our first sub 300 player (without jumping through hoops) and courtesy from Samsung. The BDp-1400 at 298.76 is a very good price. Here's the link
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-BD-P14...7144973&sr=8-1

what's with the negative attitude? Contrary to your "doom and gloom" view, I'm a little more optimistic that we'll see something Star Wars related in the next few years.

This discussion is about HD, not dvd. I'm saying 2 formats will cause alot of these gems to stay longer in the vault. You don't think losing 1 format is going to help speed things up?

Since Blu-ray is more mature than dvd ever could be, you don't think it's possible that ol' George may want to test the HD waters in the next few years and release at least the newer trilogy? As protective has he is for his films, I'm sure BD+ would be a nice selling point. The HD formats were created so the studios could sell us their movies again. Is Star Wars an exception? How many times has Lucas released different versions of his films on home video?

Did you expect that we'd get a Spielberg title on HD during the first 1 1/2 years of existence? I'm gonna guess the answer would be no.

I did, but I figured it'd be The Sugarland Express or 1941 or something.

Still, I think the most likely scenario of Star Wars hitting BD would be if there were a standard definition re-release at the same time, which is how CE3K wound up on the format.

I think history has shown Lucasfilm loves putting something out every year around the September-November timeframe.

This year it's Young Indy on DVD.

Last year was the OT Limited Edtion.

I suspect next year will be at least Indy 4 on HD DVD, if not all four of them. So IMO Fall 2009 would be the first window of opportunity. By then I would think one format will clearly be dominant over the other.

Hopefully Lucas won't be so hesitant to release his forthcoming TV shows on HDM.