The only thing Blu has going for it is a 2:1 software advantage.

given it needs a 5:1 (or more) hardware install base, coupled with almost constant "buy 1 get 1 free " sales in order to maintain that, it's not that impressive, from a revenue standpoint.

Add to that BD's profile issues and confusion, and their higher manufacturing costs...

Yeah, I'd be surprised, as it doesn't make much sense.

But Toshiba giving up to 10 free movies per player is going to make you money?

The biggest problem with hd-dvd is Toshiba making the only players for it. How well did that work out for Sony with beta?

P.S I don't consider Onkyo or Venturer hd-dvd manufacturers since their products are still rebadged Toshibas.

the BDA is doing the 5 free by mail in thing as well, which I didn't mention in my post, as the Toshiba offer cancels it out (both sides are doing that).

Getting a few free discs with a player is a different story than 50% off sales on software consistently.


As for Toshiba only make the players for it, I agree and disagree.

I agree that it would be good to get different manufacturer's involved to broaden the choice spectrum.

However, having 1 company make all the players allows for a great "standard buck/standard support/standard features" environment for the entire format.

Well, there are the combo players, but yes Toshiba is the only one making HD DVD players. I see this as a negative if it continues for too long, but in the short term it has been great for HD DVD owners.

Toshiba has pushed down the price of players quickly causing BD to try and match and they have made sure that all HD DVD players have the same features.

With BD players it is a nightmare. This one can't be upgraded to 1.1, this one has no ethenet, this one takes forever to load java and so on. They need to stop driving hardware sales with a gaming console and get their player situation organized.

As far as the big announcement. Like last year we are getting worked up over nothing. I will be glad when it is over though. I'm sick of all these rumors from people that have zero idea what will happen.

I have the Samsung duo player that plays hd-dvd. :p

I see Sony and Samsung on almost a weekly basis also giving out 1-3 free movies as well. The 5 free instantly has only been through Amazon, most of the time its 1-3 at B&M stores, just like Blu-ray.

You don't count Onkyo or Venturer because their rebadged? 99% of people wouldn't even know. You can keep the 5 different CE's that each have issues with playing certain discs, and then hope that your CE will actually issue you out a firmware update so you can watch those movies.

I should add, as of January 1st, alot of Blu-ray studios and CE's contracts expire. They are free to go Neutral, Exclusive etc. I expect to see a few Dual Players announced at CES from current Blu-ray exclusive CE's.

So far, I see an HD DVD invitation on Sunday for their 2 hour event with Warners listed. I have yet to see a Blu-ray invitation for Mondays 1 hour presentation.
I do, however, also see Universal mentioning Warners Harry Potter sales in their press release. Why would they do that, especially when Harry Potter sold slightly better on Blu-ray then HD DVD?

So yes, I think some people might be a little surprised.

Whoops, sorry I meant to come into the Blu-Ray thread.....which thread did I come in again?

hahaha, that is all too common on here i'm afraid. if people posted the sort of negativity you see here in the hd dvd thread there'd be a riot!

It really is.

I can tell :D2: j/k

thanks for covering some new ground ...

I will be sure to bring up this post come CES. What CE companies do you see going neutral? Most of the companies offering Blu-ray players have a stake in Blu-ray so no chance of them offering the competition. Samsung's neutral player still has a BD in the model number and they are still firmly in the BD camp.

Per your posts in other forums, it's quite laughable to think that Disney would even consider neutrality. I'll take Bob Chapek's words over what some forum guy named Lotus says. :lol:

Actually, this thread was fairly Blu-ray as we were discussing lack of Man on Fire extras and Mr and Mrs Smith. That was until:

Samsung also brought us the first Blu-ray player 2 1/2 months before Sony launched theirs. They went Neutral. The 1400 is now discontinued and the 2400 was canceled. As of today, there is no Blu-ray SA player announced by Samsung. May change in 2-3 weeks, but right now, it is what it is. It appears after January 1st any CE or Studio can leave (with the exception of Paramount/DW signing an agreement until March 2009, if not longer due to the 5 years exclusive to XBL thing).

With Blu-ray players dropping in price to HD DVD price levels as of 3 months ago, why wouldn't some CE's want to make Dual Player to make some extra money? I imagine a CE like Sharp would love to launch a $499/$599 dual player and undercut Samsung and LG. Fact is, the PS3 will always be the cheaper solution to Blu-ray and Samsung, Sharp and even Sony had to lower their own player prices just to be on the same price level.

I imagine CES will either be really boring with nothing happening, or a whole bunch "Holy shit", "WTF", "This is crap", "Woah!" going on here :)

My post was a reply to another one discussing validity of deals on the BD side. I can think of other posts from other people that have far more weight when it comes to derailment. -wink-

You're nuts! :lol:

I imagine as long as everything is in good taste and were not killing/attacking each other it should be fine. Blu-ray has bled over into the HD DVD thread as well but no one is complaining. I still long for the days of a Neutral thread....sigh.

this is where the thread became derailed. again.

Yeah we need to have one all out format war thread with no mod intervention. I guarantee that thread would hit 500 posts by the first day! :lol:

Apparently, according to Blu-ray.com, I am an insider (or paid shill) now thats paid by Microsoft and Toshiba because I started that thread.
http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=27341&page=23
with an actual FACT.
Our friend Pro-B even makes an appearance to bad mouth me (as he has several times there and on other HDM forums). :lol:

I hope that Blu-Ray wins the war. Merry Christmas!!!

Don't forget, you also have a crush on Dave Vaughn as well. -wink-

In defense of pro-b, I've never seen him badmouth anybody on any forums.

Yes, apparently I do. He's a nice guy though and has brought us the numbers early several weeks. Apparently he is a paid shill as well. :lol:

Pro-B does NOT like me at all from the posts Ive read as I pointed out several "mistakes" his supposed sources gave him. Regardless, he is not here anymore so I won't talk about him.

It's cool though, the person who called you an insider got corrected here later in the thread.

Getting back on topic, I really can't see any BD studios going neutral just like hardline hd-dvd studios won't consider neutrality as well.