It appears that PS3 owners will not be able to enjoy more blockbusters in hidef video as paramount and dreamworks had each announced exclusive HD DVD support on their blockbuster releases as well as catalogue titles. This announcement however DO NOT include titles directed by Steven Spielberg.

Transformers, shrek 3 and Blades of Glory are the first three titles from paramount/dreamworks that will be exclusively available on HD DVD. Sorry PS3 owners, no hidef robots for you . Titanic exclusive to HD DVD too

its fun to see GIANT studios such as these two and highe end CE such as ONKYO announcing exclusive and non exclusive support for a dead format !! the war has just started and HD DVD had just decided to join BD in media war .. Let the show begin

Associate press' article:

By ALEX VEIGA
The Associated Press


Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. will offer next-generation DVDs in the HD DVD format and drop support for Blu-ray, further complicating the race between the competing technologies.

Monday's announcement affects the upcoming DVD releases of the blockbusters "Shrek the Third" and "Transformers," along with movies distributed by Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films.

Paramount previously released movies in both DVD formats.

"Part of our vision is to aggressively extend our movies beyond the theater, and deliver the quality and features that appeal to our audience," said Brad Grey, chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc.

"I believe HD DVD is not only the affordable high quality choice for consumers, but also the smart choice for Paramount," he said.

The move does not include films directed by Steven Spielberg, as his films are not exclusive to either format.

The competition between Blu-ray and HD DVD has kept confused consumers from rushing to buy new DVD players until they can determine which format will dominate the market.

Until recently, many consumers were able to defer the choice because players have been so expensive. But prices have been slashed by about half Sony Corp.'s Blu-ray player now sells for $499, and Toshiba Corp.'s cheapest HD DVD player sells for $299, with both likely to include as many as five free movies as an incentive.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation, said consumers seeking to switch to high-definition DVDs will be enticed by the content available for HD-DVD players, and the lower price for the Toshiba devices will appeal to the family market.

"It's a game-changer, what they're doing, and it's why we decided to throw in with them," Katzenberg said.

Standalone HD DVD players have a bigger slice of the market than Blu-ray players. But when you count Sony's PlayStation 3 game console, which comes with a Blue-ray drive, there are more Blu-ray players in U.S. homes.

Rob Moore, president of Paramount Worldwide Distribution, said market data shows that people who own gaming consoles buy fewer movies than those who invest in a high-definition player that only plays movies.

The Blu-ray Disc Association trade group did not immediately return an e-mail seeking comment.

Blu-ray discs can hold more data 50 gigabytes compared with HD DVD's 30 GB but the technology requires new manufacturing techniques and factories, boosting initial costs.

HD DVDs, on the other hand, are essentially DVDs on steroids, meaning movie studios can turn to existing assembly lines to produce them in mass.

Studios and retailers have been choosing sides in recent months.

With Paramount dropping Blu-ray support, Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. remains the only major studio releasing movies in both formats.

"Spider-Man 3" will only be available in the Blu-ray DVD format when it is released by Sony Pictures.

Likewise, people with Blu-ray players won't be able to enjoy the action-thriller "The Bourne Ultimatum," which Universal Pictures will release only in HD DVD.

The Blu-ray format recently got a big boost as Blockbuster Inc. announced it would stock only Blu-ray titles when it expands its high-def DVD offerings this year. (((( added: blockbuster made the announcement because they were given BD movie disks for FREE )))

Target Inc., the nation's second-largest retailer, said it will only sell Blu-ray DVD players in its stores in the fourth quarter. ((( Traget did not say that. Sony's press release said that. And again BD is NOT DVD. Target still sell the HD DVD add on and HD DVD players are available online ))))

Sony Pictures, News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox, The Walt Disney Co., and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer are releasing only in Blu-ray.

Universal, owned by General Electric Co., backs HD DVD exclusively.

Published: Monday, August 20, 2007 11:13 PDT


official press release:

Paramount and DreamWorks Animation Each Declare Exclusive Support for HD DVD

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articl...220082007-1.htm

Movies Distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment Including Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Animation SKG, DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films to be Released Exclusively in HD DVDExclusive Program To Begin with Release of "Blades of Glory," Followed by "Transformers" and "Shrek the Third," Films Representing More Than $1.5 Billion in Combined Worldwide Box Office

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. and DreamWorks Animation SKG , each announced today that they will exclusively support the next-generation HD DVD format on a worldwide basis. The exclusive HD DVD commitment will include all movies distributed by Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films, as well as movies from DreamWorks Animation, which are distributed exclusively by Paramount Home Entertainment.

The companies each said that the decision to distribute exclusively in the HD DVD format resulted from an extensive evaluation of current market offerings, which confirmed the clear benefits of HD DVD, particularly its market-ready technology and lower manufacturing costs. Paramount Home Entertainment will launch its exclusive HD DVD program with the release of the blockbuster comedy hit "Blades of Glory" on August 28th and follow with two of the biggest grossing movies of the year "Transformers" and "Shrek the Third". These three titles alone represent more than $1.5 billion in box office ticket sales worldwide.

"The combination of Paramount and DreamWorks Animation brings a critical mass of current box office hits to consumers with a line-up of live action and animated films that are perfect for HD DVD," stated Brad Grey, Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, which is currently the leading studio in domestic box office. "Part of our vision is to aggressively extend our movies beyond the theater, and deliver the quality and features that appeal to our audience. I believe HD DVD is not only the affordable high quality choice for consumers, but also the smart choice for Paramount."

"We decided to release "Shrek the Third" and other DreamWorks Animation titles exclusively on HD DVD because we believe it is the best format to bring high quality home entertainment to a key segment of our audience -- families," stated DreamWorks Animation CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg. "We believe the combination of this year's low-priced HD DVD players and the commitment to release a significant number of hit titles in the fall makes HD DVD the best way to view movies at home."

With the rapid increase of HD TV screens in households, and audiences wanting to enjoy the total entertainment experience, HD DVD has emerged as the most affordable way for consumers to watch their movies in high definition. In addition to pristine quality, HD DVD also offers consumers the chance to personalize the movie-watching experience, to interact with their movies and even to connect with a community of other fans.

Paramount Home Entertainment will issue new releases day and date as well as catalog titles exclusively on HD DVD. Today's announcement does not include films directed by Steven Spielberg as his films are not exclusive to either format.

About Paramount Pictures Corporation

Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom , a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. The company's labels include Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, MTV Films, Nickelodeon Movies and DreamWorks Studios. PPC operations also include Paramount Digital Entertainment, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studios and Worldwide Television Distribution.

About DreamWorks Animation SKG

DreamWorks Animation is principally devoted to developing and producing computer generated, or CG, animated feature films. With world-class creative talent, a strong and experienced management team and advanced CG filmmaking technology and techniques, DreamWorks Animation makes high quality CG animated films meant for a broad movie-going audience. The Company has theatrically released a total of fourteen animated feature films, including Antz, Shrek, Shrek 2, Shark Tale, Madagascar, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Over the Hedge, Flushed Away, and Shrek the Third. DreamWorks Animation's newest release, Bee Movie, opens in theaters November 2, 2007.

This post has been edited by g5sim: Aug 21 2007, 03:17 AM

There's talk of moneyhatting involved to get this deal going, sums totalling USD150 million. Im partial on both sides, but such is the price to pay to get a movie studio to come to your side, i guess.

Doesnt bother me though, im ready on both sides.

you are one of the lucki ones

Holy Cowwww...like I said both HD-DVD and BD can co-exist while DVD still grab the largest chunk of Movie disk sales...but this News...wow....who said that HD-DVD is dying??????
Paramount and Dreamworks...soemting which I have never imagined that it will happened so soon...hmm..guess that Fox and Disney r surprised too...but on the other hand, its not surprised at all when considering on the cheaper production cost factor.....and I am predicting Fox will follow suit,,especially when cheaper China brand HD-DVD players r on sale in WalMart bef Chritsmas....wow...still cant believe it....

This post has been edited by silencer: Aug 21 2007, 03:22 AM

Fox and Disney has one prerequisite they want implemented before considering any particular format : region coding . HD-DVD's current region-free stance does not fit into their region-staggered release scheme of things.

I guess so...but wait until Microsoft unload another US150 million for their exclusivity..Money talk sometimes...i mean..most of the times....

HD and blueray dont fight!

i will make 1 player that will support u both

Already on the way. LG already had released the decidedly subpar combo player, gimps out on the HD-DVD side. Im pegging my hopes on Samsung's more complete offerings.

---

Added on August 21, 2007, 4:31 amNot a moment too soon! Blu-ray retaliates!

Not too long after the Pramount/Dreamworks shocking announcement:-

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/news/show/...lease_Plans/875

Rounds of snacks, caramel popcorns and supersized sodas on me!

"This war will be bloody, rivers of blood will spill and flow before one side emerge victorious.

How's that for a tagline? FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!

Keep refreshing the page, F5 people!

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Aug 21 2007, 04:37 AM

Looking at Fox commitment on BD along this year..I believe that I am not the only one that is having a doubt on Fox will be seriously fulfilling its promises this time..and by the way, several Fox titles r already been released in HD-DVD in Europe..and will not be surprised if those titles will be released in HD-DVD by independent distributor in Europe earlier than the released date by Fox itself in US...

This post has been edited by silencer: Aug 21 2007, 05:13 AM

Im thinking otherwise. Im suspecting Fox being kept aside by the BDA to counter the impending Paramount/Dreamworks news. Once word is out, BDA responses.

The season to cash in on sales is winter/Chrsitmas season. It makes sense for movie studios to thin out their offerings during slower summer/fall and go all out at the end of the year.

It's already available that support both format....by LG and Samsung....

so? then later some other regions will have the paramount's exclusive cos its distributed by another company in europe

all i wan is an even cheaper pricing on the disc

I'm just waiting for this to end so I can go buy a player. I mean, one movie on blu-ray, another movie on hd-dvd. Ridiculous for the poor people!

All..looking to the Fox now.....if they say "i do" for HD-DVD..i guess....it wont be that long....but ..i still believe on the co-existent concept..buy both if u can afford it...but NEVER SAID..that HD-DVD is DEAD..like what most people like to post here.....now..those people will enjoy their holiday..without the transformer movie in their collection..

---

Added on August 21, 2007, 9:09 pmNo one reply...wonder why???ekekkekekke

This post has been edited by silencer: Aug 21 2007, 09:09 PM

Money rocks even for 18 months, hell yeah

hell yeah....hmmm..how about another fund..after the 18th months...if the format war is still going on...

I guess they're still dumbstrucked by the shocking announcement. I knw the hilarity at the Blu-ray section in AVSForum reflects this.

---

Added on August 22, 2007, 2:17 amTO keep the balance/zen of things:-

And to feed fuel to the fire:-

The 28 new Blu-ray titles from Fox are the titles announced during "Fox Blu-ray exclusives" story and the 4 tentpole titles in 2008 by Disney are "Narnia", "Finding Nemo", "National Treasure" and "Sleeping Beauty", all incorporating BD JAva and BD-Live technology.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Aug 22 2007, 02:17 AM

erm . region coding in BD . sorry

---

Added on August 22, 2007, 3:16 amgot some more:

BD fans picked a forum post at Michael bay's official forum saying Michael bay: no Transformers in BD. no Transformers 2 and movie fans rejoice because he is not directing the sequel

any how he did not complaint about Pearl Harbour and TheRock released on in Blu-ray.

and one title:

Sony PR machine, CGI frantically contacted news agency to spread the 'news' that microsoft paid 150 mil to get the exclusive deal. like people care how they got the exclusive deal


This post has been edited by g5sim: Aug 22 2007, 03:16 AM

Oppps..another "taktik-kotor" by Sony PR agency, spreading the "bad-seed" rumours to the community about the paid-up of RM150miliion, read a challenge made by AmirM, the MS man behind the development of HD-DVD>>> http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread....1&pp=30&page=78 :


Quote:
Originally Posted by Goatse View Post
we'll find out soon enough on Microsofts financial report to the share holders, You really can't hide that kind of money.
------------
I am happy to have any and all kinds of scrutiny on this. People should not underestimate what it takes for me to say what I have here and to the press. So feel free to look at our financial statements next month when quarterly results are released.

Meanwhile, note that that there is not an ounce of counter from BD folks. Paid is here and still not commenting on what they paid (pun intended ) to get Paramount on board the first time. Seeing that he doesn't post under his real name, it should be easier for him to deny it as I have but there is nothing but silence. Ditto for Talk. Just have them repeat the same statements I have made but substitute their company names. That would be fair, right?


Quote:
Originally Posted by Eternal_Sunshine View Post
That was not my point at all. Amir didn't only deny that Microsoft payed anyone anything, he also (here on AVS) repeatedly denied to know whether or not someone else payed the $150 Mill.:
This is what I think is very hard to believe. - So Amir, do you still claim you didn't know anything about the deal?
----------
Your question is not clear. Let me separate it in two parts so the answer is :

1. Did I know before the announce that Paramount was going to abandon BD format and focus on HD DVD. Yes. So if this is what you mean by "deal," yes I knew about it.

2. Do I know what check if any is written to them by other companies. I do not. Let me repeat, I do not! I imagine some marketing incentive is put in there based on press articles that came out yesterday. But no one has provided me with a single line item of any contract between Paramount or other companies let alone have it say what money is changing hands.
Any deal like this was none of our business and would probably have confidentially clauses in it, disallowing disclosure to other companies.

Hopefully this is good enough now. But listen folks, I am happy to keep going if you think it serves a purpose. I don't think it does because the facts are on our side. And even if they aren't, us funding HD DVD only serves to make the BD talk of company support weaker . And potentially points to them being out of funds in getting new deals done. But hey, as I said, if you want to keep going, I am here for you .

AND


And another "taktik-kotor" by SONY PR that is failed bigtime about 18 months deal?????

Paramount: Our switch to HD DVD is an INDEFINITE COMMITMENT>>>>> http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136253-c...gy/article.html

PC World got a chance to interview Paramount's CTO, Alan Bell:

PC World: Will this exclusive period extend for a limited time, or is this an indefinite arrangement?

Alan Bell: At this moment in time, it's an indefinite commitment. The core of this announcement comes from our experience, and what our consumers are looking for. We hope this will influence consumers' choices."

If all goes well, sounds like they may never support Blu-ray.


AND

Michael retracts some of what he said - says he likes HD-DVD!>>>> http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2304
------
Last night at dinner I was having dinner with three blu-ray owners, they were pissed about no Transformers Blu-ray and I drank the kool aid hook line and sinker. So at 1:30 in the morning I posted - nothing good ever comes out of early am posts mind you - I over reacted. I heard where Paramount is coming from and the future of HD and players that will be close to the $200 mark which is the magic number. I like what I heard.

As a director, I'm all about people seeing films in the best quality possible, and I saw and heard firsthand people upset about a corporate decision.

So today I saw 300 on HD, it rocks!

So I think I might be back on to do Transformers 2!

Michael Bay
----
-ahhahahha.. we dont need u in transformer 2......



So...for Sony PR..my advise...stop the PR bull-shit..and instead go tell FOx....pls dont betray us like what those two buys had done to US....

NOTE: - When studio r behind SOny..the fanboy claims that is because of the superiority of BD technology itself...but when they move to HD-DVD, those fanboys keep pointing their finger with all sorts of accusations .... without even taking into consideration that real benefits of development and manufacturing cost for HD-DVD.. "NUFF SAID...and ass an add on..the fact that in this chritsmas>>tonnes of China made with the lowest price possible of HD-DVD players will be waiting in Walmart....

---

Added on August 22, 2007, 10:31 amFull article interview, on why Paramount dump BD, and dismiss the Sony PR bullshit about 18 months deal..which in fact an indefinite agereement:-
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136253-c...gy/article.html



In a surprise move, Paramount and DreamWorks Animation announced this week that they would align themselves exclusively with the HD DVD high-definition format. The controversial decision has attracted a lot of attention, and not just because it comes at a time when market indicators have been pointing to competitor Blu-ray Disc as having the lead (disc sales have been running 2-1 in Blu-ray's favor).

Rumors have swirled since the news broke, suggesting that Paramount and DreamWorks are being heavily compensated for their exclusivity pact--to the tune of $50 million and $100 million, respectively. A Paramount spokesperson says only: " ... whenever we conduct co-marketing, production deals, or other agreements, we never discuss business terms."

I don't doubt that some level of financial incentive made this a good business decision for the two studios. But according to Alan Bell, executive vice president and chief technology officer for Paramount Pictures, there's more to the change in allegiance than either a mere abandonment of Blu-ray's higher-capacity advantage or pure business dealings.

Here's some background from Bell about the recent news.

PCW: Presumably, making this move wasn't something you did lightly. What led up to the decision to shift your production exclusively to HD DVD?

Bell: Paramount has been getting experience with publishing titles in both formats for the last year. We've had a hands-on ability to see how these formats work in practice. And after some hands-on analysis, we decided that HD DVD was the format we wanted to support.

PCW: Why was that?

Bell: For one thing, the lower prices of the players: It's good for consumers, it's good for our customer base.

For another thing, HD DVD came out of the DVD Forum. The DVD Forum is very experienced at developing and managing specs. [HD DVD] was launched in a very stable way, with stable specifications, and they had specified a reference player model, so all players had to be compatible with the HDi interactivity layer, and all players had to be capable of the interactivity. So when we publish titles in the future that have interactivity, we can be assured that every HD DVD player will be able to handle this content.

PCW: So, as a studio, you believe that the underlying stability of HD DVD's specs is a benefit?

Bell: When you look at what the DVD Forum has specified as required, it's a good set of advanced technologies. You can be assured that that benefit will be available to all consumers, no matter what [player] model they purchased. That speaks to the DVD Forum, that it published specs that were complete and market-ready, and that it didn't need to publish up [and change the specs], as Blu-ray has. To some degree, [such changes are] going to create some legacy issues.

For example, HD DVD players have [ethernet] connectivity built-in. If the player doesn't have that, or it's optional, you can't rely on that [as a feature].

PCW: Didn't we see the same thing with DVD players, though, where some features were mandatory and others weren't?

Bell: When you have a format, you generally have mandatory requirements on players, and you sometimes have optional features. On DVD, Dolby Digital 5.1 was mandatory, but DTS 5.1 was optional. But that meant that when you published a title, you never really knew how many customers had players that supported the feature you were adding to the disc at some cost. On HD DVD, the mandatory audio technologies are Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, and Dolby TrueHD. [For more details, see an explanation of the differences among the various Dolby technologies.]

PCW: Over time, though, DTS became a de facto standard on DVD players. Don't you expect to see the same thing happen over time with Blu-ray's specs, such as the requirements for storage and interactivity via an ethernet connection? [Paramount's decision comes ahead of Blu-ray's new minimum specs, which go into effect for players sold after October 31.]

Bell: Eventually, that's true, but right now we have early adopters and enthusiasts [buying players]. If you do migrate the spec and your options are not included on the early players, these are the very people you leave behind. They're our most valuable customers in launching a new format, and you want to make sure that what they buy continues to represent the best of the format.

PCW: What about the additional capacity of Blu-ray, which has 50GB dual-layer discs, as opposed to HD DVD's 30GB dual-layer discs? Some studios have cited the additional capacity as necessary. Are you going to miss having the extra headroom?

Bell: This is a little bit overrated. Making a choice like the one Paramount has made is a multifaceted choice: It depends upon manufacturability, the reliability of players, the cost, the infrastructure that's developed to support our creation of titles. Many different factors came into play--including capacity. When Paramount made this decision, we considered the broad spectrum.

If everything else were equal, more capacity would be better. Why not?

But if you convert the playing time, a 30GB disc gives you somewhere between 3 and 4 hours of capacity. It depends upon the nature of the movie and how you compress it. There's no compromise on the quality. We've found that 95 percent of movies are less than 2.25 hours long. With a disc whose capacity is 3 or 4 hours, you can put a fair amount of bonus material on that disc as well. So 30GB with the option to add another disc is fine, from our point of view.

PCW: What if the multiple soundtracks and high-definition bonus materials won't fit on a single disc?

Bell: If there's an overflow of bonus material, we'll just go to another disc. That's not an issue for consumers. In some cases, they consider that it has more value. It's done routinely in DVD. Why put every single title on a high-capacity disc if it doesn't need it?

PCW: Do you expect capacity needs to change in the future?

Bell: A 45GB disc is under development. [Editors' note: This disc has been in development for two years.] Secondly, compression will become more effective. The number of minutes you get on a disc depends upon how much you can compress a movie. As we gain experience with the new codecs, the ability to compress at high quality will be improved.

Capacity is a factor, but it's not an overriding factor. In the grand scheme of things, the better proposition for consumers in our view, and for our business needs, is HD DVD.

PCW: From your first-hand experiences, what can you tell us about the difference in programming languages between HD DVD, which uses Microsoft's HDi technology, and Blu-ray, which uses BD-Java?

Bell: BD-Java is a programming language. The benefit is that it's very flexible. The drawback is that you may need 100 lines of BD-Java code. HDi is a relatively compact piece of code; one command can cover quite a bit of interactivity.

BD-Java is also more complex, so the possibility of errors is greater. And when BD players are put out, [there's the question of whether] they all support the scenarios as coded up from the low level. [Some of the early problems with BD-Java discs] were in part due to the complexity that BD-Java brings. From our point of view, HDi offers all of the flexibility we need, in practice, and it does so in a more simplified way and in a way that we feel leads to better compatibility, better reliability, and lower costs.

PCW: Up until now, how have you approached coding your discs for HDi and BD-Java?

Bell: At this particular point in time, we've been able to supply more features with HDi and HD DVD than with BD-Java and Blu-ray Disc. What we have typically done in practice is that we've created the interactive scenarios in HD DVD and then tried to pull them into Blu-ray. But that has not been entirely possible: Some things we can do in HDi are not supported in BD-Java. If you're going to do BD-Java, you need someone who's capable of programming at a low level. With HDi, you don't need somebody with that additional level of training. We don't need programmers to code our discs.

PCW: Do you think users are interested in the interactivity on these discs?

Bell: Interactivity is an important part of why you would move up from DVD. Yes, [high-def] has a great picture, but is that enough? Connectivity is something that studios will grow into, and it's something that we believe studios will grow into.

We're thinking about [having media servers to provide extra content via the Internet], but those kinds of investments cost money. The motivation to do them grows as the installed base grows. If we see there's a sufficiently large installed base to justify the cost of the server, we'll do it. Right now we're concentrating on getting a great picture out, and great interactivity.

PCW: Will this exclusive period extend for a limited time, or is this an indefinite arrangement?

Bell: At this moment in time, it's an indefinite commitment. The core of this announcement comes from our experience, and what our consumers are looking for. We hope this will influence consumers' choices.


This post has been edited by silencer: Aug 22 2007, 10:31 AM

wa seh, panjang nia... can summarise the point or not

g5sim, a portion of other region disc, depending on the studios are region free

kena panjang...based on facts...not like sony PR statement...pendek je..but full of BS....

sony muka really kaput this time round

lol, just read the talking points. extremely sad how paramount has to be bribed (according to the New York Times article) so that they'll defect to one side and, its only 18 months at best.

Well in my humble OPINION is that this will just prolong the battle with HD-DVD for a few more months; we'll see how it ultimately ends. In the mean time, blu-ray still leads in sale values (I believe its by a 2:1 ratio?)-- I just bought 300 and Casino Royale yesterday, ace quality.

i sense a grape souring here...

do u know the HD DVD 300 is the same as the bluray but with more interactives? so it will be ace quality + more?

transformers.

thats the key word.

I thought transformers was really great (brought back memories of T2) until the robots started talking, oh yes, and pissing, and I started sobbing..oh Micheal Bay, how could you screw this up. I guess he was targeting the younger denomination. Its great if you're a complete transformers-geek/fan or a kid/teenager, but as a young adult after the first half-hour of the show it didn't really appeal to me.

And rx330, yes I do know HD-DVD has interactive menus.

gd for u omni

i really wanna watch transformer on blu ray though... tats why i refrain from watching it till now

Same here but unfortunately millions and millions of people thought Michael Bay is a genius now. And the movie is still a hit so the fact that it won't be on BD come Christmas, I think some people might just get themselves on the HD-DVD camp.

Its a big bonus for HD-DVD to get Transformers under their umbrella, whether you like the movie or not.

I heard that's there might be a 'universal' disc; BD on one side, HD-DVD format on the other side of the disc. This format is geeting more confusing

i prefer a universal player than a universal disc

It's called TotalHD, one side Blu-ray, the other HD-DVD. Warner's promoting it as their solution for the current format war, but have yet to show a working prototype. I'm eyeing the Samsung combo player myself, LG's gimped on the HD-DVD side.

hmmm...out of sudden..so many people say that they dont really like transformers....but I have to admit that I do like spiderman, because it is a fact, and will not lie to myself because it is not available in HD-DVD..and I always believe that those HD-DVD and BD will be co-exist for longer time than what we expected, and unlike few people, I will not jump to my chair and yell that one format will be dead just because of the number of studio support...

'NUFF SAID

I don't like the new Transformers movie because Bay f***ed up the story but I do like it for the action. Pretty good action the whole movie through. Spiderman, kinda got boring after the first movie.

as sad as it is,at the end of the day,it's MONEY

and i doubt sony is completely clean themselves.
every company has it's fair share of underground dealings

more like HYPE!



LFODH FTW

as much as i thought the movie was overhyped beyond belief,it saddens me that Bay has decided not to continue with the sequels because of this development..

other directors might make the sequels better,but they also might make it worst

yup
the BO intake is proof enough that this movie will sell by the bucketloads

easy to check if they honestly believe so..
check out the movie section,transformers thread, and snuff out the bluray fanboys
(if they loved the movie in that thread,BR fanboy.if they didnt like the movie in that thread,then they really dont fancy the movie )

This post has been edited by Mgsrulz: Aug 22 2007, 09:51 PM

Michael retracts some of what he said - says he likes HD-DVD!>>>> http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2304
------
Last night at dinner I was having dinner with three blu-ray owners, they were pissed about no Transformers Blu-ray and I drank the kool aid hook line and sinker. So at 1:30 in the morning I posted - nothing good ever comes out of early am posts mind you - I over reacted. I heard where Paramount is coming from and the future of HD and players that will be close to the $200 mark which is the magic number. I like what I heard.

As a director, I'm all about people seeing films in the best quality possible, and I saw and heard firsthand people upset about a corporate decision.

So today I saw 300 on HD, it rocks!

So I think I might be back on to do Transformers 2!

Michael Bay
----

I guess..at the end of the days..its all about MoNeY...who doesnt luv it anyway.....

What has that got to do with anything about being a BR fanboy?

like silencer said;

if in this thread they say the movie was "meh.." but in the transformers thread they go "WOAH! AWESOME! MOTY!!"

then you know they say the movie is so-so in this thread,because it is only going to hd dvd

Totally unrelated dude! I dun see how you came up with that conclusion. Transformers was originally coming to both HDDVD n BD, but thanks to some genius, it's available only in 1 format, not both!

spoiler tagged since somewhat OT

Whatever it is, if the BD fanboys are pissed. They have every right to feel so. What's wrong with that? So the hddvd fanboys can all now act tough just boz they have more exclusives now eh? I can't understand why must there be such a loyalist to either formats at this early stage where there's still an unclear winner on the format wars.

why is there even loyalty in the first place?
i dont see the benefit in giving everything to one company

sudah2lah..can we all just let the companies do the fighting?

personally i m a G1 purist, so bay's TF was nothing for me.

dvd FTW!

Which is why i felt what Paramount and Dreamworks are doing rite now are a step backwards by limiting the consumers choice.

......for 18 months

Simple..because not everyone can afford to enjoy both formats....
And some people..dont even can afford the price of original media too...and it's about choice that we r all free to decide ourselves...and definitely, it will be based on our interests....

Limiting the consumers choice???? With upcoming cheaper HD-DVD players....and I believe the HD-DVD owners..will have greater choice...and do you mean that when evrything is under a Sony, the price of media disk will be cheaper, with greater PQ....region free....naaaa...I prefer to let the competition decide it..a unified format which benefits all...by the way, the price for either HD-DVD and BD r still too expensive though...

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Added on August 23, 2007, 1:10 amIT does matter...when they contradict themselves with their earlier statement..just like Michael Bay....
And, I would never say I dont really like Spiderman movies....wether is in in HD-DVD or Bluray....too bad, it is in BD...

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Added on August 23, 2007, 1:31 amParamount: Our switch to HD DVD is an INDEFINITE COMMITMENT>>>>> http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136253-c...gy/article.html

PC World got a chance to interview Paramount's CTO, Alan Bell:

PC World: Will this exclusive period extend for a limited time, or is this an indefinite arrangement?

Alan Bell: At this moment in time, it's an indefinite commitment. The core of this announcement comes from our experience, and what our consumers are looking for. We hope this will influence consumers' choices."


This post has been edited by silencer: Aug 23 2007, 01:31 AM

Don't cha geddit? By supporting only HDDVD, then the consumers are forced to pick only one. So the one's with BD players are forced to buy HDDVD players just for movies that won't appear on BD. So it's not about choice anymore. Why please one side when you could already please both in the first place?

Hmmm..how about for the people with HD-DVD players ONLY....who want to watch the movies in BD...dont they have to do the same too...buy the BD player...let me c...do u mean that all studio should support both formats...just like Warner....i believe those studio will only follow where the money will lead them to....it's a business world anyway...where consumer rights and social obligations is at the bottom end of the company policy...

This one i really have to agree. I was speaking about choices where it concerns about Paramount & Dreamworks decision of supporting only one format instead of two. If more studios from the BD camp would also support HDDVD, then that's good news to the consumers, but at the same time nulling the format wars. Ah... such is life. I'll stick to DVD and 'alternative' HD movies then.

\

all these while that Disney, LG, Fox, SCREAMED exclusive BD support. where was the consumer choice for HD DVD owners?. they are the less kaya one whom picked HD DVD because its cheaper. were Disney, FOX and LG forcing them to fork 2x their HD DVD price just to view their movies?

On the other hand, if a person can afford to buy a $1000 or $600 BD player, getting a $240 HD DVD player is not an issue. The same cannot be said the other way around! Dont you agree?

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Added on August 23, 2007, 4:06 amALL STUDIOS SHOULD release titles in both format . kau tiam no bising bising - let the industry take its shape. if they manage to cut the cost, they make more money. if they decide to pass the savings to consumer. i tabik hormat

This post has been edited by g5sim: Aug 23 2007, 04:06 AM

It's very simple. Nothing has been decided yet, which format is going to be around in the next couple of months, years, etc. One thing for sure is that one format will eventually stop being produced and will disappear. At least I hope so because we don't want too many formats running around.

Same thing with Betamax and VHS. Both had their versions out, when it was finally decided which format was going to reign supreme. The other just died out quietly. At this current moment, both formats are still gathering their support, etc. Pros, cons, etc are still being determined and studios are making their decisions final.

Early adopters will suffer if one or the other format is chosen. Which is why no one is forcing you to support a format yet. Once a format has lost the war, movies will be made for the winning format. No matter what, movies have got to be sold, period.

So take it easy and let's see what eventually happens in the next couple of months.

erm - Paramount has stopped producing BD. Does that count? or maybe a trend is starting ?

Hehe. I'm happy to see this. A more intense format war is better for the people who do not run out and buy the latest and greatest. Price wars will continue longer, and we'll see better players for cheaper even faster.

This post has been edited by ikanayam: Aug 23 2007, 01:57 PM

Exactly, eventually we'll be able to buy a nice HD-DVD player for RM199 from Carrefour or Tesco

how many years it took for DVD to get a rm 199 player from the time it was launched?

RM199? My friend bought one for RM89, and it got a usb port and support divx. I think more than 5 years to get this kind of price. I remembered I bought my first dvd player for RM1500 (at that time there a no Capt Jack Sparrow, bought most of my movies from amazon.com) and I never regret it.

dvd 5 years only ar?

i remember my BIL bought his sony one, 2.5k, terrible...

where did ur fren got the rm 89 usb with divx capabilities ?

He told me he bought it at carrefour.

arhhhh damn cheap.. must buy Rm89.00.. ... be smart buyer la...

Let's be frank about this. We all want the format war to end. The faster the movie industry choses a singular format to release the movies in HD, the better it is for the consumer, since we can move forward with developing more into that singular format, and driving the price down through mass adoption.

The thing here is, exclusivity announcements like these, delays this singular format adoption, prolonging the war. Consumers are then forced to either wait even longer while more and more movies are being released on different formats, hoping that those movies will still be available when the "nuclear fallout" from the war settles and a singular format emerges. Those who had chosen a side (or two sides) had to face the fact that they either have to settle for movies exclusive to their chosen format, or in the case of those who embraces the two formats, having to invest further in 2 players to get their movie fixes. This very reason is why there are still many Joe/Jane.Q.Public still squatting on the fence seeing how this is going to end.

Bear in mind that when i posted that paragaraph above, it applies to both the HD-DVD and BDA consortium. What consumers want, im sure, although the truth is hard to swallow, is one format to live, and the other die a quiet death. Unless players for both formats drops down to ridiculously cheap prices, i dont see the general masses buying two players for two formats. Face it, although we pat ourselves around the bac saying that both formats can live side by side together, this utopian scenario will not happen. I mean, this is not the console war folks, where 3 consoles can live side by side, feeding on their own piece of the videogaming pie. Historically, in the home video format, the general masses CHOOSES only ONE and only ONE format, not two or three. As much as anyone hates to hear this , be it from a Blu-ray or HD-DVD fan, One shal live, and one shall fall, as to quote Mr.Optimus himself. Then, and only then, can the industry moves forward with improving that surviving singular format with more features and capabilities. Until that happens, we will continue to see these exclusivity deals being thrown around, and feces being sling about between the two competing camps.

The only other way i see how two formats can live side by side with each other is, to destroy the studio exclusivity, and let all studios produce their movies on both the Hd-DVD and Blu-ray format, and let the consumer shoose which format their would rather buy. But this is impossible pipe-dreamish to think off, since if this happens, these movie studios would have to pay royalty and publishing fees to both the BDA AND the HD-DVD group for producing on their medium. No movie studio wants to chalk up losses by doing this, which is why we will continue seeing studios choosing sides until something happens to either kill one format and let the other live, or unifies it.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Aug 23 2007, 04:44 PM

Yep, my dad spent RM3.5k for his dvd player back in the day.


The way things are going, looks like it's split right down the middle. Studios with strong support for both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. Wouldn't be feasible to see studios producing movies in both formats. So that's something to think off. Looks like this war will continue for sometime, until one party backs down.

The split doesn't matter in the long term. Either the formats will reach a stalemate, and it will become like the DVD+ and DVD- specifications, or one will die off. But fierce competition is good, especially now since the price of the stuff is still out of reach of most people. The average person won't bother either way until things get cheaper all round, because they don't even have high-def displays yet. Ultimately consumers don't even care about the number of formats out there, as long as things are cheap enough and compatible with each other, just like what happened with the DVD formats.

It matters now because with a split like that, movies are also split down the line. This studio produces this movie, that studio produces that movie, hence this format gets this bunch of movies, yet the other format gets that bunch of movies. An adopter of this format doesn't get this movie, but the adopter of that format does. Unless of course the adopter complies with both formats (which isn't the case most of the time)

Movies produced by both formats don't matter here.

Of course, doesn't make a different yet here because the majority isn't involved in the high-def displays as you said. Hell I'm still buying normal dvd formats and that's just for me on my lcd display.

Blu-Ray and HD-DVD will never co-exist as long as there's a split of studios each producing different type of movies for each format. Neither will both of the formats be an equal choice by all the studios, meaning this movie will get a miss on that format, while this movie gets a miss on this format, etc.

This will only be bad for the consumer, because as far as we know, Blu-Ray is the more expensive media while the HD-DVD is slightly cheaper to mass produce.

[quote=stringfellow,Aug 23 2007, 04:42 PM]
Let's be frank about this. We all want the format war to end. The faster the movie industry choses a singular format to release the movies in HD, the better it is for the consumer, since we can move forward with developing more into that singular format, and driving the price down through mass adoption.

Nope - The war should continue until we see cheap HD players. $199 or $149. and cheaper HD disk. $36.98 has to go. $29.98 should be the maximum MRSP with catalogue titles priced at $24.99.Amazon should then sell the disk at $16-$9 .

like it or not, HD DVD can go down in price MUCH MORE faster than Blu-ray

The thing here is, exclusivity announcements like these, delays this singular format adoption, prolonging the war. Consumers are then forced to either wait even longer while more and more movies are being released on different formats, hoping that those movies will still be available when the "nuclear fallout" from the war settles and a singular format emerges. Those who had chosen a side (or two sides) had to face the fact that they either have to settle for movies exclusive to their chosen format, or in the case of those who embraces the two formats, having to invest further in 2 players to get their movie fixes. This very reason is why there are still many Joe/Jane.Q.Public still squatting on the fence seeing how this is going to end.

This is what BDA had been telling us and some of us actually believed it. Consumers are not buying into hidef because of the format war. They dont know about the format war. They dont know what the frack is Blu-ray. Consumers will buy into HD when the prices drop and the format war and Toshiba' economic of scale is doing just that.

Bear in mind that when i posted that paragaraph above, it applies to both the HD-DVD and BDA consortium. What consumers want, im sure, although the truth is hard to swallow, is one format to live, and the other die a quiet death. Unless players for both formats drops down to ridiculously cheap prices, i dont see the general masses buying two players for two formats. Face it, although we pat ourselves around the bac saying that both formats can live side by side together, this utopian scenario will not happen. I mean, this is not the console war folks, where 3 consoles can live side by side, feeding on their own piece of the videogaming pie. Historically, in the home video format, the general masses CHOOSES only ONE and only ONE format, not two or three. As much as anyone hates to hear this , be it from a Blu-ray or HD-DVD fan, One shal live, and one shall fall, as to quote Mr.Optimus himself. Then, and only then, can the industry moves forward with improving that surviving singular format with more features and capabilities. Until that happens, we will continue to see these exclusivity deals being thrown around, and feces being sling about between the two competing camps.

The only other way i see how two formats can live side by side with each other is, to destroy the studio exclusivity, and let all studios produce their movies on both the Hd-DVD and Blu-ray format, and let the consumer shoose which format their would rather buy. But this is impossible pipe-dreamish to think off, since if this happens, these movie studios would have to pay royalty and publishing fees to both the BDA AND the HD-DVD group for producing on their medium. No movie studio wants to chalk up losses by doing this, which is why we will continue seeing studios choosing sides until something happens to either kill one format and let the other live, or unifies it.

This is what Sony is hellbent to prevent because they know they wont make it with equal content. That is why we hear them scream the war is over. we won. we have burried HD DVD. They HYPED exclusivity as the only thing that matters. Guess that? The 'exclusivity' term just exploded in their face !

No one is going to buy BD that is priced 2x when 300, Blood diamond, can do MUCH more than BD.

Sony is subsidizing BD replication. 25GB single layer Blu-ray disks cost $2.95 to make - 30GB Double slayer cost $2.09 (both = 1,000 bulk price) and the insiders in the AVSforum revealed that the 50GB double layer BD disk cost more than $4. Currently ONLY Sony is replicating the 50GB disks. Why, Sony will always have PS3 to fall back to. The same cannot be said on other new entrants. With the paramount announcement, potential entrants to BD replication business would be MUCH MORE wary.

http://www.pacificdisc.com/PricingHD-DVD.html
http://www.pacificdisc.com/PricingBluRay.html

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Added on August 24, 2007, 5:12 am[quote=refnulf,Aug 23 2007, 06:21 PM]


This will only be bad for the consumer, because as far as we know, Blu-Ray is the more expensive media while the HD-DVD is slightly cheaper to mass produce.

[/quote]

check my post

Double layer HD DVD : $2
Double layer BD : >$4

multiply that by millions of disks per title and see the difference


This post has been edited by g5sim: Aug 24 2007, 05:12 AM

am i the only person here who didnt give a rats anus about HD wars? my tv sucked.. it can only go up to 480p............ original HD and BD are way outta my reach. im just glad DVDs are cheap these days. although i wish SPEEDY would stock more classic movies!

Same here man. DVDs are indeed cheaper now. That's why we can wait for it to end slowly.