Paramount (and Warner) to Support Blu-ray AND HD-DVD...

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-10-03 11:11am

Found this over at The Digital Bits (posted yesterday) and didn't see anything about it yet:

Well... here's a surprise weekend development. Paramount Home Entertainment announced on Sunday morning that it will support Blu-ray Disc in addition to its already announced support for HD-DVD. This makes Paramount the first major Hollywood studio to support BOTH of the rival high-definition disc formats expected to launch in early 2006. You can read more at these links at Video Business and Home Media Retailing. Blu-ray's support in the Sony PS3 was apparently a factor in this decision.

In addition to Paramount's announcement today, there seems to be a feeling in the industry that Warner and Universal may soon follow Paramount's lead in supporting both formats. The move almost certainly gives Blu-ray Disc an advantage in the format war, particularly if Warner and Universal do follow suit.

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#bnp

Dorenn Stark · Post by **Dorenn Stark** » 2005-10-03 01:13pm

Good news to me, as I am on the Blu-ray side, simply because the PS3 (when it comes out) will support that format. Good for me that the PS3
(should I get one) does this because there is no way I am going to buy another DVD player. Shoot, I still have a handful of old VHS tapes, still waiting for the material to come out on DVD. (mostly old tv shows I liked but have not come out on DVD yet, and a few classic wrestling shows)
So there is no way I was getting drawn into the upcoming 'format war' glad to see that it may not come to a war as most studios may put out both sides.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-10-03 01:18pm

If most studios and distributors end up supporting both formats, then the issue goes over to the retailers, who with limited physical shelf space, might not stand for such.

Crown · Post by **Crown** » 2005-10-03 05:57pm

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:If most studios and distributors end up supporting both formats, then the issue goes over to the retailers, who with limited physical shelf space, might not stand for such.

Not until companies start producing multi-platform players that support both Blue-Ray and HD-DVD and old type DVD's.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-10-03 06:14pm

The compatability of current DVDs won't be an issue, because (IIRC) manufacturers have said in the past that players for either format will also support DVDs.

Although I don't really get how your statement really fits with mine. I'm having an idiot moment, I guess.

Post by **weemadando** » 2005-10-03 07:22pm

Blu-Ray will collapse when it hits shelves - the cost of having to re-tool the entire manufacturing process will have to be carred on to the consumer, while HD-DVD will be manufactured on existing production lines, meaning that there is no additional cost to be passed on...

InnocentBystander · Post by **InnocentBystander** » 2005-10-03 07:45pm

I'm fairly sure that Blu isn't going to make it. M$ desires to conquer sony in the console market, and part of that includes throwing it's weight into HD-DVD, that plus so many other organizations are going HD-DVD instead of blu suggest to me that HD-DVD is going to win. It really wasn't hard to predict, it's cheaper, but still better than the old stuff. All signs point to HD-DVD.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-10-03 08:11pm

Frankly the console war is going to have as much effect in the DVD format war as taking a piss in the middle of the ocean.

Post by **weemadando** » 2005-10-03 08:23pm

Exactly - DVD movie sales are what will make or break it - and given the current environment, HD-DVD is going to take it - people aren't willing to pay a whole lot more for the same fucking product...

Zadius · Post by **Zadius** » 2005-10-03 08:52pm

If I'm not mistaken, Blu-ray has almost twice the capacity of HD-DVD. How much more will Blu-ray cost? I would expect to pay more for superior technology anyway, it just depends on how much more.

Post by **weemadando** » 2005-10-03 08:55pm

HD-DVD has dual layer formats ready to go on release which will give them just as much capacity.

And as for cost, the most conservative estimates I've heard place Blu-Ray at a 50% higher retail price than HD-DVD (which itself will probably be 10-30% higher on launch).

Praxis · Post by **Praxis** » 2005-10-03 10:48pm

HD-DVD: 15 GB per layer
Blu-ray: 25 GB per layer

HD-DVD goes to quad layer (60 GB), Blu-Ray is also at quad layer (100 GB) but is projected to go to eight layers (200 GB) eventually.

The HD-DVD hybrids are what I find interesting. Two HD-DVD layers and one DVD layer. Put it in a DVD player and it reads the DVD layer; put it in a HD-DVD player and it is a HD-DVD.

Hamel · Post by **Hamel** » 2005-10-03 10:51pm

Some turds said they only adopted BR. Load of shit.

Loner · Post by **Loner** » 2005-10-03 11:25pm

MS and Intel recently threw their support for HD-DVD they made some claims about why they chose it over BD, here's two that I found interesting:

Maintaining low production costs is a critical factor, which has been a key HD DVD talking point in light of current revelations about factory upgrade costs for Blu-ray. "For a long time, we actually thought that the Blu-ray Group had the upper hand in costs," Ribas said, mainly because of the involvement in Blu-ray of most of the major Japanese CE manufacturers - Sony, Matsushita (Panasonic), Pioneer, and Sharp - as well as Philips. Here is where recent events played a critical role: In a development that was brought to light only this morning, two of the world's leading China-based DVD player production facilities announced their support for HD DVD over Blu-ray. In press statements, these companies cited the relative openness of the DVD Forum compared to the Blu-ray Disc Association. "Now that we see China embracing HD DVD," said Ribas, "we actually see that on the cost side, HD DVD will have an advantage, because the Chinese have been the ones who have lowered the prices, via the competition, for HD DVD players." As much as 75 percent of DVD players sold in America today come from China, he added.

The surprise entry in Microsoft's and Intel's list of failures is disc storage capacity. On paper, Blu-ray appears to have the advantage. But the two companies looked beneath the paper: Capacity, said Ribas, "used to be the biggest advantage of Blu-ray, and we believed it. We thought, they'll get 50 GByte BD-ROM discs working, but it's not happening, and it's nowhere in sight. There are not even pilots. It's only in the lab that they are building these discs." With regard to demonstrated capacity, he told us, HD DVD-ROM actually leads BD-ROM by a score of 30 GByte to 25 GByte.

Later Dell and HP called bullshit on most of the claims MS said. Though I've yet to hear anyone from the BD group address the point about Chinese firms favoring HD-DVD.

Though I'm more in favor of the outcome DigitalBits wants:

You know, I really hope that retailers just come out and say, "We aren't carrying either of these formats until you guys get your crap together."

Praxis · Post by **Praxis** » 2005-10-04 11:58am

Loner wrote:
The surprise entry in Microsoft's and Intel's list of failures is disc storage capacity. On paper, Blu-ray appears to have the advantage. But the two companies looked beneath the paper: Capacity, said Ribas, "used to be the biggest advantage of Blu-ray, and we believed it. We thought, they'll get 50 GByte BD-ROM discs working, but it's not happening, and it's nowhere in sight. There are not even pilots. It's only in the lab that they are building these discs." With regard to demonstrated capacity, he told us, HD DVD-ROM actually leads BD-ROM by a score of 30 GByte to 25 GByte.
Later Dell and HP called bullshit on most of the claims MS said. Though I've yet to hear anyone from the BD group address the point about Chinese firms favoring HD-DVD.

Wha-at? Last I heard they had demos at quad-layer Blu-ray (100 GB) and HD-DVD was at tri-layer, not dual and single.

Google reveals:

http://www.thetechzone.com/?m=show&id=374

Sony has Blu-ray all keyed up for the Playstation 3 (Microsoft just endorsed HD DVD for the Xbox 360), and Blu-ray offers 25GB per layer. HD DVD offers 15GB per layer but reads and writes data at the same depth as DVDs, enabling possibly better backward compatibility. Recently, Toshiba demonstrated a 45GB triple-layer HD DVD. TDK showed a 100GB quad-layer Blu-ray. JVC demonstrated a 33.5GB disc with a 25GB Blu-ray layer combined with 8.5GB DL DVD layers. It's nothing but a blue mess!

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2005-10-04 01:44pm

The difference, I think, is that the tri-layer HD-DVD and quad layer BRD have been demonstrated, but without any plans to produce them any time soon and no idea how much they would cost or whether they could be made in high volume. The only ones that are definitely going to be produced within the next year are the 2 layer HD-DVD and the 1 layer BRD. That's just going by the MS claims, which could be completely wrong, for all I know.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-10-07 02:53pm

Title change and a bump to reflect news that Warner has decided to go the non-exclusive route and support both formats as well, and that Universal might announce the same in time:

Warner Bros. indicates it will use both Blu-ray and HD-DVD formats

10/07/2005

　The Asahi Shimbun

Hollywood dealt another blow to Toshiba Corp. and NEC Corp. in the DVD format war.

Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., which had been supporting the HD-DVD format promoted by Toshiba and NEC, will also likely release its movies in the Blu-ray format led by Sony Corp. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., company sources told The Asahi Shimbun.

Another Hollywood giant, Paramount Pictures Corp., made a similar decision earlier this month.

The two movie companies' decisions could give the Blu-ray camp an almost certain grip on most Hollywood studios.

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., The Walt Disney Co., Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. and other U.S. studios already support the Blu-ray format. It is unclear if they also plan to release their movies in the HD-DVD format.

Universal Studios Inc. still officially backs HD-DVD, but industry experts speculate the company will probably follow the moves of Paramount and Warner Brothers and also release its movies for Blu-ray formatted DVD players.A senior Toshiba official

downplayed the latest moves in Hollywood.

"Warner Brothers and Paramount Pictures will still release their software in the HD-DVD format," the official said.

The HD-DVD camp is certainly not out of the race. It gained momentum late last month when it received strong support from two information technology giants, Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp.

However, Toshiba still decided to postpone full-scale sales of its HD-DVD players until next spring.(IHT/Asahi: October 7,2005)

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asa ... 70201.html

Crown · Post by **Crown** » 2005-10-07 04:49pm

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:The compatability of current DVDs won't be an issue, because (IIRC) manufacturers have said in the past that players for either format will also support DVDs.

Although I don't really get how your statement really fits with mine. I'm having an idiot moment, I guess.

Sorry, I should have been clear; I mean it won't be an issue for retailers space, if some manufacturer makes a dual compatible system - which upon further reading of this thread has raised doubts in my mind as happening, as I assumed it would be some cheap Chinese brand that would do it first.

EDIT :: Just read your last post; how long until you think Hollywood will ditch DVD's for either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD's? Because that's the point I'll decide which to go for - my sister just bought my parents a DVD player, I can't see us updating that for at least 5 years so ...

Loner · Post by **Loner** » 2005-10-07 11:25pm

Samsung announced some time ago they'll release a player that can read both formats. So I wouldn't rule a Chinese firm making one(Hopefully one that won't be affected by bullshit DRM and HDCP standards Sony is whoring out for ther MPAA).