Blu Ray vs HD-DVD means consumers lose

It was announced today that Paramount have decided to side with HD-DVD in yet another twist to the format wars which have been brewing for some months now, with Universal already on HD-DVD's side this is undoubtedly a blow to the Blu Ray camp, however with the latter having major studio's like Sony and Disney on board this news is hardly going to have them thinking the war is lost.

[drtysouf21]

Buy what you absolutely can't live without and rent the others from netflix or blockbuster.

[wotta]

Couldn't agree more.

[cloud360]

Blu Ray HD-DVD’s

[the worst]

this means Paramount
will not be getting
no money from me

[Sashy]

Cuz Paramount pictures will not get money from me either!

[Tru_Blu]

Really, put it out on both formats and let the consumers decide. Oh well though, count me in as one who won't be spending any money on their stuff.

[Bloodmask]

I'm sure that all the Sony fanboys will determine the outcome of the format war.

You idiots probably make up less than 1% of total Bluray movie sales. It doesn't matter if you use your allowance money to buy 3 or 5 movies a year.

Maybe you should go cut the lawn so you can buy six movies a year instead of 5.

Yeah boycott Bluray, that way Sony is sure to learn their lesson. By ceasing production.

[ion666]

blu ray damn it and i'm not just saying that cause i got a ps3,maybe.oh hell ya caught me i support blu ray,anything against microsoft i cant stand monopolys.they remind me of clear channel who desecrate our music with bullshyt like rap music and country shyt.key word (rap),not hip hop.microsoft is taking one formula and milking it a'la first person shooters

[the worst]

bubbles 4 you

[cuco33]

exactly HOW is microsoft = HD DVD?

ms wants DLC, not a format media that they can't profit off of

[ArduousAndy]

if anyone has the monopoly its sony. They forced blu-ray on the ps3 owners second last I checked Sony is in the market to make Television sets. So if theres anyone between sony and microsoft that has a monopoly its Sony.

Third (not to you specific but to the person above you) you do realize that if you "boycott" paramount it gives more reason to Paramount that going HD-Dvd was the right choice.

[DJ]

Come on, Microsoft has no clue what they want. They're a bunch of pussies who try out a little bit of each market so that in case one thing fails, at least they have the illusion of safety in other markets. You can tell just by the way the 360 was built. They were too scared to go all-out on the first two versions, and now we have what, 8 SKUs?

[cuco33]

sony didn't force cd and dvd technology onto us. they took a stance (with cd) over the main competition who still used cartridge (nintendo) for obvious copy protection. the psx wasn't the only system in development for cd based game consoles as well. the ps2 follows the same suit. i bet you believe the DVD won against the movie competition based solely on ps2 sales huh? sorry buddy... not happening.

i will state though that having BR space is an advantage for making games massively detailed and huge. thing is, game developers aren't willing to drop tons of $ developing such games.

[Vip3r]

I wish they would make hybrid disks. One side Blu-ray and the other HD-DVD. That would stop all the fanboyism and the comsumer wouldn't be loosing out.

[supnub5]

go to vgchartz.com you'll likely see the ad for lg player that plays both blu-ray and hd-dvd, but the problem is it's expensive as hell.

[darthv72]

this is what warner brothers is (or has) been working on for a little while. One side in Blueray and other is hddvd/dvd combo.

[pilotpistolpete]

I think he meant physically on both sides of the disks.

[pilotpistolpete]

-double post-

[dale1]

who,s giving the 150 million for exclusive content ?
in a buisness sense money rules well at least speilberg as morals
paramount should stay neutral and let the consumers decide watch out for the next switch

[ktchong]

Now I can get it on HD-DVD.

Great movie, BTW.

[cdzie1]

Walk in to Wal-mart there are 10 video game devices, all use their own format (PC, PS2, PS3, Xbox, Xbox 360, GC, Wii, DS, GBA, PSP).

What's the big deal about 2 movie formats? Have HD DVD? Buy the red box. Have Blu-ray? Buy the blue ones. I think people can get it....

[Vekin]

That's the problem. Rather than just making Blu-ray and HD-DVD's, movie producers are siding with one or the other, meaning if you want a HD paramount movie, you need to have HD-DVD, and if you want a Disney Movie, you need Blu-ray. It kinda sucks.

[damnwrx]

Yeeeeeeeah Boy!

[Bloodmask]

HDDVD was on the market long before Bluray. Sony persuaded all the companies with promises of the PS3 for quicker adoption of the format.

Now that PS3 is failing at this and people are still buying more HDDVD standalones companies like Paramount realize this.

Sony started the format war. If they hadn't released Bluray almost a year afeter HDDVD we could all be enjoying one format right now.

Thank you Sony for screwing all hardcore movie afficianados.

[trueltie5]

Yes this is going to be a setback to CONSUMERS who have been waiting but this is a 1 year deal with paramount !!!...if vegas is taking bets on which format is going to be the winner i'd put all my money on blu-ray. If Spielberg movies were part of this deal then maybe it would have been a big blow. Most peeps aren't into high def yet so Paramount is laughing at whoever gave them $150 million...this may top the MS Grand Theft Auto $50 million deal...thats funny !

[BIadestarX]

If you are right about Microsoft paying to keep HD DVD alive... then this can actually work. As long as HD DVD is a live... buying a PS3 to play HD movies will be risky. Do you think Microsoft cares if blu-ray wins after the next xbox is released? It will probably come with a blu-ray or HD DVD depending on who wins. Sony needs blu-ray to win now... not 3 years from now? If this was Microsoft doing.. they it was a very smart move. Now.. all they have to do is bundle HD DVD drive with shrek and Transformers.

[ktchong]

They are now HD-DVD exclusive. That means you'll be able to get Transformers only on HD-DVD.

You may google the news.

[DEADEND]

Naw sorry guy but movies like that are most like coming on both formats so they can make a killing, just think about it most people are buying BLU-RAY movies over HD-DVD(look what happened to 300 it made a killing on BLU-RAY). Most likely they'll have a lot of movies on both formats.

[Ri0tSquad]

And if it doesn't come out on blu ray i will buy it on dvd.

[BIadestarX]

Ohh how dramatic... all of the sudden HD DVD have a better chance of kicking blu-ray rear.. and the consumer is in trouble... lol.
Suck it up! and stop crying like little babies. Let the consumer pick which format they want. Who named Sony or Some of this Blu-ray lover studio lords of the people to deside for them?

As matter of fact... HD DVD was released first... so Sony was the one that introduced "another" format to the the consumer... as mentioned by Bloodmask. If Sony wouldnt be so greedy.. we would have 1 format (HD DVD) and call it a day.

Now you sony fanboys want to blame it on HD DVD? WAR! Good thing my xbox 360 does not depend on which format wins... unlike the PS3. You Sony lovers better hope blu-ray wins...

[jared81799]

Regardless of cinema, blu-ray is good for gaming. Paramount made a unwise decision to support just one format opposed to both. Let the consumer decide instead of fat back corporate heads.

[BIadestarX]

Sony fanboy... "Paramount made a unwise decision to support just one format opposed to both" sure... how about all those exclusive blu-ray studio. They didnt make an unwise decision... right? Do you think blu-ray would be anywhere if all studios would support both formats?
Why do you think Sony was so agresive gathering studio support?

It was unfair for HD DVD since most studio supported blu-ray only... now as other studio support only HD DVD and is become more fair... let's see how long blu-ray selling 2:1 will last.

[ktchong]

Now that Paramount AND Dreamworks have joined Universal and gone HD-DVD exclusive, the odds have been evened.

Do you want Dreamworks' Transformers in HD? Then you'll have to get HD-DVD.

[kn]

"Blu Ray vs HD-DVD means consumers lose". What troll flamebait this headline is... Competition is GREAT for the consumer and if you haven't noticed, it is pushing sony hard to bring down the price of their blu-ray players (AND THE PS3) as well as pushing the media prices down. I'm just not into monopolies so I'd like to see the blu-ray/hd-dvd war continue for a while until prices are down close to where current DVD is. With HDTVs still only in about 25-30% of homes, we have a ways to go before this matters. Why not let them pound each other until they cost the same as a toaster?

[whengeeksgobad]

there is a difference between a standard, and a monopoly. VHS was a standard, *NOT* a monopoly. HD-DVD and BLU-RAY are both standards, and whichever wins will be the winning standard, not turn into a monopoly. Standards often protect consumers, whereas monopolies... well, you get me.

Although what you say about HD market penetration for televisions may be true now, what also needs to be considered is over 50% of all televisions sold this year WILL be HD, and that number will only climb through the next few years. So it's best to stay ahead of the curve if you are toshiba or sony, rather than wait for someone else to establish a standard while you wait for the television market saturation to be where you want it.

[kn]

monopoly or standard, the HD DVD group or Blu-ray group will be getting royalties based on releasing videos on that format. Therefore, if there is only one format this early in the game there are no incentives to make licensing fees reasonable and therefore price the titles accordingly...

monopoly was probably a poorly chosen word... but lack of options still forces prices to be higher than they would with competition.

[whengeeksgobad]

royalties yes, but the consumer covers the cost of the movie house releasing on two formats, as they will continue to pass the increased cost along to us. As soon as a format has been chosen, *THEN* competition on the really cheap players will begin. I can certainly appreciate your desire to see competition drive down costs, but I don't believe that will really happen until a standard has been decided. Then again, the competition between the two now is doing just that hehehe.

[Illidan]

This is terrible news for Blu-Ray fan like me. This mean no Godfather Trilogy or Gladiator. Two of the most wanted highdef dvds on my list and i'm sure many other people.

[Madmax1281980]

not just that most of this years movies will only come to hd-dvd. ie transformers, bourne ultimatum, shrek 3 and more

[Illidan]

I forgot the Bourne trilogy too.

[sajj316]

when price cuts are a direct result of this competition ... buy a combo and you won't have this problem. Buy an HD DVD player for the 360 and a PS3 and you won't have this problem. Hedge your bets by buying both ...

I get to play Halo 3, Bioshock, Heavenly Sword, Lair, and Mass Effect .. while watching Transformer HD followed by Pirates 3.

HEDGE YOUR BETS .... its going to be a long war!!

[whengeeksgobad]

15.1 - heres how:
Consumers don't want to buy multiple players. They want to buy *the right* player. Right now, "the right" player is simply a matter of opinion. Telling someone to buy both, or buy a combo player is easier said than done. Most people are not willing to pay $1k+ for a combo player or a combo setup. People shouldn't have to buy multiple players to resolve a single HD issue. Competition is great, but multiple formats slow down that competition. Once a format has been decided, then the competition can heat up and drive down the cost of those players, and then the consumer wins. As it stands right now, people who really just love movies, and aren't format fanboys are facing the possibility of having to buy both. I don't see how anyone on the spending end of the wallet wins with that being the case. People who say "put it on both formats and let the consumer decide" I think have the right idea. The flipside of that, however is that movie houses don't like having to publish on both formats, because its costs more money than it needs to for them to distribute a movie. What does that really mean? It means they jack the prices of movies up to make us pay for that additional cost. Again, we lose.

[damnwrx]

I'm a Happy PS3 owner and why should I go and waste another $500 bucks on a standalone Blu-ray player when I own a PS3 which capable of playing regular DVD movies and a Blu-ray movies , oh games too.....HELLLLLLO

[Loudninja]

Becuase msot of you really dont.DUal players cost alot, what is the point of them?one good format one dead one.Oh and its not even,Blu-ray still has more support

[Mikelarry]

bad news for consumers there are already universal players that play both hd dvd's and blu ray disc. with one of this you cant go wrong

[Illidan]

Universal players are still way to expensive. Also most of the supporters of Blu-Ray are PS3 owners like myself. So we'll have to buy another stand alone player to watch HD DVDs.

[power of Green]

This thread is flame spam. We should leave it at news with this issue(meaning the two major announcments were cool but posting what everybody and their mama thinks about this isn't constructive).

#15 makes sense WoW!. we need this competition HD players would still be close to a grand.

[theonlyfro98]

i dont know about u guyz....but im buying regular DVD`s until this format war is decided...bottom line is that most consumers dont wanna be forced into choosing a HD format because if their format choice loses...then they are f*cked... f*ck the format wars...

[big_tim]

It doesn't matter to me who wins. The problem is no one will win at this rate. I will not support either one until this stupid war is over if ever. Might as well keep my money until the next format comes out or down loadable movies are practical.

[Covenant]

With the Paramount-HD exclusivity deal now complicating things, this is going to get messy.

I think it will end up alienating far more consumers than it will win over to either side.

Part of me wishes this to end very quickly, regardless of who wins, rather than prolong it any further at the expense of retailers, consumers, and the industry as a whole.

[Daewoodrow]

Oh I see. They were quite happy to support the consumers being herded to the next media format prematurely when Bluray was scoring victories at the retail outlets, then one positive news report comes for HDDVD, and all of a sudden Playthree.co.uk care about the consumer. How nice of them.

[the_round_peg]

Ouch. That must hurt.

[DEADEND]

Its funny how people will say that HD-DVD will win the format war, I don't think thats going to happen because their selling more PS3 then HD-DVD's. Plus not too many people know about HD-DVD and most people are happy with DVD's, the reason why HD-DVD is going to lose is because there's a ton of PS3 owners who buy and rent BLU-RAY movies then there are people who buy and rent HD-DVD. And by the time people are ready to make the up grade from DVD to BLU-RAY or HD-DVD it will already be too late for HD-DVD. But for now people won't have to worry about their favorite movies being on one or the other formats because for now they'll release them on both to make whatever money they need.

[Laka]

Optimus Prime

[Laka]

Lol, Xbox 360 Ultimate with built in HD DVD drive next?
If Sony can have a built in Blu-ray game machine, MS can too with HD DVD.

[darthv72]

how it is that MS can offer an HD movie of 300 for 5.3gb and the bluray and hddvd versions have to be on such higher capacity discs? It clearly shows that hd movies can fit on regular dvd's so what gives?

[whengeeksgobad]

those movies you are downloading look nowhere near as good as movies uncompressed in DVD-HD, or Blu-Ray. The same goes for why you can fit 9 telesync'd movies (vid cam in movie theater) on to a single dvd-9, but much fewer less compressed movies. Hence, why some dvd-9 films which are longer and of a higher visual/audio quality will still sometimes come on 2 dvds.

[CadDad]

Is prolong DVD's reign on the market, which in and of itself could make paramount more money.

People who might be early adopters that aren't into games will wait until they can get all the movies they want on the chosen format.

Eventually one will win and the losing format supporters will rush to release their signature movies on the winning format.

It's a prolonged effect, detrimental to both getting the new format implemented.

-CadDad

[theonlyfro98]

i couldnt have said it any better myself...bubbles for ya

[damnwrx]

Laka, you're are wrong coz, you've got Walt Disney coming out first with CARS and NEMO on Blu-ray. My point is Blu-ray will be beyond HD!

[darthv72]

I already got those movies. It is my feeling that it isn't so much the player as it is the set you watch it on. Get the set first then decide.

[game-over]

Isn't the future of hd-movies downloadable content?

1. Huge Hard Drives keep getting cheaper and cheaper.

2. The downloadable hd-movies would be cheaper and more convienant to purchase. ( Buy them from your couch, no reseller fee ( the percent best buy gets on each movie sold ) no packaging, no disk, or box art, no paying a truck driver to deliver it to the store, etc - I think it would be far, far cheaper than blueray or hd-dvd )

3. You dont have to have a hugh stock pile of movies sitting in your entertainment center or swap movies in and out of a player; its all on the hard drive to select by remote.

4. Midnight releases on every movie easily possible if studio desires.

5. Don't have to worry about scratching movie disks. They could assign purchase codes to the downloadable movies so if your harddrive ever crashed or you swaped it out for a new one, you could re-download all your old movies at no cost.

6. Access your movies on your at home hard drive hd-movie player via lap top anywhere in the world you can get an broadband internet connection.

This is just off the top of my head. There are probably more advantages. Discuss

[mikeslemonade]

Why doesn't everybody just buy blu-ray and end the freaking war? If you buy an HD-DVD you're ultimately slowing down the progress on technology for movies and games.

[GamingNtek]

Paramount, is not getting my money either!!!

[Shaka2K6]

Blu-ray is for movies and games, stop using that lame Sony forced the Blu-ray format, they are not forcing anybody to buy Blu-ray movies ok and it has already been proven that Blu-ray is needed for real top notch games this gen. so Sony was very smart to include that.

[WilliamRLBaker]

Too Often WAY TO OFTEN, Pundits of both the blu ray camp and hd dvd camp want the consumer to believe that with a format war, or Competition the consumer loses, When this is false.

You must give me a minute and bear with me on this, I have an ear infection and its causing me a slight...dalerioum...*mispelt that i think* so its hard to think....

But People from both camps want you to believe that its a loss for the consumer, NO The consumer decides what it bad for them, Is blu ray the best format? it has one advantage over hd dvd and thats size, HD DVD can easily do all the things blu ray can do, The stuff that the HD DVD can't do ALOT Thats ALOT of is uncompressed things, And most consumers cannot and will never be able to take advantage of them.

True dolby HD systems, HD DTS, AND uncompressed PCM are supported by only a few sound systems and those? I've researched are exspensive compared to a regular old 5.1-7.1 dolby/dts...ect supporting system.

A War Is a problem, But choice is not....If both camps are worried about a war then they BOTH need to get together and come up with a unified format, or they need to create cheap dual format players, And Regardless the pundits on this site that Say Microsoft wont allow that, MICROSOFT DOES NOT CONTROL HD DVD They are a partner and nothing but, Sony actually has a higher control over blu ray since they've written and set up alot of the red tape and usage laws based around it, They are a high memeber of the blu ray group.

I for one dont care which format it comes on, I own over 100 movies in DVD format, I will not any time soon be replacing those with blu ray or HD DVD. The only reason i own any hd dvd movies is because they came on a combo format disc which about all hd dvd titles come in a combo format being fully playable on one side in all most any dvd player, I own an ps3, an 360 and while I don't own an hd dvd addon yet. If a movie comes out on hd dvd that I wanna see in HIGH DEF, Ill buy an hd dvd addon when its cheaper... till that time i need neither format nor want either format.

@shaka its not been proven at all, Why is it that all of the companies that have had to use alot of space on the blu ray disc have admitted to using uncompressed audio and data?
I mean if blu ray is so needed why is it heavenly sword some how uses 10 gigs of audio and they say they all most used a dual layer? yet a game like oblivion managed to put all its data on 1 dvd?

[DJ]

any movie studio that doesn't support Blu-ray is missing out on a LOT of revenue, and they'll eventually have no choice but to support the format. Dozens of studios are already enjoying the 2:1 sales advantage that Blu-ray has over its rival format in the U.S. (this ratio is bigger in foreign countries), and know that this ratio is only going to grow as Sony sells more PS3s and companies such as Panasonic and Pioneer make better and cheaper standalone players.

[Genki]

"Thank you Sony for screwing all hardcore movie afficianados."

Priceless, absolutely priceless. If this site had sigs this one would be mine.

All jokes aside, I hope you realize that the Blu-Ray Disc Association was founded by 9 companies, and currently has a board of directors consisting of 19, with overall support from more than 250 companies.

Don't believe me? It's a Google search away.

"Sony persuaded all the companies with promises of the PS3 for quicker adoption of the format"

And they delivered...just look at sales figures.

"Sony started the format war. If they hadn't released Bluray almost a year afeter HDDVD we could all be enjoying one format right now"

Fat chance. You say this as if Blu-Ray was created in a lab overnight as a reaction to HD-DVD. Not so. BDA was founded in 2002...that's right FIVE years ago by nine companies.

Whether Blu-Ray was released at the same time or ten years later, it was inevitable. If you hate Sony you might as well hate the 250 corporations backing Blu-Ray, and somehow, I don't think they would have pulled their investments which were 5 years in the making because you think ONE of their companies are evil dictators.

You just can't keep Sony off of your keyboard man. Grow up already, drop the act, it's not that damn serious. It's pathetic that you try to instigate angst for a company...especially when that company is but one of hundreds involved in this little conspiracy of yours. Stop acting like a child. Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda is irrelevant at this point. Blu-Ray is here to stay whether you like it or not.

Kick and scream all the way to the bank if you want, but you won't stop a fanbase of 5 million and growing(thank the Christmas season for that) and over 250 investors...

[The Dude]

Blu Ray vs HD-DVD means that consumers have a choice just like VHS and beta. And the consumer will decide the outcome not a bunch of fanboys or blu-ray propaganda on this site.