Re: Toshiba Comments on Blu-ray Announcement from Warner Bros

You should "rape" that BOGO right away, because I think BOGOs are going to be a thing of the past starting tomorrow

Darn, I loved this format war. Maybe HD DVD titles will go on the cheap soon, and I can stock up. After that... it's prices at what the market can bear for maximum profits.

They likely broke a contract, it happens all the time.

If the presumed penalty is less than what you are losing in a situation, you often find companies breaking contracts. It doesn't mean Warner was losing money...it could mean they perceived losses would exist greater than the cost of getting out of the contract.

The news is out. EngadgetHD is reporting, Video Business is reporting, and Deadline Hollywood Daily is reporting… Warner will be Blu-ray exclusive after May 2008. The move is said to be in response to consumer demand, though rumor has it as a very expensive investment from the BDA.

http://formatwarcentral.com/

Indeed, Skyhawk. But can this economy bear high prices without the incentives they've been offering?

This WILL stagnate the HD format's growth, I think that's inevitable. HD-DVD buyers will stop buying HD-DVDs nearly immediately (and yes, that includes me) and many others will hold off until we actually get a winner since this Warner flop will scare anyone else right off the fence...back to standard DVD until one format waves the white flag so as not to get burned.

Warner...paid off?

Not really world shattering. Of course they got paid.

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Indeed, Skyhawk. But can this economy bear high prices without the incentives they've been offering?

You mean will people buy hi-def media if the prices aren't much cheaper than their DVD counterparts? I think so. But I'll miss it!

As far as one format "stagnating" the HD market, I don't think so. Most people agree that the format war has slowed HD media adoption. And no company or studio will out-price itself out of the market. Undoubtedly however, the age of profits will begin and corporate losses just to win a war will end.

[Post edited by Skyhawk on Jan 4, 2008]

I'm sure they hope so, but its still too early to really tell. WB is still doing HD-DVD until May or whatever, but who's gonna buy them?

I still think it'll slow its growth. While the format war is confusing, the deals are working in our favor and while it'll be nice for the head office to maybe pull a profit, sales themselves will slow. At least for a while until player prices drop to HD-DVD zones and JQP buys them instead.
But for now, with gas predicted to reach $4 a gallon by Feburary....sales will not be going up.

totally agreed. But I hope that Universal and Paramount flood the market with quality titles as a result of this news. I've decided to stick with HD DVD untill the very end and will keep buying the discs for as long as they are released! I personally won't leave HD. It's in my opinion the better format. Not a smart move by Warner...

There's no way this is good for consumers and honestly I think we should file a complaint with the DOJ they'll certainly look into this deal as it is really shady that this should happen at this time.

Seriously, HD had players heading for the $100 mark within months (not just the HD-A2 inventory sell off) and several older titles coming out at regular DVD prices... Basically just as one of the formats was about to take off Warner goes and pulls the rug right out from under them. This is fueled by nothing more than Greed and that's just sad!

Lets face it, people were buying the HD-DVD players by the truck load because they hit the magic marks for pricing and if HD-DVD disappears There won't be any incentive to get the players below $300 anytime soon and that will snuff out any High Def Push that has been in progress for the forseeable future and might just be the end of both formats as the Digital Downloads and Compression Standards get better allowing the sale of high def titles on regular DL DVD's (think about it, Windows Media Format can already deliver this quality under 8 Gigs with similar audio quality to what Blu-Ray mandates) or through set top boxes.

Anyway, with all of Microsft and Toshiba's money I bet we see Disney at the very least go Dual Format as a boat load is thrown at them... This with a plethora of HD-DVD Player sales could send Warner back to the bargaining table but we'll see how this plays out. Still either way this is a pretty stupid thing Warner did!

Warner Bros. contract is up in May.That is why they chose that date. As far as any legal ramifications,
WB stated over and over again they would make a decision after the holiday season. What is so surprising about their decision? Blu-ray disc sales out sold HD- Dvd the ENTIRE year numbers don't lie.