Paranount Announces HD DVD Slate for First Quarter
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Member since:
May 2007
May 2007
I saw someone bid up to $150 for the hd dvd Jack Ryan Collection ebay. I thought about bidding on it but changed my mind when bidding reached $70+. I had a feeling it was going to be rereleased.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Member since:
March 2002
March 2002
Who the hell is Paranount? 
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Member since:
July 2006
July 2006
LOL @ Tim.
I'm all over that Jack Ryan collection on HD DVD. I can't wait for it. I will also be getting Bee Movie, Beowulf, and Things We Lost In The Fire. Sweet!
I'm all over that Jack Ryan collection on HD DVD. I can't wait for it. I will also be getting Bee Movie, Beowulf, and Things We Lost In The Fire. Sweet!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Member since:
January 2008
January 2008
That's a pretty weak "slate".
[Post edited by funstuff72 on Jan 17, 2008]
[Post edited by funstuff72 on Jan 17, 2008]
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Member since:
January 2008
January 2008
While it's nice to see Paramount/Dreamworks still bringing out HD titles, I don't see how this "slate" is going to be enough to get people excited enough to buy a HD-DVD player over a Blu-ray player. To be honest, I don't really understand why this game of keeping HD-DVD limping along is even being played. Paramount/Dreamworks would sell more copies of these movies on Blu-ray and they know it! So why drag out the "format war"?
Do Toshiba, Universal and Paramount/Dreamworks honestly think that they can somehow gain enough consumer support of the HD-DVD format that other studios will jump ship from Blu-ray?! For Toshiba - fine, it's a pride thing. They don't want to admit that they lost so they want to go down swinging. But Universal and Paramount MUST know that they could make more money and sell more copies if their movies were on Blu-ray now.
Whatever may have been said about the Warner deal, Warner's movies were selling more copies on Blu-ray. Harry Potter, 300, Blade Runner, Ocean's 13 - on and on, it doesn't matter the title, the Blu-ray version sold better so it just plain makes sense for Warner to pick Blu-ray. More than any other studio, Warner supported both formats and consumers picked the Blu-ray versions. Both versions were coming out at the same time. In many cases, the HD-DVD version actually had exclusive special features (PIP or internet) or superior audio to the Blu-ray version and the Blu-ray version still sold more copies. There's just no arguing with the data and the data supported the idea that Blu-ray is the preferred format by consumers.
More sales of more titles has to be considered a good thing for a business, so why prolong the HD disc war? As soon as Universal and Paramount/Dreamworks move over the Blu-ray, consumers who are still on the fence will no longer have any worry about possibly buying the Beta of this generation. As it stands right now, some people are still going to wait because it isn't 100% certain yet. If they want Universal or Paramount/Dreamworks movies, they are still only available on HD-DVD and that just means that everyone loses because consumers are still going to be confused and still refuse to even consider HD discs of either type until this thing is resolved!
It doesn't matter if the players only cost $150 now - no one is going to buy a player that only plays movies from 2 studios. And unless there is a real chance of ALL the studios coming over, what the heck is the point of continuing on and draggin this out?! Let's just be rational: is it more likely that Universal and Paramount/Dreamworks will jump ship to Blu-ray, or is it more likely that Disney, Fox, MGM, Sony Pictures, LionsGate, New Line and Warner are ALL going to jump over to HD-DVD? Is it more likely that Toshiba as the lone HD-DVD player manufacturer is going to manage to sell so many players that studios would have to be fools not to come over, or is it more likely that every other CE manufacturer will manage to sell more players in addition to all of the PS3 consoles being sold?
It's silly, it's stupid and the sooner Universal and Paramount/Dreamworks stop with this charade and just move over to Blu-ray, the sooner everyone will start making more money and consumers will be happy and start buying HD discs because they have a clear victor and know for certain that Blu-ray is going to be around for a long time as the lone HD disc format!
Do Toshiba, Universal and Paramount/Dreamworks honestly think that they can somehow gain enough consumer support of the HD-DVD format that other studios will jump ship from Blu-ray?! For Toshiba - fine, it's a pride thing. They don't want to admit that they lost so they want to go down swinging. But Universal and Paramount MUST know that they could make more money and sell more copies if their movies were on Blu-ray now.
Whatever may have been said about the Warner deal, Warner's movies were selling more copies on Blu-ray. Harry Potter, 300, Blade Runner, Ocean's 13 - on and on, it doesn't matter the title, the Blu-ray version sold better so it just plain makes sense for Warner to pick Blu-ray. More than any other studio, Warner supported both formats and consumers picked the Blu-ray versions. Both versions were coming out at the same time. In many cases, the HD-DVD version actually had exclusive special features (PIP or internet) or superior audio to the Blu-ray version and the Blu-ray version still sold more copies. There's just no arguing with the data and the data supported the idea that Blu-ray is the preferred format by consumers.
More sales of more titles has to be considered a good thing for a business, so why prolong the HD disc war? As soon as Universal and Paramount/Dreamworks move over the Blu-ray, consumers who are still on the fence will no longer have any worry about possibly buying the Beta of this generation. As it stands right now, some people are still going to wait because it isn't 100% certain yet. If they want Universal or Paramount/Dreamworks movies, they are still only available on HD-DVD and that just means that everyone loses because consumers are still going to be confused and still refuse to even consider HD discs of either type until this thing is resolved!
It doesn't matter if the players only cost $150 now - no one is going to buy a player that only plays movies from 2 studios. And unless there is a real chance of ALL the studios coming over, what the heck is the point of continuing on and draggin this out?! Let's just be rational: is it more likely that Universal and Paramount/Dreamworks will jump ship to Blu-ray, or is it more likely that Disney, Fox, MGM, Sony Pictures, LionsGate, New Line and Warner are ALL going to jump over to HD-DVD? Is it more likely that Toshiba as the lone HD-DVD player manufacturer is going to manage to sell so many players that studios would have to be fools not to come over, or is it more likely that every other CE manufacturer will manage to sell more players in addition to all of the PS3 consoles being sold?
It's silly, it's stupid and the sooner Universal and Paramount/Dreamworks stop with this charade and just move over to Blu-ray, the sooner everyone will start making more money and consumers will be happy and start buying HD discs because they have a clear victor and know for certain that Blu-ray is going to be around for a long time as the lone HD disc format!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Member since:
January 2008
January 2008
Even if Blu ray wins, i shall only buy its player if it's a combo and it's profile 2.0 and the price is right.
But even then if only ONE studio is releasing movies on both formats i will ALWAYS go for the HD DVD version.
Plus i dont see Blu ray profile 2.0 coming down to current HD DVD prices until atleast the end of 2009. so HD DVD till then...
But even then if only ONE studio is releasing movies on both formats i will ALWAYS go for the HD DVD version.
Plus i dont see Blu ray profile 2.0 coming down to current HD DVD prices until atleast the end of 2009. so HD DVD till then...
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Member since:
January 2008
January 2008
No Apocalypse Now then... 
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Member since:
June 2006
June 2006
terror_beast... Very good comments/summary about the situation. Some points you made are why I lean to collecting Blu-ray (more than HD-DVD), as well as the fact that CONTENT is "king" and Blu-ray has more support, especially in the Music Concerts/Videos that are some of my favorites - with major support from Sony Music, Warner Music, and Universal Music to name a few.
That said, in fairness to the HD-DVD side, I just read an outstanding defense of the format, noting several important factors, that was recently published in the January 14, 2008 edition of VIDEO BUSINESS. I think everyone should take a moment to read this brief letter... (and comment, if interested)
Letters to the Editor: HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray <link
-Love Hendrix! (The Loverboy)
~ DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-ray/KURO Plasma owner ~
That said, in fairness to the HD-DVD side, I just read an outstanding defense of the format, noting several important factors, that was recently published in the January 14, 2008 edition of VIDEO BUSINESS. I think everyone should take a moment to read this brief letter... (and comment, if interested)
Letters to the Editor: HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray <link
-Love Hendrix! (The Loverboy)
~ DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-ray/KURO Plasma owner ~
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Member since:
January 2008
January 2008
I've never had any issue against the HD-DVD format itself. I actually think it is the superior format in many ways. Every HD-DVD player since the first ones had a secondary audio/video decoder for PIP special features, every player had a working internet connection, every player decodes DD+ and TrueHD and HD-DVD players are certainly available for lower prices than Blu-ray players! I totally agree that as a format, it may actually be the better of the two. But you know what? Beta was technically superior to VHS. No one watches a player. People watch movies. And if one format has movies from 7 major studios and its rival only has movies from 2, it doesn't really matter to me (or most other people I would think) that the format with the 2 studios has some strengths. All that matters to me is which one has the movies that I want to watch!
The time for discussing the merits of either format was before the formats launched! Sadly, an agreement was not reached and both sides launched their products. At that point, it was up to the consumers to decide and for all intents and purposes, they did! Beta had many extremely loyal supporters too. They trumpeted the superior quality of that format too. In the mean time, everyone else in the world bought VHS, the studios saw that and they dropped Beta like a stone.
I'm not saying I want HD-DVD to die because I think it's the inferior format. I actually wanted it to win because I thought it was the superior platform. More finalized, cheaper to manufacture, more standardized in terms of codecs being used and interactive features. But what I wanted far more than HD-DVD to win was to see HD discs in general flourish. I wanted to see HD discs genuinely replace DVDs and for that to happen, I truly believed we needed one format with ALL the studios backing it because people simply are not going to buy two new disc players for every TV in their house!
So now, instead of being ridiculous and sticking with HD-DVD to the bitter end, I'm letting go of the idea that the more affordable, in some ways superior format is basically dead or at least dying. Now all I want to see is one HD disc format so that we can move on to the much bigger challenge which is getting the mass market to embrace a new medium. Confusion over HDTVs, the broadcast switch to digital, upconversion and just what the heck HD actually means in real world terms is incredibly high and the last thing people care about is some new disc, that looks just like the old discs, but is supposedly better, battling it out with yet another same looking disc that does the exact same thing!
I think it's going to be hard to convince the mass market to by one HD disc format, never mind two of them! I just want to see HD content proliferate. It's silly at this point to try and tip the scales back in the other direction. Blu-ray has a tremendous content advantage now and the best thing that can possibly happen for HD movies in general is for ALL the studios to get on board! Once we have ALL the studios backing Blu-ray, we can really start to hammer home the idea that Blu-ray is 1080p, Blu-ray is lossless audio and Blu-ray is what you need if you have a HDTV.
To be clear, if it were HD-DVD with the studio advantage, I'd be saying the exact same thing in reverse. In fact, I'd probably be happier about it because I do think that HD-DVD had the better plan and the better hardware. But this isn't about merit, it's about reality. We've got one format with 7 major studios and one format with 2. Let's stop being silly and just get all 9 onto one side!
The time for discussing the merits of either format was before the formats launched! Sadly, an agreement was not reached and both sides launched their products. At that point, it was up to the consumers to decide and for all intents and purposes, they did! Beta had many extremely loyal supporters too. They trumpeted the superior quality of that format too. In the mean time, everyone else in the world bought VHS, the studios saw that and they dropped Beta like a stone.
I'm not saying I want HD-DVD to die because I think it's the inferior format. I actually wanted it to win because I thought it was the superior platform. More finalized, cheaper to manufacture, more standardized in terms of codecs being used and interactive features. But what I wanted far more than HD-DVD to win was to see HD discs in general flourish. I wanted to see HD discs genuinely replace DVDs and for that to happen, I truly believed we needed one format with ALL the studios backing it because people simply are not going to buy two new disc players for every TV in their house!
So now, instead of being ridiculous and sticking with HD-DVD to the bitter end, I'm letting go of the idea that the more affordable, in some ways superior format is basically dead or at least dying. Now all I want to see is one HD disc format so that we can move on to the much bigger challenge which is getting the mass market to embrace a new medium. Confusion over HDTVs, the broadcast switch to digital, upconversion and just what the heck HD actually means in real world terms is incredibly high and the last thing people care about is some new disc, that looks just like the old discs, but is supposedly better, battling it out with yet another same looking disc that does the exact same thing!
I think it's going to be hard to convince the mass market to by one HD disc format, never mind two of them! I just want to see HD content proliferate. It's silly at this point to try and tip the scales back in the other direction. Blu-ray has a tremendous content advantage now and the best thing that can possibly happen for HD movies in general is for ALL the studios to get on board! Once we have ALL the studios backing Blu-ray, we can really start to hammer home the idea that Blu-ray is 1080p, Blu-ray is lossless audio and Blu-ray is what you need if you have a HDTV.
To be clear, if it were HD-DVD with the studio advantage, I'd be saying the exact same thing in reverse. In fact, I'd probably be happier about it because I do think that HD-DVD had the better plan and the better hardware. But this isn't about merit, it's about reality. We've got one format with 7 major studios and one format with 2. Let's stop being silly and just get all 9 onto one side!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Member since:
October 2007
October 2007
People will get excited the same way people get excited with Halo on XBOX 360, and, well, you know, a PS3 title.... 
