Will Warner Bros. re-stock old HD DVDs? We asked them

Quote:
"There may be isolated instances that an HD DVD title will be created, but as a general rule our titles will be out in SD and BD only after May 31."

Without being overly optimistic that sounds to me like big titles (Dark Knight and such) may be released on HD DVD also.

I agree with you on that. I don't think they will abandon HD DVD on big blockbuster films... WB loves money too...

Hey Falcon, thats exactly what that means. I mean they will be able to produce a HD DVD title for half the cost of a Blu Ray title, and make more money because of the cost difference.

I too have to agree, films like 10,000 BC & The Dark Knight will be coming out on HD DVD and if HD DVD players start to outsell Blu Ray players i think we can see another switch. Maybe Toshiba should try and get Disney to release on HD DVD and we could see a switch from Warner very soon.

If 10,000 BC is as good as it looks, it will look real nice in my HD DVD player.

Maybe they are seeing the sales numbers for HD DVD players and looking at the attach rates a little more clearly now that they have spent some of the $500 million dollars from Sony?

Any such news from Fox? If so maybe this could be a break in the dark clouds that is Blu-Ray and some of the beautiful warming light that is HD DVD can shine through.

[Post edited by spoonard on Feb 14, 2008]

This is good news for HD DVD =D

Isn't the rise in sales because they are liquidating the product?? Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems like everyone is TRYING to get rid of the stock they now have? Or am I just making assumptions here? I mean BOGO and 50% off sales, and giving 7 movies away does not seem like they are doing things conducive with being a long term format. Just my opinion.

To be fair there are bluray promotions going on also but it does seem like there are more for HD DVD.

I don't care what the reasons for these sales are, I'm taking advantage of them.

los representantes the warner no sirven ningunos.

LOL @ Kuco!

Somos pocos pero somos locos )

What this means is if Warner Bros. has some leftover HD DVD laying around in their warehouse, and a retailer asks for them, then Warner will provide.

Don't get your hopes up on anything new being released on HD DVD after May 31st. Warner has already been touting their Blu-ray releases for that period with NO announcements for HD DVD.

As for sales figures, the last 2 weeks or so had HD DVD with huge BOGOs on ALL of their titles on Amazon and other sites. Blu-ray had none, and has had their first BOGO (3 for 2 deal) on Amazon just this week. You can see how the sales from Amazon have been effected here: http://eproductwars.com/dvd/

spoonard - It's already been established that there was no payoff to Warner to go Blu-ray exclusive. Sorry, that was only a rumor.

As for hardware player sales, the latest reports have Blu-ray selling 65% of units sold with HD DVD having 28%, and combo players with 6% - in spite of massive price reductions by HD DVD (these "figures still don't reflect the PS3 or the price-dropped Xbox 360 add-on"):

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/02/11/leaked-npd-numbers-show-hd-dvd-hardware-sales-still-trailing-blu/

[Post edited by AndySmith on Feb 14, 2008]

Quote:
Isn't the rise in sales because they are liquidating the product?? Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems like everyone is TRYING to get rid of the stock they now have? Or am I just making assumptions here?

Yes, you are making assumptions there is no evidence here of a liquidation sale. It's just your interpretation. To me, it appears as if they are just trying to move some of the older catalog items that have become slow sellers. That's nothing new in retailing. But I agree with Falcon, I don't care what the reason is, I'm taking advantage of the offers. One would be very dumb not to.

Quote:
spoonard - It's already been established that there was no payoff to Warner to go Blu-ray exclusive. Sorry, that was only a rumor.

Cool! So you have proof of this you can provide, right? Otherwise, its a case of you can neither prove OR disprove. A corporate bigwig saying no does not count...unless you somehow think corporations are always honest with us. Please. You have proof, then provide it. Fact is less than a month after WB says they have no plans to abandon HD-DVD they then did....sudden plans like that dont just happen unless some incentive is involved.


As for the rest of the article, they're saying popular HD-DVDs already made may still continue in circulation (though where you'll find them more than a year from now after HD-DVD is gone remains to be seen). You will NOT be seeing new releases in HD-DVD after the deadline.

[Post edited by JServo on Feb 14, 2008]

Quote:
Hey Falcon, thats exactly what that means. I mean they will be able to produce a HD DVD title for half the cost of a Blu Ray title, and make more money because of the cost difference.

Where do you get that estimate from? Skyhawk previously posted an interesting comparison of Blu-ray/HD-DVD replication that noted very similar costs:

http://wesleytech.com/blu-ray-vs-hd-dvd-replication-costs-revealed/111/

Some of you are having a hard time interpreting this little news bit. It clearly states that IF there is a request by a retailer for an ALREADY EXISTING (anything released until 05/31/2008) WB title after that specific date passes, then WB MAY press more of them for distribution. This does not mean that they may decide to release some "big titles" after 05/31/2008 if there is demand for them. Let's be clear about this, after 05/31/2008 WB will no longer release any new titles on the HD DVD format. So, don't get your hopes up for nothing.

Quote:
I too have to agree, films like 10,000 BC & The Dark Knight will be coming out on HD DVD and if HD DVD players start to outsell Blu Ray players i think we can see another switch. Maybe Toshiba should try and get Disney to release on HD DVD and we could see a switch from Warner very soon.

Are you being sarcastic or is this what you seriously believe? I would love to get what ever your smoking if this is what you seriously believe? No more WB titles on HD DVD after March 31, only reprinting of already released titles if there is demand (like that's going to happen). This is still highly unlikely and probably something WB says to smooth things out. WB is out, and so is HD DVD...

Well, both posts just ^above^ mine overlook the possibility that even after May 31, there still could be HD-DVD releases of Warner titles from OVERSEAS REGIONS. Sure, those regions may also wind down their own HD-DVD support (and go Blu-ray exclusive), but will it happen just when the date goes from May 31 to June 1? All I'm saying is, the very last Warner movies available on an HD-DVD disc could perhaps arrive OUTSIDE of the North American market... Batman: The Dark Knight anyone? Maybe another Warner title?

I remember when studio support for LaserDisc releases dried up in late 1998, early 1999. You could still get NEW titles on LaserDisc thru Japanese releases, and import them here, like X-Men, Mission: Impossible 2, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, The 6th Day, The Limey, The Cell, Bringing Up the Dead etc (several of which I have in my collection).

By the way, this thread's topic, and the mention of DVDTOWN making the request, was also reported on EngadgetHD - VIEW HERE (with reader comments following).

By the way, March 31 is NOT when Warner is ending their North American HD-DVD releases (rather May 31), as TWISTER is set for release on May 27 on both hi-def disc formats.

-LH (The Loverboy)
~ HI-DEF DUAL FORMAT SUPPORTER ~

[Post edited by Love Hendrix! on Feb 15, 2008]