Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Member since:
June 2006
June 2006
VC... once the studios here (and overseas distributors) STOP releasing any more HD-DVD new releases (or catalog titles), then YES - the format is declared DEAD.
This is reality... without content, there is no 'life' to a format.
-JIMI (the Voodoo Child)
This is reality... without content, there is no 'life' to a format.
-JIMI (the Voodoo Child)
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Member since:
January 2008
January 2008
LH, and this is from you that continued to see Laserdisc releases long after the players were discontinued?? 
I don't see Universal or Paramount racing to Blu Exclusive for a bit, they are still working out royalty arrangements, and setting up manufacturing facilities for Blu Ray.
As long as there is a demand for HD DVD titles, I don't see Universal, Paramount or Dreamworks going Blu exclusive.
They realize that you can't get a decent Blu player for less than $400, and with over 1 Million HD DVD players sold(and counting) why would they walk away from money???
Oh, and thats 1 Million players in North America, don't disregard the rest of the world as well.
Actually that was one of the problems that Blu Ray was having late last year, there are far fewer production lines tooled up for Blu than HD DVD, so the releases will likely be slow and limited until they build manufacturing capacity.
Amazon still keeps stock on lots of VHS titles, and my VCR has been sitting in the basement collecting dust for more than 5 years now...
I don't see Universal or Paramount racing to Blu Exclusive for a bit, they are still working out royalty arrangements, and setting up manufacturing facilities for Blu Ray.
As long as there is a demand for HD DVD titles, I don't see Universal, Paramount or Dreamworks going Blu exclusive.
They realize that you can't get a decent Blu player for less than $400, and with over 1 Million HD DVD players sold(and counting) why would they walk away from money???
Oh, and thats 1 Million players in North America, don't disregard the rest of the world as well.
Actually that was one of the problems that Blu Ray was having late last year, there are far fewer production lines tooled up for Blu than HD DVD, so the releases will likely be slow and limited until they build manufacturing capacity.
Amazon still keeps stock on lots of VHS titles, and my VCR has been sitting in the basement collecting dust for more than 5 years now...
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Member since:
January 2008
January 2008
http://www.thelookandsoundofperfect.com/hddvd/about/partners/
Those guys are still with HD-DVD!
HD-DVD is the official successor to DVD. Sony was the one who broke off from the DVD Forum and help form the BDA, but now the BDA itself is saying "who cares about Sony, they don't influence us if we made a blu-ray player for 360".
Those guys are still with HD-DVD!
HD-DVD is the official successor to DVD. Sony was the one who broke off from the DVD Forum and help form the BDA, but now the BDA itself is saying "who cares about Sony, they don't influence us if we made a blu-ray player for 360".
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Member since:
June 2006
June 2006
VC said -
VC - you are a careless reader (and I suggest you read my post above yours again).
And LD releases were not forthcoming "long after the players were discontinued". In fact in LD's case, new releases of discs actually ceased BEFORE Pioneer stopped producing players (also in Japan). Let's review again...
1998 - the DVD market is starting to grow some, and by the Summer/Fall consumers see arrivals of new lower-priced players (like a $399 Panasonic player among others, my first unit purchased in late Sept.). The studios backing LaserDisc have begun releasing fewer new titles (especially catalog titles), and going into 1999 the regular output of monthly LD releases is much less than what was seen in preceding years..
1999 - By a year later (summer/fall 1999), LD is experiencing VERY FEW new releases (and catalog titles). Among the few are: Deep Impact, Small Soldiers, Saving Private Ryan, The Prince of Egypt, True Crime, Analyze This, etc, and some catalog titles - like the classic A Star is Born (SpEd reissue w/DD 5.1 audio), a special DTS version of Stargate (Director's Cut), and surprisingly, a film produced by Steven Spielberg's company called Fandango (starring Kevin Costner) directed by Kevin Reynolds.
Note: Fandango (widescreen) on LD is noteworthy to me because it includes a 2nd "music and effects ONLY" soundtrack (in stereo on the analog tracks - w/the film's main audio soundtrack on the digital tracks). I love watching the last half of the film with just the MUSIC playing, especially the beautiful 'wedding sequence' and ending of the movie. Still, it's really strange that -this- film is one of the last LDs ever produced in the USA.
OK, let's continue... so by Fall/Winter 1999, a year has gone by since the studios had started slowing down the LD releases, while monitoring the growth of DVD. And by 1999, DVD is really starting to take off [contrary to those trolls who claim that the PS2 is what led to DVD's strong growth - that's a FALSE claim and untrue] - especially with the Sept 1999 DVD release of THE MATRIX.
For LaserDisc, very few "new releases" are barely coming out (limited distributors), but there are some notables that I remember - such as End of Days, and The Matrix. By October, a rumored M:I-2 is cancelled by Paramount, and only one other film by the studio, Sleepy Hollow, geta a release (with a limited, small run pressing of a few thousand titles). Well, SLEEPY HOLLOW becomes the FINAL LaserDisc ever released in the USA.
However, because of the LD's popularity in Japan, going into the year 2000 distributors there have not yet stopped all titles, with several high-profile releases produced for the Japanese market, and then imported by LD fans in the USA - such as X-Men, Fight Club, The Cell, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, The 6th Day, Mission: Impossible-2, The Limey, and Bringing Out the Dead (which I believe ends up being the LAST movie released on LD in Japan).
Now, Pioneer had not stopped producing players during the late 1990s, and new units continued to be sold up until 2002-03, although I'm sure by -then- they had, in fact, already stopped production and were just clearing out the unsold inventory.
In the USA over that final period (late 1998 to Oct 1999), and then into 2000 for Japan), the LaserDisc format was "still alive" technically since some titles were being released. But once the studios STOPPED the releases, it was THE END for the LaserDisc market in the USA. And then Japan stopped another 7-8 months later.
VC... the same thing is going to happen with HD-DVD - believe me. Yes, we will see some HD-DVD releases coming out over the next 3-4 months here in the USA (barring future cancellations of previously announced titles). But after this, IT'S OVER. Once the USA distributors STOP the new releases, if you are a die hard for new HD-DVD titles, you'll have to look to overseas markets, who might still be producing for some time after the USA market ends by June. But, eventually the overseas releases will end too (and this will probably occur by the end of the summer/fall).
And -WHEN- no more HD-DVD titles are forthcoming to the market, well -THEN- this format will definitely be declared as 'dead', and become part of the after-market for collectors (who will trade and sell for years on eBay, Craig's List, etc), and those finding discounts/closeout sales from online outlets.
-JIMI (the Voodoo Child)
~ HI-DEF DUAL FORMAT SUPPORTER ~
Quote:
"LH, and this is from you that continued to see Laserdisc releases long after the players were discontinued??"
VC - you are a careless reader (and I suggest you read my post above yours again).
And LD releases were not forthcoming "long after the players were discontinued". In fact in LD's case, new releases of discs actually ceased BEFORE Pioneer stopped producing players (also in Japan). Let's review again...
1998 - the DVD market is starting to grow some, and by the Summer/Fall consumers see arrivals of new lower-priced players (like a $399 Panasonic player among others, my first unit purchased in late Sept.). The studios backing LaserDisc have begun releasing fewer new titles (especially catalog titles), and going into 1999 the regular output of monthly LD releases is much less than what was seen in preceding years..
1999 - By a year later (summer/fall 1999), LD is experiencing VERY FEW new releases (and catalog titles). Among the few are: Deep Impact, Small Soldiers, Saving Private Ryan, The Prince of Egypt, True Crime, Analyze This, etc, and some catalog titles - like the classic A Star is Born (SpEd reissue w/DD 5.1 audio), a special DTS version of Stargate (Director's Cut), and surprisingly, a film produced by Steven Spielberg's company called Fandango (starring Kevin Costner) directed by Kevin Reynolds.
Note: Fandango (widescreen) on LD is noteworthy to me because it includes a 2nd "music and effects ONLY" soundtrack (in stereo on the analog tracks - w/the film's main audio soundtrack on the digital tracks). I love watching the last half of the film with just the MUSIC playing, especially the beautiful 'wedding sequence' and ending of the movie. Still, it's really strange that -this- film is one of the last LDs ever produced in the USA.
OK, let's continue... so by Fall/Winter 1999, a year has gone by since the studios had started slowing down the LD releases, while monitoring the growth of DVD. And by 1999, DVD is really starting to take off [contrary to those trolls who claim that the PS2 is what led to DVD's strong growth - that's a FALSE claim and untrue] - especially with the Sept 1999 DVD release of THE MATRIX.
For LaserDisc, very few "new releases" are barely coming out (limited distributors), but there are some notables that I remember - such as End of Days, and The Matrix. By October, a rumored M:I-2 is cancelled by Paramount, and only one other film by the studio, Sleepy Hollow, geta a release (with a limited, small run pressing of a few thousand titles). Well, SLEEPY HOLLOW becomes the FINAL LaserDisc ever released in the USA.
However, because of the LD's popularity in Japan, going into the year 2000 distributors there have not yet stopped all titles, with several high-profile releases produced for the Japanese market, and then imported by LD fans in the USA - such as X-Men, Fight Club, The Cell, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, The 6th Day, Mission: Impossible-2, The Limey, and Bringing Out the Dead (which I believe ends up being the LAST movie released on LD in Japan).
Now, Pioneer had not stopped producing players during the late 1990s, and new units continued to be sold up until 2002-03, although I'm sure by -then- they had, in fact, already stopped production and were just clearing out the unsold inventory.
In the USA over that final period (late 1998 to Oct 1999), and then into 2000 for Japan), the LaserDisc format was "still alive" technically since some titles were being released. But once the studios STOPPED the releases, it was THE END for the LaserDisc market in the USA. And then Japan stopped another 7-8 months later.
VC... the same thing is going to happen with HD-DVD - believe me. Yes, we will see some HD-DVD releases coming out over the next 3-4 months here in the USA (barring future cancellations of previously announced titles). But after this, IT'S OVER. Once the USA distributors STOP the new releases, if you are a die hard for new HD-DVD titles, you'll have to look to overseas markets, who might still be producing for some time after the USA market ends by June. But, eventually the overseas releases will end too (and this will probably occur by the end of the summer/fall).
And -WHEN- no more HD-DVD titles are forthcoming to the market, well -THEN- this format will definitely be declared as 'dead', and become part of the after-market for collectors (who will trade and sell for years on eBay, Craig's List, etc), and those finding discounts/closeout sales from online outlets.
-JIMI (the Voodoo Child)
~ HI-DEF DUAL FORMAT SUPPORTER ~
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Member since:
January 2008
January 2008
Forget the adage, "It's not over until Toshiba says it's over"
Instead, "It's not over until the Last Studio Abandons the 'HD DVD Promotional Organization' "
Let's see what actually happens...
Instead, "It's not over until the Last Studio Abandons the 'HD DVD Promotional Organization' "
Let's see what actually happens...
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Member since:
June 2006
June 2006
VC... I know you are diligently holding out for some sort of miracle on continued USA HD-DVD releases after May, but it's not going to happen from any of the major studios. They are NOT going to pay TWICE for disc encoding masters, when sales of one format (HD-DVD) will be so much less than Blu-ray, now that everyone in the marketplace (especially the retailers) is going to unite to support one hi-def disc standard - Blu-ray.
Please stop the specualtions (and multiple threads/long speculative posts), and start planning for one of the better upcoming Blu-ray players, either the forthcoming (May) Panasonic BD50 model (with Panasonic's superior internal processing), or one of the summer (August probably) SONY Sapphire players - BOTH company's new models will be Profile 2.0, and should run between $400 to $700 (my guess) depending on specs and design.
I love HD-DVD too... but it's a BLU world now, VC. 
-JIMI (the Voodoo Child)
Please stop the specualtions (and multiple threads/long speculative posts), and start planning for one of the better upcoming Blu-ray players, either the forthcoming (May) Panasonic BD50 model (with Panasonic's superior internal processing), or one of the summer (August probably) SONY Sapphire players - BOTH company's new models will be Profile 2.0, and should run between $400 to $700 (my guess) depending on specs and design.
I love HD-DVD too... but it's a BLU world now, VC.
-JIMI (the Voodoo Child)
