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Posted by Alpha on 10/06/40 11:42
"Goro" <evilninjax@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1142355161.766779.76100@j52g2000cwj.googlegroups.com...
> http://today.reuters.co.uk/News/NewsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2006-03-14T101309Z_01_N14311257_RTRIDST_0_TECH-FILM-HDDVD-DC.XML
>
> By Thomas K. Arnold
>
> LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The much-ballyhooed launch this
> month of the next-generation HD-DVD format promises to be more of a
> whimper than a bang.
>
> Warner Home Video, the only studio that in January had set a firm date,
> March 28, for its first high-definition DVD titles to arrive in stores,
> now says it might not be ready in time because of technical problems.
>
> "To be honest, the outlook is tenuous -- we're still coming out with an
> initial slate, but we may be a week or two later; we just don't know,"
> division president Ron Sanders said.
>
> Wal-Mart had been taking advance orders for the first slate of Warner
> titles on its Web site since mid-February, but customers began being
> notified Wednesday that their orders had been canceled.
>
> "That's because they had published prices, and we haven't set prices,"
> Sanders said.
>
> Wal-Mart was selling most of the titles, such as "Batman Begins" and
> "Million Dollar Baby," for $25.48, discounted from a list price the
> retailer pegged at $29.98.
>
> Best Buy also reportedly had to pull Warner HD-DVD titles from its
> weekly circular.
>
> Toshiba still is demonstrating its two HD-DVD players -- the company's
> road show hits Los Angeles on Wednesday with a demonstration at the
> Fry's in City of Industry -- and vows to stick by its original promise
> to have players in stores by month's end.
>
> "Everything is still the same," Toshiba spokesman Alejandro Arango
> said.
>
> But so far it appears that those will be the only players on the
> market, at least for the time being. In the nearly three months since
> Toshiba announced its players, not a single other consumer electronics
> manufacturer has chimed in.
>
> Moreover, sources report that only 10,000 Toshiba players are being
> shipped to retailers initially, a number that indicates low sales
> expectations. (A Toshiba spokesman would not comment on the figure.)
> And only one player, the cheaper HD-A1, is on sale (for the full list
> price of $499.99) at Amazon.com and the Web sites of other big
> retailers like Best Buy, while the Circuit City Web site is offering
> neither HD-DVD player.
>
> Toshiba also has a pricier model, the HD-XA1, at $799.99. A Web search
> found only two retailers accepting advance orders, Crutchfield and
> Sixth Avenue Electronics City.
>
> On the software front, it is unlikely that even a single HD-DVD title
> will be available for sale this month at any of the consumer
> electronics chains and discount retailers that are bringing in the
> players.
>
> Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, which in January was one of
> three studios to announce ambitious slates of titles for HD-DVD
> release, still has set no dates, even with players set to arrive in
> store within two weeks. Assuming the traditional six-week solicitation
> period, "I'd be surprised" if any Paramount HD-DVD titles arrive in
> stores before mid-April, a studio source said. Paramount's first HD-DVD
> title will be the concert video "U2: Rattle and Hum," followed by nine
> others, including "Sahara," "The Italian Job" and "The Manchurian
> Candidate." The studio also is still banking on a day-and-date DVD and
> HD-DVD release of "Mission: Impossible 3," which opens in theaters in
> May and likely will be released on disc in late September.
>
> Universal Studios Home Entertainment, which announced a dozen titles in
> January, likewise hasn't scheduled any firm release dates. "We're just
> trying to set a date that makes sense," said a studio source who asked
> not to be named. "It's new technology, and dates are going to move
> around a bit. And keep in mind, this is a very small launch."
>
> One bit of good news for HD-DVD came Wednesday, when South Korea's LG
> Electronics said it would support the format as well as Blu-ray Disc,
> from Sony. Previously, LG was only in the Blu-ray camp, as are
> virtually all consumer electronics manufacturers. Product announcements
> are expected this year.
>
The entire high definition disc rollout has been and will remain an utter
fiasco....one that may likely doom both formats for something else.
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