Posted by Lloyd Parsons on 01/05/08 01:07

In article <HDAfj.914$EN6.627@trndny07>,
Derek Janssen <ejanss1@nospam.verizon.net> wrote:

> caliman.john@gmail.com wrote:
>
> > Just days before CES 2008, Warner Home Video has announced that they
> > are going to stop supporting HD-DVD and support the Blu-Ray format
> > exclusively. There are rumors that this decision was made after Sony
> > paid Warner 1.8 billion dollars to sign an exclusive contract, one of
> > the largest payoffs yet (the second largest being 150 million to
> > Paramount and Dreamworks to go HD-DVD exclusively.)
>
> Although Home Media Magazine, in their studio-exec interview year-end
> wrapup, tell a different story--
> As Warner's Ron Sanders and Steve Einhorn were clearly trying to put a
> happy (or at least corporately tactful) face on the fact that it Just
> Wasn't Fun Being Neutral Anymore:
> http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom123007/index.php?startpage=48
>
> ---
> Q: Some said Q4'07 was supposed to be the breakout time, and Q4'06
> before that. Why are things taking longer than projected?
> Einhorn: "Dueling formats have restrained our ability to launch
> large-scale industry-wide marketing initiatives directed toward
> providing purchasers with the simple, direct, and compelling story to
> drive consumer interest and packaged media sales."
>
> Q: It's not just consumers who are confused--Store-level retailers are
> sending mixed messages to customers. Who needs to take the lead in
> educating the masses?
> Sanders: "Unfortunately, the dueling formats created an information
> logjam in what should have been our conversation with consumers. It's
> just not necessary, it's crucial that we as an industry make
> communication with the consumer THE priority."
> ---
>
> (And yeah, that Harry Potter mixup--and footing the bill for the
> replacement program--probably WAS the Camel's Straw.)
>
> Derek Janssen (so, lemme guess, which camp came up with the "They were
> probably bribed!" theory, with "Sony musta done it!" embellishments? 9_9 )
> ejanss1@verizon.net

Rumor has it that over a Billion$ was involved this time. But who
cares?

Let's assume that this is the death-knell of HDDVD for the moment. Did
BluRay win? NO!!

Well, not unless you count holding on to a 1-2% niche as winning. To
gain the mass-market, they need a sub $200 player, imo. But Sony, as
well as others, have insisted that they are not interested in going to
the low price model that permeates the SD DVD market today. So now
we'll see just how badly they really want the mass market.

Will we see a sub-$200 player soon?
What about all those sales that have pushed the actual selling price of
BD movies to the $15 pricepoint? Will they still happen?

Watching this unfold should be interesting and it certainly isn't the
time to give up the old Netflix subsrcription... :)

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