Warner Bros. Goes Blu-ray Exclusive

[CoFree]

Warner Bros. Goes Blu-ray Exclusive
>> From the press release:

In response to consumer demand, Warner Bros. Entertainment will release its high-definition DVD titles exclusively in the Blu-ray disc format beginning later this year, it was announced today by Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros. and Kevin Tsujihara, President, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group.

"Warner Bros.' move to exclusively release in the Blu-ray disc format is a strategic decision focused on the long term and the most direct way to give consumers what they want," said Meyer. "The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger. We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers."

Warner Home Video will continue to release its titles in standard DVD format and Blu-ray. After a short window following their standard DVD and Blu-ray releases, all new titles will continue to be released in HD DVD until the end of May 2008.

"Warner Bros. has produced in both high-definition formats in an effort to provide consumer choice, foster mainstream adoption and drive down hardware prices," said Jeff Bewkes, President and Chief Executive Officer, Time Warner Inc., the parent company of Warner Bros. Entertainment. "Today's decision by Warner Bros. to distribute in a single format comes at the right time and is the best decision both for consumers and Time Warner."

"A two-format landscape has led to consumer confusion and indifference toward high definition, which has kept the technology from reaching mass adoption and becoming the important revenue stream that it can be for the industry," said Tsujihara. "Consumers have clearly chosen Blu-ray, and we believe that recognizing this preference is the right step in making this great home entertainment experience accessible to the widest possible audience. Warner Bros. has worked very closely with the Toshiba Corporation in promoting high definition media and we have enormous respect for their efforts. We look forward to working with them on other projects in the future.

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[sadalius]

I think this might actually hurt HD-DVD. Plus they've been hocking the daylights out of movies with the Available in DVD and Sony Bluray..... I've not seen one that said available in hd-dvd in some time.....

[CoFree]

HD DVD Group Cancels CES Press Conference,
Brandon Hill (Blog) - January 4, 2008 10:34 PM


Sony, Warner Bros. deliver a stinging blow to Toshiba, HD DVD Group
Is this the final nail in the coffin for HD DVD?

The news just continues to sour for the HD DVD camp. Earlier today, DailyTech reported that Warner Bros. decided to go Blu-ray exclusive by the end of May 2008. Warner Bros. executives backed their decision by saying that the move was beneficial for consumers.

"A two-format landscape has led to consumer confusion and indifference toward high definition, which has kept the technology from reaching mass adoption and becoming the important revenue stream that it can be for the industry," stated Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group President Kevin Tsujihara.

Toshiba, clearly stunned by the announcement, issued a press release of its own stating its disappointment with the decisions by Warner Bros.

"We will assess the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies and valuate potential next steps," said Toshiba in a statement. "We remain firm in our belief that HD DVD is the format best suited to the wants and needs of the consumer."

It looks as though the fallout from the Warner Bros. move is coming fast and furiously. The DailyTech inbox was just moments ago greeted with the following message from a Toshiba representative regarding CES press meetings and the scheduled HD DVD press conference:

Based on the timing of the Warner Home Video announcement today, the HD DVD Promotional Group has decided to cancel 1:1 press meetings at CES, in addition to the press conference that was scheduled for Sunday evening. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause…

We are currently discussing the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies and evaluating next steps. We believe the consumer continues to benefit from HD DVD's commitment to quality and affordability -- a bar that is critical for the mainstream success of any format.

We’ll continue to keep you updated on new developments around HD DVD.

It looks as though HD DVD may be on life support considering this latest series of events. Many consumers have been disheartened by the whole HD DVD vs. Blu-ray format war, but it looks as though a white flag may soon be planted.



Looks like HD-DVD is pissed about the warner brothers news

[sccrbrandon4788]

i wonder if the xbox will get a bluray drive in the near future....

[lilrevuk]

By the looks of this, I hope so....

IMHO, the battle was won the moment the PS3 had a Blu-Ray player. I bet you still can't find many standalone BR players for the same price as the PS3 in the uk at the mo, I know a couple of people that bought them for this reason. Come to think of it, I'm not sure if i've seen any HD-DVDs...?

[CoFree]

More info on the War over HD disc

New Line Shifts to Blu-ray Exclusivity

Posted January 5, 2008 by Wondermaker

New Line Cinema Following Warner's lead, sister company New Line has confirmed that it will support Blu-ray Disc high def releases exclusively. New Line has previously delayed their day-and-date new releases on HD DVD due to the format's lack of region coding, effectively making titles such as Shoot 'em Up, Hairspray, and Rush Hour 3 exclusive to Blu-ray. Although a 2008 release slate for the studio has not been released, an announcement may be possible at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

[CoFree]

Paramount: 'We’re Sticking With HD-DVD'
By Tom Ivan
Paramount Pictures has denied it is set to follow in Warner Brothers’ footsteps by dropping its support of the Microsoft backed HD-DVD format in favor of Sony’s Blu-ray technology.

Image“Paramount's current plan is to continue to support the HD-DVD format,'' Brenda Ciccone, a spokeswoman for Paramount told Bloomberg Tuesday.

The Financial Times had earlier reported that Paramount, which is set to release a number of likely blockbuster movies during 2008 including the latest Indiana Jones film, is poised to defect to the Blu-ray camp in a move that ‘will sound the death knell of HD-DVD and bring the home entertainment format war to a definitive end'.

According to the FT, Paramount, which came out in support of HD-DVD last summer, joining Universal as the main backer of the format, is thought to have a clause in its contract with the HD-DVD camp allowing it to switch to Blu-ray if Warner Bros changed allegiances. Warner defected to Blu-ray last week, joining Walt Disney, 20th Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as backers of the Sony format, increasing the possibility that Blu-ray will prosper over HD-DVD in the same way VHS was victorious over rival video technology Betamax during the format war in the 1980s.

[CoFree]

Report: HD-DVD May Suffer Another Blow
By Kris Graft
Universal and Paramount are poised to ditch Toshiba's HD-DVD format in favor of the Sony-backed Blu-ray format, Variety reports.
ImageUniversal's exclusivity agreement with the HD-DVD format has reportedly ended. Meanwhile, Paramount may take advantage of what Variety called an "escape clause" within its HD-DVD contract that would allow the studio to release Blu-ray movies.

For the time being, however, both studios are HD-DVD supporters.

Last week, HD-DVD suffered a major blow when Warner decided to drop HD-DVD support to go Blu-ray exclusive.

If Blu-ray does end up winning the format war, Sony's costly decision to include a Blu-ray drive with PS3 hardware would be somewhat validated.

Microsoft, which offers an HD-DVD add-on player for Xbox 360, insisted that if Blu-ray does win the format war, it will have no significant impact on the PS3 vs. Xbox 360 war.

Toshiba remains steadfast in supporting its format, however Variety suggests that retailers may ultimately make a choice whether or not they want to keep HD-DVD products on store shelves.