Paramount: We're Sticking with HD DVD

Tue Jan 8, 2008 11:15PM EST

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Paramount has issued a statement saying that the Financial Times story published earlier today claiming Paramount was set to drop HD DVD in favor of Blu-ray is false.

"Paramount's current plan is to continue to support the HD DVD format,'' according to a spokeswoman for Paramount, as quoted by Bloomberg.

The original Financial Times story, says HD DVD backer Toshiba, was speculative. Now the question arises how the normally rock-solid FT got this one wrong. A malicious plant from an anonymous source? Or simple speculation gone awry?

On the other hand, Paramount's "current plan" could certainly change at any time.

In any case, for now, consider this one a rumor that's debunked.

LINK: Paramount Denies Report It Will Drop Toshiba's HD DVD 

Comments on Paramount: We're Sticking with HD DVD

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  • 26 Posted by jay2freaky2003 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:29PM EDT Report Abuse

    Ok,ok, I just got to step in a say something. First I just love how some people believe Blu-ray is better,how can more storage make it so much better that can always be addressed. Now to sound quality I sure hope most of you dont think you've got I good blu-ray player with those cheaper Sony players for the holidays can we say no DTS-HD,DolbyTrueHD but your salesman just forgot to mention that huh? Let's seee studio support not really meaning better format if HD-DVD wins they'ell just start making HD's same goes for manufactuer's including Sony as they did with with VHS. How many of you really have the right equipment to get all of those cool features anyway my guess not many. Oh not to say you sub $500 BR owners sorry to tell you but you'll have to get another player to get all the extras which mean more money! While sub $500 HD owners may be missing DTS-HD but with all the money they saved and still got a great player,they can easily go get on with that feature and even if they dont they still can enjoy interactive features and TrueHD! One last thing I just dont get how a format that's so much better talking bout BR why did'nt it win a long time ago,HD-DVD just like Jet Li out numered at times but still kicking a$$!

  • 27 Posted by narkspud on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:33PM EDT Report Abuse

    "Continue to support"? "CONTINUE TO SUPPORT"???? Doesn't anybody here speak corporate? Read between the lines, folks. The word "exclusively" was conspicuous in its absence from Paramount's statement. Paramount will "continue to support" HD-DVD ... while they release all their titles on BluRay as well. Stick a fork in HD-DVD. It's done.

  • 28 Posted by stepupandfight05 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:41PM EDT Report Abuse

    Whats the big gigantic deal!? I do not understand why everything has to be a fight for $$$ I mean I understnd that without it the world would stop turning but !come on! Here is what I believe... Back in September I decided that it would be great if I could watch movies like Tranformers, 300, and the Bourne series in HD. Well just so happens all these movies are on the HD-DVD format including the whole star trek franchise (which I am a big fan of). Despite what I had heard of the so called "format war" I bought the Hd ad on for the Xbox 360. This is before the Toshiba one was 99 bucks. I have been very satisfied with the picture and sound quality, despite the fact that I have never seen a Blu Ray movie before. If it comes down to it then I will purchase a Blu Ray player also. I dont understand why we have to have just one format, if someone wants to explain to me why then I will be happy to hear. Yes I know not everyone has the money to buy both but the way I see it is if you have the need to buy one of them (much like I did) and you dont have the money then save up enough until you buy both. Heres the catch though, only buy one of them and hang on to the money for the other then wait. If you feel like you might want the other format then you'll have the money to buy it, if you are satisfied with just one then you wouldnt have wasted the money on the format that doesnt make you happy. Problem solved! This is what I am doing and if all the hoopla follows through and we end up losing HD DVD then Ill just go and buy a Blu Ray with the money I put away for the other format. I hate to be blunt, or mean but the way I see it is if you have trouble saving the money then its your own fault if you take the chance and you have no business buying something that you obviously cannot afford. Yeah I know that is one of the main things HD DVD has goin for it "it is cheaper so that it is within those people who cant afford it's grasp. Well in my opinion that is why 30 percent of Americans today are in debt, buying things they cant afford. What ever you decide I hope that my advice helps everyone step above this stupid "war", and make not a right or wrong decision but a "good" one that will meet there own individual needs. Thank you

  • 29 Posted by chrpyl101 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:25PM EDT Report Abuse

    The funny thing about all these posts is all the bickering and fighting going on over what amounts to 1-2% of the dvd purchasing public. The majority of posts by true movie fans have been thoughtful and pragmatic, while the video-game fanatics are an entirely different, fan-boy element. The fact of the matter is that if companies such as Comcast (as mu ch as I don't care for them) continue to push the envelope with faster downloads for HD movies (a 4 minute download is to be tested in 2008 in select markets) - if this proves to be possible and economically feasible, over the next several years the speed will only increase. When the day comes that you can purchase a movie and "keep it in the cloud" and be able to access it from anywhere, with no lag time or glitches, then the HD, BD, DVD argument is dead, all of it (sorry Sony true-believers). As stated, this technology is in the works and will most certainly be available within the next 3-5 years nation wide. In the mean time, if you have the disposable income and want to see movies in their best light - go buy an HD or BD player, just know it will most likely never reach the universality that standard DVD's have. If you've got a 720p hdtv, go get an HD player for cheap and be happy. It will be supported at least another year or two, has a great picture for the tv you have, has great sound and will play many of the home-processed dvd movies you make. If you have a 1080p hdtv and you think BD is going to win this "war" go buy a BD and you may get an extra year of viability - 2-3 years max, because if you live near any metropolitan area, within 2-3 years HD is no longer going to be bought or sold in the physical realm, the technology is simply growing and accelerating at such a rate that physical possession of dvd, hd, bd will no longer be necessary or relevant. I'll still be laughing though that off in some corner there will still be 1% of the population flaming each other over which new up and coming video game system is the best - but the movie watching public will no longer have to suffer those fan-boy arguments in movie forums.

  • 30 Posted by stepupandfight05 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:41PM EDT Report Abuse

    Well for one, not to be rude to Jason and Chrpy but who cares what happens in 3 to 5 years with the cable and computer companies with downloadable media. We are addressing an issue that is happening right now. Honestly do you think that one day you will wake up and they will announce on the TV, Radio, Newspaper,etc.. no more DVDs (HD ad Blu ray included) will be sold any more. Come on people! it is 2008 and you can still buy VHS tapes at Wal mart, they might not be new releases or might not even be manufactured anymore but nonetheless there they are. Eventually over a much longer period of time will it transition to the way that was stated above (which I do agree with). Not because of tech advancement but human advancement. heck I can name households in my group of friends and family that still have wooden floor TVs and VCRs that are grey. Not just Grandmas and Grandpas either. Do you guys see what I am getting at, just because we have all this great technology there doesnt mean that every one is going to use it. There will always be that old couple that tries to go to blockbuster an rent one old VHS tape every 6 months.

  • 31 Posted by bobgrodzki@verizon.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:10PM EDT Report Abuse

    Why don't they make a 4 way Dvd player, that will play regular Dvd's, Blue Ray Dvd's, HD Dvd's, and cook hot dogs. Put all formates in one player. You no, like a 8 track, with a casset, a turntable, AM, FM radio, CD player and a hot dog cart, with a LCD on one side and a Plazma on the other side of the cart. It could be called "The Hot Dog 5000 all in one". As #25 pointed out, it all runs into alot of $$$$. As #6 pointed out, time for medication, he, he. Dont forget your gas injected HDMI cable. :)

  • 32 Posted by eddieleeallen on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:51PM EDT Report Abuse

    I got both and the HD DVD seems to provide a better quality picture with deeper colors too. Also the hardware/software implementation seems better on the HD DVD (check out the web features of Transformers). I had to return my first Samsung Blu Ray player since it did wierd things to my monitor and purchased a PS3 to replace it. The monitor issue is gone but it clinks & clunks to get a movie going, just does not seem polished. BluRay players and movies cost more and I am generally very un-impressed with Blu Ray. So why do the movie distribution companies seem to be pushing Sony's BluRay, especially since Sony is a competitor to Paramount & Warner & the rest of those companies. I just do not understand it??

  • 34 Posted by dam1247 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:34PM EDT Report Abuse

    See, this is where they trick you. You have these two formats that duke it out, combined with hasty reporting without solid sources that make you go out and buy a player that you end up tossing to the curb because the other format ends up being the victor. Meanwhile, amidst all the fighting and smear-campaigning, laserdisc swoops in and blows them all away. I mean, laserdiscs are bigger than blu ray and hd dvds, so they must be better, right...?

  • 35 Posted by nycmonster139 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:42PM EDT Report Abuse

    To be honest guys im a video game fanatic and more of a movie fanatic!!! to make this short and sweet I love the way HD-DVD my movies look. I also own a BD, and the BD movies look good too but the HD looks better. I don't care really they both make my movies look great. these companies will continue this fight because both formats are good. The consumer will go for the cheaper one, and you can't blame them!!!

  • 36 Posted by robrtsonrd on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:46PM EDT Report Abuse

    From what I've read, Blu Ray plans to catch up to the HD DVD format this year or next (multiple camera angles for example- not that anyone has made a movie to take advantage of this yet), and those discs won't play on the new machines. Nope, the bottom line is that Hollywood is working to screw Microsoft and Intel (HD DVD buds). Not that it's a bad thing to do so, but wait until MS buys a couple of studios outright...

  • 37 Posted by seanb28 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:10PM EDT Report Abuse

    To the blu-ray backers and hd-dvd alike....Neither has a future. Both formats will cave to what consumers really want...Downloadable HD content...That was the highlight of CES, not bluray or hd-dvd. It's hilarious how vehemenently users say they back bluray and its better or they support hd and its better. WHO CARES! If you think one is better versus the other go by your $400 PS3 or your $350 HD-A35 and the rest of the world will wait as both go the way of betamax.

  • 38 Posted by what_ludacris on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:44PM EDT Report Abuse

    Wow, people still think that the technology will switch to download-able media in three years? How long does it take you to download a 30 gig file on your cable modem? You would need an OC-3 fiber optic connection to get a decent download time for a high def movie. How many people do you know that have one? or even have access to fiber optics near their neighborhood? Stop dreaming, blu-ray is the superior technology, Michal Bay said it him self and did not understand why they put transformers on HD-DVD. So if you want to watch high def movies for the next 5-6 years, buy blu-ray, if you want to wait around until "download-able high def movies" are available... well good luck to you

  • 39 Posted by gooserock_2112 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:11PM EDT Report Abuse

    I'm with #33. It seems unlikely that we'll be able to download the highest quality sound and video over the net or from the cable company any time soon (within the next few years). I have an HDDVD(xboxaddon) player and I watch alot of hd movies on demand(comcast) and on xbox live. None of the digital download formats measure up to the hddvd in sound or pic quality. Its similar to downloading low quality mp3 files(any mp3 is lossy audio) vs cd(alot better than mp3 but could be better). But most people dont have/want the high-end setups to take advantage of the highest quality format. Maybe they dont have the money, cant tell the difference, dont have an unquenchable thirst for the coolest shtuff on the market, etc. Bottom line is that there's a market for the good stuff and the not as good stuff, so they'll keep churnin' out more and more of both. Thankyou and Goodnight. Oh and HDDVD vs Blu Ray...I dont know but here's my idea. Get both but dont buy the discs to keep(yet). sign up for an online rental service and you can get both without building a potentially obsolete library of movies. i dont buy dvds anyway so it works nicely for me. i dont have bluray so i can say which is better.

  • 40 Posted by orion_cole on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:46PM EDT Report Abuse

    I'm buying a PS3 80GB simply to play PS3 games, as well as PS1 and PS2 games so I can dump my other consoles. Blu-Ray is just a bonus... and it'll do for now until a winner emerges or a combo player is made. I may purchase a few Blu-Ray DVDs along the way, but no amount that I would consider a substantial loss if it doesn't go in favor of Blu-Ray. In any case, it's better than standard DVD, so I'm cool with it for now.

  • 42 Posted by mrpceducator on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:28PM EDT Report Abuse

    Of course Paramount is sticking with DVD ... it's what most people use and support right now! Blu-Ray will be supported in the near future I'm sure unless a better technology arises before its time.

  • 43 Posted by bannedfromteal on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:02PM EDT Report Abuse

    Hope you blu-ray supporters have a suitable closet for that so-called groundbreaking tech.Because that is where blu-ray belong, right next to beta VCRs.What a sad excuse to buy a BS3.

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