Why We Did It: Warner Explains Its Move to Blu-ray (Interview)
Fri Jan 4, 2008 9:11PM EST
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Today Warner Bros. became the latest (and final) studio to pick a side in the high-def DVD battle. Until now, it was the only major studio left that was producing discs using both HD DVD and Blu-ray technology.
Warner Home Entertainment president Kevin Tsujihara spoke to a handful of us tech bloggers today to further explain why WB made the decision it did.
In a nutshell, Tsujihara said that WB had been "monitoring the [high-def] situation closely" and felt it was time to pick a side. The big problem? "Consumer confusion was beginning to happen even with standard-definition DVD," he said. "Both formats were having an impact that caused consumers to say, let's wait a bit to buy anything, even a standard-definition DVD. We were starting to see the worst of all worlds: No one was buying high-def and not buying standard-def either."
The argument that confusion between HD DVD and Blu-ray was causing people not to buy either high-def format has been with us for a while, but this is the first time I've heard anyone make the connection to declining regular DVD sales. It makes sense, though. If you, as a consumer, feel a (real) move to a new standard is imminent, you're not going to buy the old one. Industry-wide, total DVD sales fell 4.5 percent last year, a huge decline that has some insiders nervous.
Tsujihara said that, not including WB's blockbuster "Planet Earth" release, the company had already been selling 60 percent of its high-def titles in Blu-ray format in the U.S. But that figure was 70-plus percent in Europe and 90-plus percent in Japan.
In addressing the oft-rumored "marketing compensation" paid to studios for switching high-def sides (aka payola), Tsujihara laughed and joked that he had heard these rumors too and was anxious to see such a check. "It's not a bidding war," he said. "It's all about what's best strategically for us." That said, he curiously didn't outright state that no payment had been received by Warner for dumping HD DVD. Not that it matters, I suppose. All's fair in love and home video.
Comments on Why We Did It: Warner Explains Its Move to Blu-ray (Interview)
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2 Posted by king_hamlet_ii on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:51PM EDT Report Abuse
Another loss for consumers as the war that has driven down prices comes to a premature end, leaving the industry in the hands of the company that brought us the "triumphs" of the minidisc and UMD, handed the portable music market over to Apple with barely a whimper, bricked a whole lotta computers for the crime of trying to rip their legally purchased CDs and dumped backwards compatibility on low-end PS3's in an effort to force consumers to stop buying PS2 games. Nice.
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3 Posted by zeshef on Thu Sep 3, 2009 11:00PM EDT Report Abuse
It may not be immediately apparent to a consumer, but the HD-DVD format is a far better medium for home video programming. It has reached a higher level of maturity, compared to BD, has better support in the development world, and ultimately, has a way better future. Some HD-DVD discs can do SO much more than any BD. BDJ promises to bring more, but I think the current issues need to be ironed out first! We have about seven set top players (all above $350), and they all have major BD compatibility issues! I think BD was the wrong side to pick. The consumer doesn't know what he/she wants - because they can never see the entire picture.
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4 Posted by cbanzman on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:19PM EDT Report Abuse
Here we go again. BetaMax vs well-you-know ... Great stuff
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5 Posted by jimblink@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:35PM EDT Report Abuse
This is true. I almost bought a Blu Ray player for Christmas. Decided to wait and glad I did. I don't know if I'll ever feel confident enough to pick a side. Furthermore, I too, am also not buying any std. def dvd's either. I want to get Pirates 2 and 3, but why buy them in std def? Hopefully in the near future this will be ironed out. I can't afford to have both players in my cabinet. We consumers are definetly losing.
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6 Posted by rogueist on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:49PM EDT Report Abuse
I still say that HD will win in the end. After talking with a ton of adult-type people (not kids) they all bought HD players this winter. Why? Because it is HD. They avoided anything labeled "Blue" or "BlueRay" like the plague. Why? "Oh, thats for games. I want something for my HDTV." In my area, HD outsold BD by a margin of 10 to 1. So although the studios are seeing money from the early adopters and gamers, the real crunch is soon to arrive when the adults who bought their HD players start shopping for HD titles. Studios had still better be producing titles on BOTH sides of the war for some time to come, or when it comes down to it, they will be hearing from several class action lawsuits from people who bought their HD players and now cant find anything to put in them. It was really really stupid for WB to actually chose a side so early on when the war itself is just beginning.
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7 Posted by ljbanner on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:54PM EDT Report Abuse
i have to agree with rogueist the masses had not had there chance to choose and for the true hd movie fans it is dissapointing that the industry has opted for a games consol format,who the heck do they think has been buying standard dvds all these years!not the consol owners!its us the movie nuts! so you know what? screw warner im just gonna keep buying hd dvds and support the companys that support us. money talks and thats what i will do with my money make it talk. who said you can not have 2 formatts selling exact same why should we choose make them do both! or is it cause sony wants all the pie. lets make them share for once
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8 Posted by ejc_99 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:52PM EDT Report Abuse
You cannot tell the difference between watching a Blu-ray or an HD-DVD. Both formats offer the same resolutions up to 1080p. In the long run, after increased sales bring prices down and newer generation hardware addresses early complaints of the players, we are left with nothing more than a capacity difference. So why would you want the format with a capacity of 15G/layer (HD-DVD) instead of 25G/layer (Blu)? I'd appreciate the extra space for features on movies or data storage for personal use. Go Blu-ray!
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9 Posted by dkubitfax on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:45PM EDT Report Abuse
The war is over - Sony finally won one. For me, I'd rather just play on the Wii in HiDef! More fun than sitting on my A--- and staring at the screen at reruns. Maybe that is why sales are down. There are only so many times you can slice and dice the same old movie. Now, the real battle is in the console world - one worth watching.
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10 Posted by shutrbug@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:21PM EDT Report Abuse
Well, since I bought my Toshiba HD-A3 for $160 with ten movies, I don't feel any compelling need to buy a BD player until it gets down to less than $50. Like ljbanner said, the HD DVD studios will get my purchases. I'll just rent the std def DVDs from the studios like Warner who went BD. They won't get any of my heard earned $s (maybe those from Netflix).
1 Posted by jirojas on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:35PM EDT Report Abuse
That's right Paramount/Dreamworks received incentives for dumping Blu. Now Blu strikes back. If only Universal would jump, then Paramount/DW would be all by itself.