Ouch! Warners to Go Exclusively Blu-ray (Report)
Fri Jan 4, 2008 3:44PM EST
See Comments (36)
Looks like the Blu-ray camp has struck back at HD DVD, which scored a coup in August when it convinced Paramount and DreamWorks to go HD DVD-only.
Industry sources are telling Bloomberg News and Reuters that movie studio Warner Brothers, the last of the big studios to support both Blu-ray and HD DVD, will indeed go Blu-ray exclusive. If the story is true, Blu-ray—which already has the exclusive support of such movie studios as Disney, Fox, Sony, and MGM—will have regained its edge in the ongoing format war.
As I've posted about before, both the HD DVD camps and Blu-ray were reportedly courting the previously format-neutral Warner Brothers, hoping to woo the studio to one side or the other. With Warner's apparent defection to Blu-ray, the HD DVD camp will be left with movies from Universal, Paramount, and DreamWorks (good if you love Jason Bourne and Shrek, not so good if you're a fan of "Pirates of the Caribbean," James Bond, or Batman).
So does this mean the end for HD DVD? Well, not yet, but the news bodes ill for the long term. As I've written previously, HD DVD has the backing of Toshiba and Universal, not to mention that tech behemoth known as Microsoft. Also, HD DVD stand-alone players still have the edge in terms of pricing (although Blu-ray players just started to fall below the $300 mark). That said, Blu-ray will have a serious edge in terms of studio support, and the HD DVD camp's exclusive with Paramount and DreamWorks ends in 2009. In other words, if you're thinking of snapping up an HD DVD player...think carefully. You might have precious few movies to choose from.
Update: Reuters and Bloomberg News are now confirming the story.
Another update: Warner Brothers just released an official statement, which notes that it will continue to release HD DVD titles until May 2008.
And finally: Chris Null spoke with Warner Brothers execs, who sidestep the question of whether they took cash for their jump to Blu-ray.
Related:
Warner Bros. to Sell High-Definition DVDs in Blu-Ray [Bloomberg News]
Warner Bros to back Blu-ray exclusively – sources [Reuters]
Comments on Ouch! Warners to Go Exclusively Blu-ray (Report)
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Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.
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2 Posted by smkwtrjck on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:30PM EDT Report Abuse
I agree, I am not going to start replacing all my dvds with more expensive HD or Blueray movies just because some company wants to start making more money off of me.
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3 Posted by dcsoccer25 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:39PM EDT Report Abuse
What do you mean ridiculous? They're HD! Just buy the $300 player, the $600 HDTV, the $50 worth of cables, and the $35 movies and any fool can see the difference. It's astonishing! /sarcasm
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4 Posted by kurtostfeld on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:54PM EDT Report Abuse
@2, who said you have to replace your existing DVDs? That's stupid. But I will buy any new titles in Blu-Ray and rent movies in Blu-Ray format. Glad to see this format coming to a close, regardless of winner.
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5 Posted by ljbanner on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:54PM EDT Report Abuse
before xmas warner said they were staying with both formatts so a lot of people brought the less expensive hd dvd too get into the high def to match there tvs many times thay were asked and they refused to admit they were going with blu ray. with this i and a few others out there are very unhappy with the way things have panned out. why not just be honest that is the least we deserve
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6 Posted by dirkclough58 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:43PM EDT Report Abuse
I THINK IT'S CRAP!!! YOUR HD. TELEVISION WITH HDMI INPUTS AND OUTPUTS WORK JUST FINE.. TO PAY THESE UPSCALE PRICES IS B.S..
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7 Posted by woodbirdlady500 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:49PM EDT Report Abuse
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.) Warner's official response, however, was: "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. After August 2007, Sir Howard Stringer, CEO of Sony said that the Blu- Ray format was in a stalemate. "It's a difficult fight. We were trying to win on the merits, which we were doing for a while, until Paramount changed sides," Howard Stringer told the AP. Blu-Ray was winning the HD format war in North America and Asia, but not Europe, until the Dreamworks/Paramount buyout. Many consider this new Warner Home Video buyout to be the end of the format war completely.
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8 Posted by black8jac on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:08PM EDT Report Abuse
Then we have winner in HD war. As a happy PS3 owner, I'm pleased. We, Europeans, have much better sense, when choosing formats. We have chosen Blu-Ray and PS3 over HD-DVD and X360 with our money months ago. "8"
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9 Posted by vanhelsingx2 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:31PM EDT Report Abuse
Like most people, you look for a good Deal. Dvd`s at $15.00,Then HDdvd`s at $25.00, Then Blue Ray`s at $40.00. Then there`s the players and Blue Ray`s cost to much.Alot of people will buy a dvd player with a upconverting DVD player to 1080p.Then you`ll still be able to buy DVD`s to keep. 2 Blue Rays for $100.00 or 3 HD dvds for $100.00 or 6 reg. DVDs for $100.00.I know I`ll pay $100.00 for 6.
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10 Posted by bat.attack on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:02PM EDT Report Abuse
Why cant the movie industry just stick with one platform?
1 Posted by atx_tex on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:59PM EDT Report Abuse
I really don't think that Blue Ray and HDdvd is going to pull out a monopoly. My opinion, just stick with the good 'ol DVD. Blue Ray and HDdvd rack up the prices so much its really rediculous to go out and spend so much on a movie or dvd player that you could get so much cheaper.