Warner Goes Blu-Ray

[Thrashdragon]

A pretty big blow to the HD-DVD camp, one that industry analysts are calling a potentially fatal one.

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9055658&taxonomyId=14&intsrc=kc_top

In short, on the eve of the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show, previously neutral studio Warner Bros. announced they were supporting Blu-Ray exclusively. This so rattled the HD-DVD folks that they cancelled their CES press conference and interviews, and is probably the nail in the coffin for HD-DVD.

It seems like Sony's decision to include a Blu-Ray player in the PS3 paid off, despite all the grief they took for it:

"I think the war is over. HD DVD has lost. It really is game over for Toshiba and the other vendors," said Robin Harris, an analyst at Data Mobility Group LLC. "The basic issue is not technology. It's about distribution, it's about marketing, it's about content, and Blu-ray has been winning the content war for sometime. I don't know why [Toshiba] keeps pouring money into it. It's time to stop."

Harris credited Sony's inclusion of Blu-ray Disc in the PlayStation 3 with being one of the instrumental moves in winning the fight for Blu-ray.

"I think Sony's brilliant move, and one of the few they have made in this effort, is putting Blu-ray into PS3," he said. "Even though PS3 hasn't sold so well in the console wars, in terms of being a platform for Blu-ray distribution, it's been a success for them, and I think that's what really put Blu-ray over the top."

The praise comes as Sony has started to see PS3 sales pick up, after a year of sluggishness. Ironically, the company has been often criticized by analysts and the media for including Blu-ray in the device, because it contributed to a price that put many consumers off from buying the high-def gaming console.

A lot of industry watchers are now saying that both sides are ultimately doomed, and digital downloads will be the new preferred medium. As an online gamer using cable, I actually don't want to see this happen any time soon, at least not with the current internet infrastructure in place, as I don't want my bandwidth going to crap because all my neighbors are downloading movies. Although that would be a pretty good incentive to switch to DSL. I have downloaded and watched a couple of movies on my 360, and while the quality was fine, it takes so long to download a 720p movie (I can only imagine how bad 1080 would be, but it's currently not available) that I can't see it being a realistic successor to DVD just yet. Most people don't want to tie up their internet connection for a couple of hours to download a multi-gig movie. I think we'll need bigger internet pipes and a better distribution method before downloading replaces physical media, so Blu-Ray may have a pretty decent run.

[{CLR} Major.Massacre]

Well this makes me happy! :D

[CarbonFire]

Nail in the coffin INDEED.

I'll just be happy when they have only one format to choose from. Less confusion means more participation, and more participation means more competition by the manufacturers for your hard-earned cash (both for cheaper players and economies of scale for media prices)

All I need now is a reason to actually go and buy a PS3 (or other Blu-Ray player). With so few compelling PS3 games and my current total lack of a 1080p television, I won't be taking the Blu-Ray plunge anytime soon. I'm inclined to believe most of the public have not taken the plunge yet for exactly the same reasons.

Cmon Sony, start releasing some AAA titles and compel me already.

[Thrashdragon]

Nail in the coffin INDEED.

I'll just be happy when they have only one format to choose from. Less confusion means more participation, and more participation means more competition by the manufacturers for your hard-earned cash (both for cheaper players and economies of scale for media prices)

All I need now is a reason to actually go and buy a PS3 (or other Blu-Ray player). With so few compelling PS3 games and my current total lack of a 1080p television, I won't be taking the Blu-Ray plunge anytime soon. I'm inclined to believe most of the public have not taken the plunge yet for exactly the same reasons.

Cmon Sony, start releasing some AAA titles and compel me already.

Same here. The big thing I'm waiting for is, with one standard, the movie prices will start dropping. There are maybe two movies ever made that I'm willing to pay $30 for, and since both of them were made by Monty Python, being in HD probably isn't going to benefit them all that much.

Show me some $15 Blu-Rays and I'm sold. Considering the PS3 tends to come out on top in head-to-head tests against other Blu-Ray players, and will eventually have some games I can't play anywhere else, it's a done deal.

[KyleRiley]

well isn't blue ray a higher quality? I know besides the fact that blueray isn't as backward compatible as HD-DVD, but to me, quality matters more than price (coming from a 18 year old senior in high school). Just my opinion...

[Thrashdragon]

well isn't blue ray a higher quality? I know besides the fact that blueray isn't as backward compatible as HD-DVD, but to me, quality matters more than price (coming from a 18 year old senior in high school). Just my opinion...

No, they both deliver the same picture quality, but Blu-Ray discs do have more storage space, so from a computer guy standpoint, it's the standard I've been wanting to win anyways. They both will play regular DVDs.

[Thrashdragon]

Paramount is about to switch as well. Turns out they had an opt out clause in their contract that let them switch formats if Warner did.

Goodbye, HD-DVD, we hardly knew ya...

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/dc409afa-bd75-11dc-b7e6-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

[Gremlin_flg]

Daggone it Thrashdragon you beat me to it :P

[KurlonT]

Show me some $15 Blu-Rays and I'm sold.

Amazon usually has a BOGO (Buy One Get One free) deal on Blu-ray at least once a month...this is how I get mine for $15 or even less per disc...:2thumbs:

Toys R' Us is having a BOGO deal on selected BD as well (ends this Sat).

If you do dive into BD check out http://www.avsforum.com/ for just about everything BD...including the latest deals.

While 1080p is ideal for BD or HD-DVD since it matches the native resolution of the movie but you can still get a great picture out of a 720p set especially with the smaller screens (32"-37").

[Rand{CLR}]

On a somewhat related topic, I just bought a Sharp Aquos 32" 1080p last night, moving my other 32" 720p into our bedroom since my picture tube is failing. I'm not going to get full benefit from the 1080p without blu-ray, for at least the couple of years it'll take for some 1080p broadcast once they figure out bandwidth issues.

Since PS3 is still one of the best flat out Blu-Ray players, I'm considering getting one in about 2 months when I finally pay off one of my 2 credit cards. Anyone know of any price breaks that may be coming up? I can pick up a player only at Crutchfield for about $300 depending on the model and time of year, and I'm not entirely sure how many PS3 games I would play aside from GTA 4, so I may need a price break to go that extra yard.

-Rand

[Thrashdragon]

On a somewhat related topic, I just bought a Sharp Aquos 32" 1080p last night, moving my other 32" 720p into our bedroom since my picture tube is failing. I'm not going to get full benefit from the 1080p without blu-ray, for at least the couple of years it'll take for some 1080p broadcast once they figure out bandwidth issues.

Since PS3 is still one of the best flat out Blu-Ray players, I'm considering getting one in about 2 months when I finally pay off one of my 2 credit cards. Anyone know of any price breaks that may be coming up? I can pick up a player only at Crutchfield for about $300 depending on the model and time of year, and I'm not entirely sure how many PS3 games I would play aside from GTA 4, so I may need a price break to go that extra yard.

-Rand

I wouldn't expect to see a price drop on the PS3 anytime soon, for the following reasons.

• They just did a price drop a couple of months ago.
• Warner Bros. & Paramount switching to Blu-Ray is going to boost PS3 sales.
• Some of the long-awaited exclusives will finally be out this year, further boosting sales.

[Rand{CLR}]

I wouldn't expect to see a price drop on the PS3 anytime soon, for the following reasons.

• They just did a price drop a couple of months ago.
• Warner Bros. & Paramount switching to Blu-Ray is going to boost PS3 sales.
• Some of the long-awaited exclusives will finally be out this year, further boosting sales.

On the converse side, they're still getting crushed by Wii and 360. I can't count how many PS3s I saw sitting in large piles in each and every electronics store I went in during the month of December (before and after X-mas), whereas there wasn't even a Wii-mote to be found, let alone the Wii itself. The only reason they had the price drop recently was to phase out the cheapest model in favor of the larger capacity one, right?

I was just seeing this morning that it was the worst holiday sales-wise (in general) in at least 5 years, and that there may be a lot of clearance sales in the next month or so from multiple stores, so maybe there's still hope.

-Rand

[Thrashdragon]

On the converse side, they're still getting crushed by Wii and 360. I can't count how many PS3s I saw sitting in large piles in each and every electronics store I went in during the month of December (before and after X-mas), whereas there wasn't even a Wii-mote to be found, let alone the Wii itself. The only reason they had the price drop recently was to phase out the cheapest model in favor of the larger capacity one, right?

I was just seeing this morning that it was the worst holiday sales-wise (in general) in at least 5 years, and that there may be a lot of clearance sales in the next month or so from multiple stores, so maybe there's still hope.

-Rand

True, they're definitely in a distant third in the console wars, but their game stable is supposed to expand significantly this year, and while I don't see them overtaking the 360 anytime soon, the PS3 still does not have a "must have" killer app that people will buy the system just to play. Heavenly Sword and Lair were both supposed to be system sellers and they both stunk (HS was supposed to be a decent game but just way too short). They do have some coming out in 2008, though. MGS4 and GT5 are going to sell a lot of PS3s, and so will Final Fantasy XIII.

It was a bad holiday for other sales, but gaming bucked the trend and had a banner year with all the great releases that came out this fall.

As far as clearance sales go, as I understand it, retailers can actually return unsold consoles to their distributors and get their money back. I don't think they're allowed to sell below the MSRP.

Anyway, the way I look at it is, if I want a Blu-Ray player at some point, I might as well get the PS3, since it's:
• A better Blu-Ray player than most of the other models.
• Cheaper than most of the other models.
• There will be at least a couple of games I'll like that I can't get on any other system.
• There are some PSN games that look pretty neat.

That's enough for me to not even consider a "regular" player, not unless they drop enormously in price.

[KurlonT]

Anyway, the way I look at it is, if I want a Blu-Ray player at some point, I might as well get the PS3, since it's:
• A better Blu-Ray player than most of the other models.
• Cheaper than most of the other models.
• There will be at least a couple of games I'll like that I can't get on any other system.
• There are some PSN games that look pretty neat.

That's enough for me to not even consider a "regular" player, not unless they drop enormously in price.
+1

For me the PS3 is used first as a Blu-Ray player then second as a gaming console so in that regard it fits perfectly in my AV plans. If you compare the PS3 just for the 1080p + HDMI 1.3 output it's price is pretty much in line w/ the equivalent HD-DVD player so your getting the gaming ability for free. But if there is one HD format then like DVD players I would suspect after too long prices will begin to drop on the dedicated players as we see more and more saturate the market.

[Rand{CLR}]

I think I'm going to wait until April. That's the month of my B-day, so if I'm lucky I have a slight bit of cash incoming from the family, and I'll have paid off one of my two credit cards by March (let's just ignore the gigantic balance on the other one at the moment... :D ) and will have the $150 a month I send to them available for redistribution.

I thought about the Sony Card and $100 credit plus added reward points at the local Sony Style store, but I want to increase my credit line for the main card before I go to Disney late summer and don't want a new credit card messing things up.

There's a stand-alone player available on Sony Outlet for just $250 right now, but it doesn't have some of the features on the PS3 in terms of Blu-Ray/HD output.

I'll need to look into the downloadable games and check out some PS3 sites. There wasn't a single game for the system at Best Buy yesterday that looked like something I would want. Right now, their selection basically sucks, since I already have COD4 and UT3 for the PC.

-Rand

[{CLR} Major.Massacre]

I think I'm going to wait until April. That's the month of my B-day, so if I'm lucky I have a slight bit of cash incoming from the family, and I'll have paid off one of my two credit cards by March (let's just ignore the gigantic balance on the other one at the moment... :D ) and will have the $150 a month I send to them available for redistribution.

I thought about the Sony Card and $100 credit plus added reward points at the local Sony Style store, but I want to increase my credit line for the main card before I go to Disney late summer and don't want a new credit card messing things up.

There's a stand-alone player available on Sony Outlet for just $250 right now, but it doesn't have some of the features on the PS3 in terms of Blu-Ray/HD output.

I'll need to look into the downloadable games and check out some PS3 sites. There wasn't a single game for the system at Best Buy yesterday that looked like something I would want. Right now, their selection basically sucks, since I already have COD4 and UT3 for the PC.

-RandResistance fall of man is a really good game. :2thumbs: I think you might like it. :)