Universal giving up on hybrid HD DVDs?
by Matt Burns 
posted Apr 3rd 2007 at 8:58AM
It seems that your dream of buying only one version of Steve Martin's The Jerk to watch not only in your HD DVD player, but also in the minivan and in the bedroom isn't going to happen. Universal at one time was going to release up towards 90% of their '07 HD DVD titles on the hybrid discs - one side standard DVD and one side HD DVD. For some unknown reason however, the studio has discontinued current hybrid discs and re-spec'd future disc for HD DVD only. Why? We don't know. It could be low sales or even the studio wanted a lower price point target that only a single sided disc could hit. Who knows but if Universal changes their mind again, we'll let you know.
Filed under: HD DVD
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Me @ Apr 3rd 2007 10:06AM
According to Amir (Microsoft Exec) over at avsforums, they've decided to go combo on all new releases, and non-combo on catalog titles. According to him, this was due to customer feedback. People don't want to have to rebuy the DVD side if they already own the disc.
KissTheRing @ Apr 3rd 2007 10:17AM
He hates these cans! Stay away from the cans!
FrankTheCrank @ Apr 3rd 2007 10:21AM
Is that the death knell I hear for HD-DVD?
I went to the store where I buy my Bluray discs and I noticed that the shelf with the Blurays is getting bigger and the shelf with the HD DVD is getting smaller.
Doesn't mean anything I guess, just saying.
andy @ Apr 3rd 2007 10:32AM
Interesting. It's extremely cheap to manufacture discs. The machines, materials, and transit are the major expenses these days. If you already own the machines, and are planning to manufacture on DVD or HDDVD (you already have materials and transport in place), I fail to see the extra expense. That is, unless "extra expense" just means extra profit for the right to have the content you purchase interopate with all of your legal and legitimate players.
KissTheRing @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:25AM
@FrankTheCrank
Oh quit trolling Frank, nobody buys HD DVDs for the non-HD DVD side.
wei @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:38AM
I personally hate the combo disks as they inflate the price and make for a much more fragile disc. But being that my HD-DVD collection sits at 5 movies, I'm definitely taking caution during this format war. But my gut is telling me HD-DVD is starting to lose.
Timezones @ Apr 3rd 2007 12:56PM
I've been on the fence with the combo discs for awhile. I'm always taking DVD's with me to work to watch during my lunch break (but have no HD-DVD drive on my work cpu of course) so the option of having both HD and SD versions is a nice convenience. BUT...if it does in fact run up the price of discs by a few dollars, I'd rather just have my HD-DVD disc for my home theatre and save some money.
I guess making new technology "backwards-proof" might not be sending out the right message anyway. Anything to get the prices is good in my book.
habbib @ Apr 3rd 2007 6:36PM
I too own about 9 hd dvd`s and have stopped buying! I think hd dvd is dying and they just wont admit it. the only reason universal is supporting hd dvd is because thier gaurenteed a sale! lets face it, it`s all about money, and when universal see`s that people quit buying hd dvd and switch to blu ray, they too will produce blu ray--- JUST WAIT!! I say - quit buying hd dvd and just get blu ray.
hmurchison @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:25PM
Universal is making the logical choice. For old movies that have been on DVD forever it makes little sense to deliver a combo disc. For new movies though it totally makes sense.
People complain about the price but if you look at Fox and Lionsgate movies they're 27 bucks on Amazon and you don't shat. No extras or DVD playback.
I'm buying a DVD based NAV system and I like the idea of having support for DVD on new titles.
Kevin Murphy @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:37PM
It was one of those ideas that looks good on paper but doesn't make sense in the marketplace. Lower price for all trumps added versatility for a few. Especially when you're fighting a war based on your lower price, and your disks cost more.
Added to that, my wife finds them confusing -- the HD DVD player will play either side, and it's not clear to her which is which until it starts playing. I imagine she's not alone.
Kevin Murphy @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:38PM
Now, a Blu/HD DVD combo, that's interesting as it offers purchase protection.
TJ @ Apr 3rd 2007 6:11PM
I don't like the combo discs. If I was still buying HD DVDs, I'd welcome this move.
ColorGuy @ Apr 3rd 2007 7:06PM
This makes perfect sense. have you seen the price of a regular catalog DVD lately.
Most of them are UNDER $10. It may actually be cheaper to buy the HD-DVD and a DVD copy, or at least close in price.
This is why SD content will keep long ahead of HD content on any disk. It is sometimes cheaper to buy a DVD then rent it.
h0mi @ Apr 3rd 2007 9:14PM
Not to mention, while Im sure upscalers do not do as good a job as bd/hddvd, I'm sure for most people, the DVD will offer a much better value- a $80 upscaler plus DVDs that work everywhere and look great compared to a $300 player and (relatively) proprietary discs that won't work in my car setup or my friends/relatives' homes and cost more.
That's the uphill climb HDDVD and bluray have, and I don't think either format will ever sufficiently supplant DVD until DVDs are no longer made.