It is exactly this, titles being released, that will determine which format wins. Like I have said before, compare the bluray releases each week with HDDVD and really search your soul, and ask "which format will win each week in sales?" Then ask yourself if all the cheap players in world matter if the titles people buy most are not available for your cheap players....
If Transformers couldn't win a week for HDDVD and if Shrek the Turd doesn't pull it out, what rationale person could say that HDDVD has any chance in the remaining weeks of Q4 to win any week?
By the way, why is Hairspray a bluray only release? I couldn't care less about the movie itself but the fact that Newline (i.e. Lord of the Rings) is releasing a title for bluray only (at least for now) is curious...
"If Transformers couldn't win a week for HDDVD and if Shrek the Turd doesn't pull it out, what rationale person could say that HDDVD has any chance in the remaining weeks of Q4 to win any week?"
Transformers did win the week in revenue -- it was 50/50, and would've been 66/33 in favor of HD DVD if Sony didn't make all of their movies BOGO that week. Maybe a good business strategy just to keep the talking point alive, but it was cheating in a sense. More people PAID for their HD DVD movies (and paid $27 or more, I might add) than BD that week.
Plus, with the big releases on BD (Ratt,etc), BD isn't pulling away any. Stalemate.
As for the New Line question -- it's not on HD DVD because the format is region free and the movie is still being shown overseas. They don't want people to buy the movie here and ship it overseas.
And as was mentioned -- HD DVD still has more available movies to watch in the States when counting BD exclusives that can be purchased from amazon.co.uk, amazon.fr, etc. Ben just thinks it's difficult to go anywhere but .com ;) Heck, there's even a site in Ohio that lets you buy imports without worrying about currency conversion. :)
Has to do with distribution rights. Due to region coding (lack of) on HD-DVD, there are markets where it's still in theaters, so releasing the HD-DVD worldwide would undermine those theater owners.
IMO I'd prefer they delay the disc releases entirely until it's made its worldwide theater run. I've loathed region coding because it's relatively trivial to circumvent it- either buy players outside of your region or disable it (if possible) in your player. Seems like a boon to hardware sellers, not software or consumers.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
JimC @ Nov 19th 2007 11:22AM
It is exactly this, titles being released, that will determine which format wins. Like I have said before, compare the bluray releases each week with HDDVD and really search your soul, and ask "which format will win each week in sales?" Then ask yourself if all the cheap players in world matter if the titles people buy most are not available for your cheap players....
If Transformers couldn't win a week for HDDVD and if Shrek the Turd doesn't pull it out, what rationale person could say that HDDVD has any chance in the remaining weeks of Q4 to win any week?
By the way, why is Hairspray a bluray only release? I couldn't care less about the movie itself but the fact that Newline (i.e. Lord of the Rings) is releasing a title for bluray only (at least for now) is curious...
Xyzzy @ Nov 19th 2007 12:15PM
I know you're trolling, but I'll feed:
"If Transformers couldn't win a week for HDDVD and if Shrek the Turd doesn't pull it out, what rationale person could say that HDDVD has any chance in the remaining weeks of Q4 to win any week?"
Transformers did win the week in revenue -- it was 50/50, and would've been 66/33 in favor of HD DVD if Sony didn't make all of their movies BOGO that week. Maybe a good business strategy just to keep the talking point alive, but it was cheating in a sense. More people PAID for their HD DVD movies (and paid $27 or more, I might add) than BD that week.
Plus, with the big releases on BD (Ratt,etc), BD isn't pulling away any. Stalemate.
As for the New Line question -- it's not on HD DVD because the format is region free and the movie is still being shown overseas. They don't want people to buy the movie here and ship it overseas.
And as was mentioned -- HD DVD still has more available movies to watch in the States when counting BD exclusives that can be purchased from amazon.co.uk, amazon.fr, etc. Ben just thinks it's difficult to go anywhere but .com ;) Heck, there's even a site in Ohio that lets you buy imports without worrying about currency conversion. :)
h0mi @ Nov 19th 2007 12:36PM
Has to do with distribution rights. Due to region coding (lack of) on HD-DVD, there are markets where it's still in theaters, so releasing the HD-DVD worldwide would undermine those theater owners.
IMO I'd prefer they delay the disc releases entirely until it's made its worldwide theater run. I've loathed region coding because it's relatively trivial to circumvent it- either buy players outside of your region or disable it (if possible) in your player. Seems like a boon to hardware sellers, not software or consumers.