Paramount following Warner out the HD DVD door?
by Richard Lawler 
posted Jan 7th 2008 at 10:29PM
The Financial Times is reporting that Paramount is preparing to use a get out clause in its HD DVD exclusivity deal, and go back to Blu-ray, about 4 months after ending its dual-format release schedule. The move would be a result of Warner's switch to Blu-ray, using a "get out" clause in Paramount's promotional agreement with the HD DVD camp. No details on what it might take to rip up the contract and make Michael Bay very, very happy, but if the rumor proves true this could make the slow death he predicted for HD DVD a very, very fast one.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Vanguard @ Jan 7th 2008 10:45PM
Wow.
If this is true, that was fast.
Here's the article:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/dc409afa-bd75-11dc-b7e6-0000779fd2ac.html
Vanguard.
Evan @ Jan 7th 2008 11:40PM
I hope they just get this dismantling over with. My buckeyes are getting pounded and HD DVD died this week too. I can't take much more.
At least Obama won!
Evan @ Jan 7th 2008 11:40PM
I hope they just get this dismantling over with. My buckeyes are getting pounded and HD DVD died this week too. I can't take much more.
At least Obama won!
Evan @ Jan 7th 2008 11:48PM
I hope they just get this dismantling over with. My buckeyes are getting pounded and HD DVD died this week too. I can't take much more.
At least Obama won!
Evan @ Jan 8th 2008 12:00AM
P.S. sorry for the double, triple or whatever the hell many posts ended showing up. I swear I only clicked the button once :)
Vanguard @ Jan 8th 2008 12:22AM
Evan,
No problem.
I've had a few weird blog surprises too.
...duplication, formatting, etc.
Dave @ Jan 7th 2008 10:45PM
Well, I guess it's over. I'll keep watching my existing HD DVD movies and renting until a sub-$300 Profile 2.0 Blu-Ray player is available. I hope I don't have too long to wait--but I probably do.
Adam @ Jan 8th 2008 6:13AM
Seriously, your best bet is to get the PS3 as a stand alone player. That's what I ended up doing this weekend. Sony announced a firmware upgrade that would make it 2.0 (BD-Live) compliant. Bought a Nyko Blu Wave usb adapater so that I can control the PS3 with my current Logitech Harmony remote. It's the best option right now if you are looking to dive into Blu-Ray.
rg23 @ Jan 8th 2008 11:04AM
I agree with Dave.
Even if blu-ray wins in the next couple of months, I will not buy a blu-ray player until a profile 2.0 player is released. It must have DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD so don't recommend a PS3. I also do not like "two in one" game system and movie player together.
will @ Jan 7th 2008 10:51PM
damn am unhooking my hd dvd playerfrom my tv and packing it back up.and i just bought an blu-ray player in november damn.
Sean @ Jan 7th 2008 10:49PM
Its over. Universal is next. Transformers wont be anything special on Blu Ray. No LPCM or TrueHD, only DD 5.1. Ill believe it when I see it.
EQC @ Jan 8th 2008 1:10AM
At first, I thought you were an HD-DVD fanboy mistakenly complaining about a lack of codec support by BluRay. Then I looked it up and discovered that the Transformers HD-DVD has only DD+ audio.
I have no idea how discernible the newer/lossless audio codecs are...but for Transformers being such a blockbuster, I would have expected them to go all out with the HD-DVD and give it the best audio possible...
Michael @ Jan 8th 2008 2:06AM
@EQC (sp?)
Anyway, Transformers, despite having "lower quality" audio, apparently sounds amazing.
http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/1110/transformers.html
It was even voted an "honorable mention" in the Best Audio category on that same site.
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/2007_Year_in_Review/Best_(and_Worst)_High-Def_Discs_of_2007:_Kenneth_Brown/1300
And I vaugely remember SOMEONE (thought it was Engadget, but I guess not) voting it number 1 HD DVD for audio in 2007. Oh well.
Adam @ Jan 8th 2008 6:14AM
Transformers also won best audio for hi-def discs, even if it wasn't lossless. It's all about the encoding.
MI @ Jan 8th 2008 10:59AM
True, I'm not fan of HDVD, but the disc apparently sounded phenomenal. DD is nothing to scoff at if you put some effort into the encoding.
will @ Jan 7th 2008 10:56PM
it's over am glad i gotta blu ray player am either gonna pack my hd dvd player back in the box,give it away or sell it.it's a done deal universal is next
Sean @ Jan 7th 2008 11:04PM
Either sale your player or keep it. Keep the movies and later on in time, convert the HD-DVD movies to Blu Ray compatible and burn them onto BD-25's once they go mainstream and become cheap.
digason @ Jan 7th 2008 11:06PM
Bitter much?
Mote @ Jan 7th 2008 11:08PM
Wow, red ant until the bitter end, huh?
MidnightDT @ Jan 7th 2008 11:09PM
this is BS. Paramount has already stated they intend to continue support for HD DVD.
This site doesnt mention that, and instead mentions these unfounded blu sponsored rumors.
what is happening to engagdget? it is becoming a blu fanboy arena
Spiza @ Jan 7th 2008 11:16PM
Hmmm, just like Warner said it would continue supporting both fomrats? They could just be going back to neutral.
Temple @ Jan 7th 2008 11:25PM
The Financial Times is a VERY respectable source. They are the British equivalent of the Wall Street Journal (except older). They are not some two-bit website, and they are not going to be messing around with their 120-year history with a fake story relevant only to fanboys.
Paramount likely isn't ready to make an announcement just yet. But there are likely some serious talks happening at Paramount to adjust themselves to current market conditions.
EEL @ Jan 8th 2008 12:17AM
@ MidnightDT
Engadget is owned by Time Warner. Granted, it doesn't explain the Blu fanboiz and trolls but at least you know THIS is their new home.
Despite my sarcasm, I do feel your pain. I'm trying to cope myself.
KMC @ Jan 7th 2008 11:14PM
"his is BS. Paramount has already stated they intend to continue support for HD DVD.
This site doesnt mention that, and instead mentions these unfounded blu sponsored rumors.
what is happening to engagdget? it is becoming a blu fanboy arena"
Obviously, the Warner Bros. backing Blu-Ray exclusively had merit when they reported the rumor last year, so I wouldn't write this one off that quickly either. Who's really being the fanboy here?
zargon @ Jan 8th 2008 8:11AM
Actually the Warner switch to Blu-ray was an 11th hour choice when the another studio backed switching to HD-DVD. Warner wanted someone to go with them, but it didn't happen. A two studio swing could have happened in favor of HD-DVD, but Blu-ray got lucky.
Warner was just looking to end the war, when they could do it with HD-DVD, they did it with Blu-ray.
Blu-ray fanatics and especially zealots need to stop gloating and start counting their blessings.
I am sad that it looks like HD-DVD lost this war, I would have done almost anything for Sony to get egg on their face due to how they have handled theirselves as a whole and with this format war... but I am ready to move on. Plus it looks like BD finally have some standalone Blu-ray players to own, the Panasonic BD30 or better yet the recently annouced BD50.
TigerShark @ Jan 7th 2008 11:19PM
"UPDATE: We have received word from Paramount/DreamWorks that although they continue to support HD DVD, they will not be making any new high-def title announcements at CES 2008."
http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/news/show/DreamWorks/Paramount/CES_2008/Paramount/DreamWorks:__Still_Supporting_HD_DVD_[UPDATED]/1345
Format Neutral @ Jan 7th 2008 11:21PM
Yeah, and WB said the same thing, and how did that work out for you.
This format war is going to be over by the end of CES as both Paramount and Universal try not to be the last one holding the hot potato.
haveacoke @ Jan 7th 2008 11:21PM
Paramount already stated it would stick with HD DVD. Although if they are like Warner they could change their mind by friday just about when HD DVD group is ready to make a break through statement.
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/DreamWorks/Paramount/CES_2008/Paramount/DreamWorks:__Still_Supporting_HD_DVD_[UPDATED]/1345
iB3nji @ Jan 7th 2008 11:49PM
_Yes but then there is this: "UPDATE: We have received word from Paramount/DreamWorks that although they continue to support HD DVD, they will not be making any new high-def title announcements at CES 2008."
http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/news/show/DreamWorks/Paramount/CES_2008/Paramount/DreamWorks:__Still_Supporting_HD_DVD_%5BUPDATED%5D/1345
Nibehlung @ Jan 7th 2008 11:23PM
Oooh, this grape is sour.
Seth A @ Jan 7th 2008 11:30PM
Them going format neutral isn't any less disastrous for HD DVD than them going Blu exclusive. With either one of those, Blu holds every HD movie on the market, why would anybody go red then? I am naturally optimistic, and I will believe in Red until Toshiba calls it quits, but... lol. Things aren't looking good.
EEL @ Jan 8th 2008 12:01AM
@ Seth A
Sorry but even though I chose Red, I can't be as optimistic as you. It's pretty much over now and only a matter of time (probably within the next 2 fiscal quarters) before the remaining studio support in the U.S. jump ship. I'm with Dave on waiting for an affordable Profile 2.0 player, preferably under $200, simply because there isn't a Blu player available yet that matches price and functionality of even the first gen HDDVD players!
(On a side note, I'm more pissed that I pre-ordered the "Blade Runner" Ultimate Box set for HDDVD (since BR has pretty much won) in advance than the $300-400 that I spent to have a Red player and films in the first place. Plus, I'm very happy that all the Blu trolling will come to an end very soon!)
Seth A @ Jan 8th 2008 12:35AM
Yeah, not saying I like it, its one of those problems of mine. Lol. I did buy myself a PS3, so I don't feel too bad, also, I needed a good upconverting DVD player.
Devils Advocate @ Jan 7th 2008 11:50PM
I wonder what happened to Nfinity? I guess some people just cant face the music
Spiza @ Jan 8th 2008 12:33AM
"The thing is that all these blu-tool kiddies will just disappear and play dumb when this starts happening like little bitches not knowing what damage they've done with their ignorance and stupidity."
http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/01/03/the-countdown-to-ces-begins/comments/9628330/
Spiza @ Jan 8th 2008 12:34AM
"The thing is that all these blu-tool kiddies will just disappear and play dumb when this starts happening like little bitches not knowing what damage they've done with their ignorance and stupidity."
http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/01/03/the-countdown-to-ces-begins/comments/9628330/
Spiza @ Jan 8th 2008 12:35AM
Ah, my first double post, first time hitting the button went to black page, and refresh showed no post.
jango fett @ Jan 8th 2008 2:14AM
he probably changed his name to avoid the embarrassment...hahahahahaha
Steve @ Jan 8th 2008 10:53AM
He's still around, just laying pretty low though. Not much left for him to say...
http://www.blogsmith.com/profile/850318/
Finityman @ Jan 8th 2008 12:44PM
How pathetic.
misterhearn @ Jan 7th 2008 11:55PM
Well I dont have a legal degree so I wont sit here and act like I know what agreement the HD DVD camp and Paramount have with each other, if they leave, they leave, we'll see what happens. If the 150 million rumor was true, I doubt they can.
As for if they dont HD DVD could probably tough things out and drag this thing on if their two remaining studios stick with them, how much will it cost? Who knows? I wonder if any of the standing studios mainly Universal has beef with the BDA and thats why they never budged?
I know if Blu Ray does officially win you can kiss the thought of cheap hardware in the near future behind and as for a profile 2.0 yeah maybe in 09. This is what happens when you have a monopoly, you can do what you want, all the BR BOGOs kiss 'um goodbye.
Paramount & Universal sticking around is HD's Obi Wan Kenobi, their only HOPE.
Hansol Choi @ Jan 8th 2008 12:58AM
Alhtough Blu will be the only format, there technically won't be a monopoly. You'll still see other blu manufacturers competing against each other which in turn will drive lower prices. What you won't see is heavily subsidized players because the priority of winning the format war won't exist anymore.
EQC @ Jan 8th 2008 1:17AM
to truly "win" for mainstream consumers, BluRay still has to beat DVD. That's motivation to continue lowering prices.
Also, DVD was a single format. It got cheap pretty fast to kill off VHS. Why would BluRay be any different?
Geoff @ Jan 8th 2008 10:14AM
I don't agree with the position that you won't see cheaper Blu-Ray players if the Format War is over. I think you will see prices go down but just at a less precipitous rate then we are (now) used to. I think you will prices go down for one reason: Competition among Blu-Ray producing CE Companies. Look at DVD (or really any technology). Player prices dropped considerably from generation to generation because of competition among CE companies. Already there are Blu-Ray players announced with a MFRP of $349 -- within months that will be under $300.
HD-DVD players became cheaper to fight off blu-ray -- not because Toshiba cared for the public affording HDM. If there was no Blu-Ray I would wager that you would not see any HD-DVD player for less than $300. Toshiba has had no other significant competition within HD-DVD building hardware. Sony has had many "partners" who are competitors. Sony, with the PS3, has sold the most blu-ray players hands down. But if looking only at stand alone sales of Blu-ray players there is more equinimity between brands (and will be even more with one format for HD Media). If (or when) Toshiba abandons HD-DVD they will compete for a slice of the pie. All these companies will use different tactics to make consumers choose their product -- and one of these tactics will undoubtedly be price.
Also CE manufacturers (and studios) now have an incentive with one format that before 2007 they didn't have -- shrinking DVD sales. For CE Manufacturers most of the profit from DVD players has already shrunk (because most people have them). For studios they need to inject life into a home video market that saw the first decline in annual DVD sales since the launch of the DVD format. Both studios and tech companies are looking to each other to create new revenue streams. So I think you may see a full on "attack" on DVD from these companies now that there is one format. DVD won't go away. Blu-Ray will not replace DVD as completely as DVD did VHS but it may create a good side business which could eventually become the larger media distribution format.
Or I could be totally wrong!
Josh @ Jan 7th 2008 11:57PM
Paramount did not in fact say they'd stay with HD-DVD exclusively, they said they'll continue to support HD-DVD. That's the writing on the wall for dual-support in the near future and imho one more nail in the coffin. Watch Universal...
DVD+RW @ Jan 7th 2008 11:56PM
It's just too little too late
A little too wrong
And I can't wait
To be real, it doesn't matter anyway (You know it's just too little too late)
kcmurphy88 @ Jan 8th 2008 12:51AM
Two things need to happen now, to get EVERYONE on the same page.
1) All the studios need to go blu. HD DVD discs in the pipeline should come out, but sometime in, oh, March, they'll be sold out and that will be it.
2) Sony & Toshiba need to come to a Intellectual property agreement that allows free or minimal patent licensing on HD DVD so that it can be a backwards-compatibility mode to the next blu-ray spec.
There is no good reason to leave HD DVD owners out in the cold, and every reason to allow legacy HD DVD discs to play. If nothing else, everyone wants HD DVD early adopters as blu-ray customers, and pissing them off for spite isn't productive. Ssince current chipsets support both standards, there's no reason not to just merge it in.
BTW: Can't blu-ray add ethernet to stand-alone players? Easy updates were the best thing about HD DVD.
Franssu @ Jan 8th 2008 1:53PM
"Sony & Toshiba need to come to a Intellectual property agreement that allows free or minimal patent licensing on HD DVD so that it can be a backwards-compatibility mode to the next blu-ray spec."
Amen to that. The key to the agreement could be Toshiba agreeing to do Blu-ray profile 3.0 (and therefore dual-format) players.
If we're lucky, a firmware update to the PS3 blu-ray player couls make it HD-DVD compatible, and if we're insanely lucky, a firmware update to the Xbox360 HD-DVD drive couls make it Blu-ray compatible. But I don't really count on it. But think at how awesome it would be :D
More seriously though, if only they dropped the mandatory requirement of AACS on Blu-ray, I would be definitely sold. Even with this annoying region lock capability. Sony must give the possibility to everyone to burn their own BD and be able to play it on every BD player. If they don't do that, the format is as braindead as D-Theater and this victory in the format war will not mean much.
kcmurphy88 @ Jan 8th 2008 3:26PM
It seems possible that the PS3 could be made HD DVD compatible, depending on the degree that software is involved (likely "all of it" given the massive uP set in the PS3). It is highly unlikely that the 360 add-on will even do blu, since blu-ray's pitch is much finer, and the hardware doesn't meet the tolerances needed.
Easier to defocus than focus better, if you will.
Jason @ Jan 8th 2008 12:52AM
As someone who really enjoyed HD DVD, come on people, it's obvious that the writing is on the wall. By this spring this is all gonna be wrapped up. At least the announcement comes early enough that many who bought players for Xmas can still return them.
We should all be happy that this stupid format war is drawing to a close and we can all get behind one format!