Sure enough, an online petition has appeared that HD DVD supporters can rally around. Click on through to read (and sign, if that's your persuasion) the petition, which puts check marks in the "cheaper" and "better tech specs" columns for HD DVD. With recent
talk about Universal and Paramount going blu, this feels seriously desperate. When we checked, 2,151 signatures were on the petition. That's 2,151 people who should both: a) own the format and b) feel that it's in danger of being abandoned by Warner, Universal and Paramount. Sorry guys, but it looks like the HD DVD group is busy talking behind
closed doors.
[Thanks, pimpdee976!]
[Image courtesy
The National Archives]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Richard @ Jan 9th 2008 8:49PM
yawn.....
HedonismBot @ Jan 10th 2008 3:23AM
There's another petition on the same site...
"Let HD-DVD Die"
http://www.petitiononline.com/HDVDeath/petition.html
Current score: Red leads Blu by 2640 to 187.
Rick wilson @ Jan 10th 2008 8:34PM
I don't think you guys understand. You click to the petition and it says something like 3000 signatures, but then if you view the signatures, only a few are FOR HD-DVD, and MANY are blu-ray fans taking over the petition! lol.
A lot of petition signers say things like "Go Blu!" and "Yay, no more format war! Blu FTW!"
Check it out!
Kevin @ Jan 9th 2008 8:59PM
As an HD-DVD owner it can't hurt to take a shot with this. It's a great format and worth saving.
John B @ Jan 10th 2008 10:33AM
Kevin,
I own an HD DVD player as well and I when it comes to the overall consumer base, I agree that it is a more affordable and overall a more consumer-friendly format. I don't see a BD adoption doing anything other than delaying HDM to the consumer until such time as BD player prices are more at the levels of HD DVD. People will instead settle for upscaling DVD players.
That said, this on-line petition is ridiculous. Even petitions that are done with truly serious intent are given no credibility because of the ridiculous and frivolous petitions out there.
Warner got *something* out of this deal. It might not have been straight dollars or something that can immediately show up on their books, but I'm convinced that they most definitely got paid off in some fashion while hiding under the guise of "customer preference". This is no better or worse that the Paramount or Disney bribes, of course; but when you have back-room deals like that going on, things like on-line petitions are given as much consideration as an ant walking up the side of the Empire State building at the 40th floor.
It's all about money, not merit. And when it comes to money, BD sells more. That's all there is to it. I would love to see BD and HD DVD equally as they both have their pluses and minuses. I've heard that BD players *can* read HD DVDs with some firmware changes. I think that dual-players would not be as difficult as it seems. But on-line petitions don't make money for the studios, so they're going to give it the same amount of credibility -- zero.
MasterCKO @ Jan 10th 2008 6:12PM
@John B:
Yeah, Warner got something, like more guaranteed revenue sooner by picking the format that was already making them more money.
Also (unrelated), I like how the petition says that it's trying to show that the "consumer hasn't 'clearly' chosen Blu-Ray" or some such (emphasis mine). I find that funny, since media sales have consistently been in favor of Blu-Ray in basically every market where this war existed for all of last year. I guess they forgot that in business, consumers' money talks, not digital "signatures" on a web page. (which I guess you said near the end of your comment)
John B @ Jan 11th 2008 12:17PM
Why? He's RIGHT! The consumer DIDN'T choose! Exclusive deals in offices and promises of financial bribes are what made the choice. Once exclusivity was locked in, the customer DIDN'T have a choice of choosing the preferred format.
We'll never know now, but only if all studios were format-neutral would we truly know which format was "customer choice".
ZeroTech @ Jan 9th 2008 9:01PM
The weekend Best Buy ad posted on Slickdeals shows NO sign of HD-DVD. Did they choose a side?
Mr Stevo @ Jan 9th 2008 10:23PM
No, it's there. Page 8. Although I'm a big Blu supporter, I hope retailers are not pushing HD-DVD to the uninformed just so they can get rid of their inventory.
ceilingfanboy @ Jan 9th 2008 10:55PM
Even if this were true, the ad was probably actually printed before Best Buy knew anything about Warner switching.
mark @ Jan 10th 2008 11:16AM
no the ads are printed and made up a month earlier than the release... there is NO corporate letters or memos going to ANY employee at any store (i work there) about what format to sell.. the only talk is in the corporate water cooler where all best buy home theater employees are split half and half on which to support...
all retailers put items that they get credit for on sale. if toshiba gives them a $100 credit they will put that item on sale for $100 less... thats all
TigerShark @ Jan 9th 2008 9:02PM
Please give up, stop crying over spilled milk. Just let one format win and this will cause less confusion. You guys should have more integrity, you choose the wrong format and that was your fault. I want the war to end.
genaldar @ Jan 9th 2008 11:11PM
You act like there was a right format. Blu had higher capacity, while red had interactivity, plus a spec designed to allow software upgrades. Plus red is (was?) cheaper to roll out.
Prey521 @ Jan 10th 2008 1:35AM
You're an idiot....as if there was a wrong side to choose. Either way you pick, it was a 50/50 shot, nothing wrong about that.
h0mi @ Jan 10th 2008 1:53AM
Integrity? This wasnt a "bet" that was lost.
JimC @ Jan 9th 2008 9:06PM
Can we start a petition to let HDDVD die? I'll sign that one....
mj @ Jan 10th 2008 7:47AM
I'll sign petition to let HD-DVD die as it is in no ones interest to keep dragging this thing forever. Yes porn industry is always there for HD-DVD and they can stay there.
TigerShark @ Jan 9th 2008 9:23PM
Count me in.
Kiwi616 @ Jan 10th 2008 12:32AM
3rd Signature here.
DEEZNUTZ @ Jan 9th 2008 9:15PM
Petition to Keep HD-DVD on Life Support and alive as a Vegetable Format:
1. TRUTH TELLER
2. NFINITY
3. BILL GATES
Dave @ Jan 9th 2008 9:19PM
LOLOLOLO HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHA That was awesome aaaaahahahahahahahhahahaha :D :D :D
I can feel the tears :)
Dave @ Jan 9th 2008 9:20PM
AAAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHA that was awesome ! :D :D :D
DEEZNUTZ @ Jan 9th 2008 9:56PM
4. ZARGON
Dave @ Jan 9th 2008 9:21PM
No really you made my day :D LOLOLOL
JayHDDVD @ Jan 9th 2008 9:21PM
I will sign a death petition too and I own HD DVD stuff. It's over. Move on already.
DeadPlasmaCell @ Jan 9th 2008 9:27PM
Yea.. it's over, it's time to move on and hopefully Toshiba will bring something to the Blu-Ray side of things.. no reason why they can't work together now. Still keeping my HD-DVD stuff though.
Reapman @ Jan 9th 2008 9:40PM
Sorry but just no... let the format die like it should and we can move on in a slightly less confusing HD world for the masses. If Blu was in this bad shape I'd want it to die too. Let it go out with Dignity.
zargon @ Jan 9th 2008 9:57PM
Get over it, move on. The dominos are falling, HD-DVD could not seal the deal with Warner and the unnamed studio for the two studio swing, it is over and only a matter of time before Paramount and Universal go neutral or switch. Start saving those pennies, may I suggest the Panasonic BD30 or the soon to be released BD50 (one of the only BD players worth owning and feature wise, finally not a step backwards from HD-DVD).
That and on-line petition are worthless and rarely work, there are much better things to do with your time... like watching paint dry.
DEEZNUTZ @ Jan 9th 2008 10:52PM
Yeah, we all believe your FUD about Warner and this made-up "unnamed" studio almost going HD-DVD. May I suggest you STFU and not suggest which Blu player folks should get... you're hardly the expert.
zargon @ Jan 9th 2008 11:08PM
Just wait and see, the details on what transpired will be out shortly.
Now what don't you go crawl back under the rock you came from. That is unless you have something intelligent and worthwhile to say, which you don't since you are just a blind sheep.
DEEZNUTZ @ Jan 10th 2008 2:03AM
Whatever makes you feel important, hypocrite.
theefman @ Jan 9th 2008 10:18PM
As an HD DVD supporter I would never sign such a petition. Why resort to begging? Have some dignity and self-respect, High definition optical media is not worth all this hassle.
jonathon burdine @ Jan 9th 2008 10:28PM
yea it is... hd-dvd is the better format for customers...
i hate blu ray nothing about blu ray is better then hd-dvd... and do not say space, becuz space has no matter in movie quality... and if you say it does sony has their d**k up ur a**...
how much space does a two hour movie need...
the best choice for customers in hd-dvd...
and i have a ps3 as well, just for blu ray... so i get to see which one is actually better... and clearly its hd-dvd...
DEEZNUTZ @ Jan 9th 2008 10:39PM
"how much space does a two hour movie need..."
Ask Paramount after not being able to add lossless audio to TRANSFORMERS.
Mr Stevo @ Jan 9th 2008 10:53PM
"and do not say space, becuz space has no matter in movie quality."
Are you sure about that???
There's a whole world of people willing to prove you wrong on that one. The more space you have on the media (disc) the less compression you apply, the better the video quality. And, the more additional content you can add. Remember, there's always room for improvement. In everything.
eugene @ Jan 9th 2008 11:50PM
Yup.. all that extra space really helped on PotC: DMC... crap artifact filled transfer on what was that? 2 DISCS.
Sam Winter @ Jan 10th 2008 6:03AM
You are an idiot. I can't believe that HD-DVD morons are suggesting that HD-DVD is technically superior. Blu-ray has a much greater audio+video bitrate of 48mbps versus HD-DVD's 30mbps.
This fact, coupled with the 25GB per layer allow a movie encode with a DRASTICALLY HIGHER bitrate than HD-DVD. Bitrate of compressed video is DIRECTLY connected to quality of the picture.
Not to mention that HD-DVD runs on an old Intel CELERON processor! HA that's pathetic! Blu-ray is slightly more expensive (and only for a short time) because it's players use quality DSP's and other components! As for the PS3, I'll take a CELL chip anyday over a CEL-ERON. lol
h4idol sucks @ Jan 10th 2008 9:29AM
Actually Sam, your an idiot. The reason the bitrates are sooooo much higher on bluray, is because they use crappy mpeg2 encoding. HDDVD uses vc1 encoding which is vastly superior to mpeg2.
So yes, the bitrates are higher, but they have to be that much higher to keep up.
Just makes me wonder sometimes how a non finished format won this war.
john @ Jan 10th 2008 11:09AM
Umm, no. HD-DVD and Blu-ray both use the same CODECs: VC1 and AVC.
jonathon burdine @ Jan 9th 2008 10:49PM
well ur wrong i have mine set to 7.1 lossless audio...
so what were u just saying... internet updates...
Shockgamer @ Jan 9th 2008 10:50PM
I haven't shamelessly trolled anything a long time. It's good to get a brief outlet. :)
So glad I sat on the fence.
MI @ Jan 9th 2008 10:52PM
Or you could try this one:
http://www.petitiononline.com/HDVDeath/petition.html
will @ Jan 9th 2008 10:53PM
i just came in from best buy while i was there i saw NFINITY AND TRUTH TELLER tryin to return there hd dvd players and the customer service rep had to call store security and the police because they were the only two girls with hd dvd merchandise.
LOL............
from the way NFINITY AND TRUTH TELLER was talkin u would think they worked for toshiba.were are they
DEEZNUTZ @ Jan 9th 2008 10:54PM
Just stirrin' the pot on you! Transformers sounds great.
jonathon burdine @ Jan 9th 2008 10:59PM
yes transformers does sound great agreed!!!
will @ Jan 9th 2008 11:02PM
blu-ray is the winner sounds even greater
morpheus73 @ Jan 9th 2008 11:03PM
Just signed the death petition....c'mon boys....sign up!
Sowman @ Jan 9th 2008 11:05PM
Hahahaha....There's nothing they can do. Die HD-DVD Die!!!!
will @ Jan 9th 2008 11:11PM
this just in at 10:15pm hd std was pronounced dead.it is survived by its'mother NFINITY and father TRUTH TELLER.
morpheus73 @ Jan 9th 2008 11:15PM
To show how little Microsoft truly cares about HD-DVD:
from USA Today Interview with Bill Gates:
"Q: Warner's announcement backing Blu-ray high-definition DVDs suggests the death of the HD DVD format, which Microsoft has supported. What's your reaction?
A: There has been a lot of back and forth. The announcement before that was Paramount putting exclusive support behind HD DVD. HD DVD did well over the holidays. The other trend we're seeing is that direct download over broadband I think the greatest example of that is XBox Live (is) becoming an important choice. Over time, that will be the dominant way that people get their movies."
Then a quote from a Microsoft exec at nextgen.biz:
"The fate of HD-DVD is not critical to the success of the Xbox 360, according to senior Microsoft officials, who have noted that the company would consider supporting rival technology Blu-ray if it were victorious in the high-definition format war."