Although it's all water under the bridge now, we still find it interesting that Viacom's recent earnings statement confirmed that Paramount received compensation for dumping Blu-ray. But contrary to the New York Times article, Variety is reporting that it was only $29 Million, instead of $150 Million. This is of course only cash, and it is still entirely possible that the other $121 Million included future revenues that didn't materialize once things fell apart, but we have a hard time believing Paramount received that much in promotional services or free replication. And while the Warner payoff rumors weren't from a source as sound as the NYT, we'll still be keeping an eye on revenue statements from Engadget and Warner's shared parent company all the same.

[Via Format War Central]

While Toshiba still hasn't announced any new HD moves since withdrawing from the format war earlier this year, its Brazilian arm may be moving on with a hybrid HTPC. Powered by a Core Duo 6300 and Vista Home Premium, Semp Toshiba's Spectra packs a TV tuner and an optical drive ready for Blu-ray and HD DVD and should be available later this month. Society Eletromercantil Paulista merged with Toshiba in 1977 and has operated as Semp Toshiba in Brazil ever since, but it might be working a little more independently of its parent company than usual on this project, unless there are more Toshiba-branded Blu-ray products on the way. We'll keep this one on rumor status pending a more official announcement (or a significant improvement in our Portuguese skills.) Check out another image after the break.

Blu-ray still has a lot of convincing to do before ABI believes it's the future, mostly because of upconverting DVD players. According to the analyst's figures, while 35% of DVD players sold today (that low?) upconvert, 60% will by 2013 (again, that low?). The state of Blu-ray hardware going forward isn't to their liking either, with principal analyst Steve Wilson stating "studios better hope that people are playing movies on their Playstations. Otherwise there's very little installed base." With PS3s accounting for 85% of Blu-ray players in 2008, ABI doesn't see things evening out until 2013, with high prices for dedicated players keeping sales volume lower than studios would like. Of course, ABI also saw combo drives as the next big thing in 2012, so we wouldn't return all of our high def discs just yet.

The Q1 results for Blu-ray are in, and look very encouraging for the format: a 351-percent increase over Q1 2007. Obviously, the end of the format war is the biggest contributor, for studios and consumers alike. The real question is whether there's enough Blu momentum and mindshare for Q1 2008 to mark the magical "inflection point" we heard about at the CES BDA press conference. Sony certainly hopes so, and we hope HD media takes off among the general public, too. But darn those pesky recent VideoScan numbers that underscore the fragility of Blu-ray sales. Our suggestion (and plea) to studios: adopt a "build it, and they will come" approach by cranking out the Blu-ray titles to fuel demand.

We won't have to wait long to find out Universal's plans for Blu-ray, Reuters just noted that later today the studio will announce plans to release about 40 movies on the format in the second half of the year, including Doomsday. The only studio to support solely HD DVD from the beginning will come out with all three of its Mummy films: The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, and The Scorpion King July 22 (sounds like someone's bitter about HD DVD and taking it out on Blu-ray owners to us), with catalog releases jumping over from red like Miami Vice, Knocked Up, American Gangster and others before the year is out. Keep an eye out for specifics later on, like whether those U-Control and community features from the HD DVD versions will make the jump intact

Whoa there, partner. Anxious to pull the trigger on that upgrade to PowerDVD 8? If you plan on playing back any HD DVDs with it in the future, we'd politely recommend you didn't. Apparently CyberLink saw fit to remove HD DVD compatibility altogether from its latest version of PowerDVD, leaving v7.3 as the last remaining edition that played nice with red. Thankfully, the company has emailed out a statement to those questioning the move and assured us all that both v7.3 and v8.0 can be installed on a computer at the same time without issue, so at least all hope isn't lost. A lot can change in 16 months, huh?

[Thanks, Ryan]

Alleviating worries that mere format war irrelevance had gotten our friends in the VMD camp down, a statement was issued today regarding stories "emerging" on the internets alleging EU officials had confiscated money from Microsoft and/or Sony, and given to NME to subsidize its fledgling red laser HD disc (Hadn't heard about it? Neither did we.) NME, the backers of HD VMD, would like everyone to know that not only is that completely false, it also did not have sex with Brad at Cabo San Lucas, as had been reported. With that rumor smashed we can go back to eagerly anticipating our pre-ordered Lazy Town HD VMDs, just 499,999 more to go!

More good news for those left on the short end of the format war, Wal-Mart has quietly decided to offer refunds for anyone who purchased their HD DVD player between November 1, 2007 and now. You won't need the box it came in, but the receipt will be necessary, and get moving because this offer is only open until the 30th. A $50 gift card just 'cause this isn't, but for those looking to erase a red moment in their lives, Wal-mart's doors are open.

[Thanks, Tavaris]


Read - Wall Street Journal
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If you're suddenly overcome with a feeling akin to déjà vu, go ahead and kill that speed dial to your physician. For the second time in a month, Microsoft has actually come forward to squash a Blu-ray Xbox 360 rumor. This go 'round, an alleged statement from Redmond states quite outrightly that "Lite-On is not manufacturing Blu-ray drives for Xbox 360," and it continues on by noting that "customers who want a premium movie experience [can check out the] library of on-demand HD content" available to console owners. Still, we've grown accustomed to these denials by now, and while you'd think that having a pair of rumors on the matter smashed would put the issue to rest, we've all ideas this one isn't quite dead and buried just yet.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Well, it's no surprise that it was going to happen, but the HD DVD Promotion Group officially dissolved today, leaving behind nothing but this terse message on its website, directing us to "individual selling agencies." And so, with literally nothing left of HD DVD, we formally close the sad chapter of consumer electronics history known as the HD Format War, remembering those times when HD DVD rode high, with low prices, more features and less restrictive rights management as its rallying cry, and the rantings of Michael Bay still only the delusional fantasies of a fool. May the resistance live on, and our PS3s always be reminded of a time when their ascension was not guaranteed. Red's dead, baby.

There's no doubt that many movie lovers were waiting until the format war came to some sort of conclusion before choosing a side, and now that Blu-ray has emerged victorious, it seems as if some analysts are fairly bullish on adoption rates. According to new research from Strategy Analytics, the end of the war will "propel [BD] into 29.4 million homes worldwide by the end of 2008." Also of note, it reckons that Sony's PS3 will "drive the Blu-ray market until 2009, after which standalone players will become the dominant segment." Of course, a study couldn't come out without some mention of 2012, so you can reportedly look forward to seeing 132 million BD-equipped homes in just four years. Now, the only question is when will BD players overtake DVD?

So what's your remnant of a format war gone by worth? Best Buy has updated its Trade-In Center website with prices for HD DVD players and movies, and quite frankly you're probably better off just keeping it. Prices for players are highest for combo players, like the BH-200 ($285*) and BD-UP5000 ($255), then for players equipped with high end scalers for DVD upconverting like the HD-XA2 ($165) then everything else like the Xbox 360 add-on ($21) or HD-A3 ($36). Movies (along with a player, not by themselves) net less than $3 each. Of course, there's always value in a fresh start so go ahead and check it out for yourself.

*All prices assume excellent condition with all cables & manuals

We've already dished out our suggestions for what to do with your HD DVD player now that the format war is over, but if you decide to retire it to a better place, what other formats will it meet in that digital cemetery in the sky? A comedic (albeit nostalgic) piece over at Popular Mechanics takes a look at the top ten now-defunct video formats Toshiba's high-def medium will congregate with, and while you may not be familiar with them all (Capacitance Electronic Discs and TeD, anyone?), it's a great look back at what could have been. Rest in peace, HD DVD -- you're in great company (so to speak).

Things have been quiet in the ex-Red camp recently, and James from FWC brings up a good point, what's the deal with Paramount and Universal? Although it's too early to get concerned, it is only three weeks until the Oscar Winning, There Will Be Blood is set to be released on DVD. The Hollywood Reporter did say it expected both studios to release titles by late spring/early summer, but April 8th is more like mid-spring. The other title we'd miss is Cloverfield, which is due to release on April 22nd. We can kinda understand it taking Universal a little while to get up to speed on Blu-ray, but certainly Paramount hasn't forgotten how to make Blu-ray Discs between now and last August.

Yeah, we've seen some retail mix-ups before, but this one really leaves us scratching our heads. We know -- it can take some time before word trickles down and stores start slashing prices once a major high-definition movie format kicks the bucket, but a full month after we sadly let HD DVD go, this particular Office Depot -- located in Houston, Texas -- still hasn't come to terms with reality. And yes, this was snapped within the last 24 hours.

[Thanks, Thomas]