Quoting Unicus69:

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Quoting Ascended_Saiyan:

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We have covered this already.  Go back to my last post on this.

No, you tired...quite badly I might add...to spin this.  Keep trying though...eventually you might get somone, other than yourself, to believe it. 

         

In case anybody is watching, It'll only take a million or two to get me to change my mind.

Found this article off the web.  It looks they merged two stories into one from what i can tell.


Here is the article:


Might the tide be turning in HD-DVD's favor?

According to DVD Town, it looks like Microsoft is now willing to talk about the supposed money that changed hands between it and Paramount to support HD-DVD.

The result?

According to Microsoft this never happened.

Here's what "Kevin Collins, head of Microsoft's HD-DVD unit" now says in an official statement:

"Microsoft did not provide any financial incentives to Paramount/Dreamworks' recent decision to support HD-DVD."

Responding to other articles he read on the Home Theater Forum, he states, "This type of 'reporting' amazes me and I challenge anyone to provide proof around these statements. They are unfounded and inaccurate."

There is still no final word on what Toshiba's role is in this if any at all. However, Paramount does acknowledge that variables "like manufacturing cost, low prices on players and technology advantages" helped in their decision making process.

Also, in a story from Tech Newsworld, their opinion writer Rob Enderle sees the cost of manufacturing Blu-ray discs to be the format's eventual downfall.

However, he doesn't necessarily think that HD-DVD is going to win the format war either.

In his story he writes, "I was one of the folks who thought that Blu-ray was going to eliminate HD-DVD and by this time HD-DVD would be toast. In fact, I was one of the analysts who helped convince Time Warner to hedge its bets and go with both formats. However, this was all before I knew the cost of the Blu-ray technology, and it was based on the assumption that Sony would never be stupid enough to price itself out of the game console market, effectively giving it to Nintendo and Microsoft."

He then goes on to say, "Not only was Blu-ray too expensive, the technology wasn't as far along as Sony led us to believe. The delays not only make the PS3 too expensive; they made it late. That was effectively a one-two punch, knocking Sony out of the lead so far in the game console business. Now, Sony is dead last by a significant margin."

"So instead of the PS3 ensuring Blu-ray's success, right now it appears that Blu-ray may have effectively killed the PS3, at least in terms of market leadership. We'll have to wait until the PS4 before Sony has a chance to come back."

On the subject of neither format winning he writes that there won't be one uniform standard "until both one standard is clear and the related players drop below $200. They need both to happen or the market won't move. Currently, Blu-ray is running at more than twice the target price on players and HD-DVD is about 15 percent over target. In the case of the Xbox 360 accessory, it's actually about 15 percent under target."

"This means that if the studios have any chance this year of getting a large ramp -- and I would include Wal-Mart , Amazon and anyone else that sells HD movies -- it has to be HD-DVD. Blu-ray simply can't get there."

Lastly he goes on to write, "I think all realize, or should, time isn't unlimited either. We are already talking about what comes after HD-DVD and Blu-ray, and scalers are getting so good that increasingly many are arguing that you don't need either now. In other words, while Blu-ray can't win, in my view, there is still an excellent chance the market will simply bypass both if one doesn't ramp to high volume this year. In that instance, everyone loses."

"I think Paramount and DreamWorks saw this outcome and are trying to avoid it. While they did get an estimated $250 million incentive to move, that doesn't change the result. The studio execs likely realize if revenues don't improve, many of them may not be around by this time next year... So, as of right now, I think it is reasonably obvious Blu-ray lost. The only question is whether HD-DVD will be allowed to win; and the decision may be up to Time Warner or Disney and not Sony or Toshiba."

One might think that with consumers voting with their wallets that Blu-ray was going to easily win this format war. What is interesting, if what is written above is indeed the case, is that manufacturing costs seem to be dictating what the market will bear even though it doesn't seem that HD-DVD is 100% the format that the market wants.


On a console note, it supports my statements that I made in the past about the PS3. Of course the "support" is from an opinion, but I take it where I can get it... damn it!

here is the link to the story to fullfill the bibliography requirements.
http://www.movieweb.com/dvd/news/40/22340.php

There you go folks - want A_S to shut up?  Just takes a few million dollars!

Quoting Dr. Killpatient:

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There you go folks - want A_S to shut up?  Just takes a few million dollars!

Yep!  Everyone has there price! 

Quoting Ascended_Saiyan:

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What you are experiencing is called denial.

Hello Mr. Pot.

Quoting The Digital Bits:

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Finally today, Kevin and Amir... this one's for you: We've been doing a lot of digging into the events of last week, and have learned from reliable sources some of what went on behind the scenes. And our friends up in Microsoft's HD-DVD Evangelism office will be pleased to know that we've CONFIRMED what they've been saying in recent days: The $150 million payment to Paramount and DreamWorks didn't come from Microsoft. It apparently came from Toshiba and/or the HD-DVD camp collectively. We've been told that Microsoft was involved in the process, but they didn't cut the checks. We've also learned from sources inside the studio and elsewhere around the industry, that, despite Paramount and DreamWorks' decision, Warner remains committed to retaining their format neutral stance, and will continue to support BOTH Blu-ray and HD-DVD for the foreseeable future. So we wanted to post this, as we believe it's reliable (the most reliable information we've been able to obtain so far from independent sources) and it clarifies the situation a little bit. 'Nuff said.

Quoting pplchamp:

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Quoting The Digital Bits:

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Finally today, Kevin and Amir... this one's for you: We've been doing a lot of digging into the events of last week, and have learned from reliable sources some of what went on behind the scenes. And our friends up in Microsoft's HD-DVD Evangelism office will be pleased to know that we've CONFIRMED what they've been saying in recent days: The $150 million payment to Paramount and DreamWorks didn't come from Microsoft. It apparently came from Toshiba and/or the HD-DVD camp collectively. We've been told that Microsoft was involved in the process, but they didn't cut the checks. We've also learned from sources inside the studio and elsewhere around the industry, that, despite Paramount and DreamWorks' decision, Warner remains committed to retaining their format neutral stance, and will continue to support BOTH Blu-ray and HD-DVD for the foreseeable future. So we wanted to post this, as we believe it's reliable (the most reliable information we've been able to obtain so far from independent sources) and it clarifies the situation a little bit. 'Nuff said.

Good work, Bill Hunt, with your "reliable sources"!

The Warner thing he "confirms" at the end has actually gotten a press release by the studio itself a good while back but I guess they didn't bother to send him notice of this.

Oh, and after all this time, Billy, try and learn to spell "HD DVD" right.  It's not so hard.