| Re: HD-DVD or Blu-Ray Player
Quote: Richard W. Haines wrote:
 According to an article on the internet movie database, Warner announced that they will drop
HD DVD and release new titles in Blu-Ray exclusively. They've been releasing movies in both
formats to date. That just leaves Universal and Paramount as HD DVD exclusive. Some studio
spokesman also announced that they would prefer if everyone is forced to pay to download
and/or screen movies via the internet rather than own a hard copy. Studios never liked
consumers owning a hard copy of their movie and would prefer you pay to watch it each time
you see it regardless of whether it's in a theater or at home. If this comes to pass, I'll return
to film collecting again but hopefully the 'internet exclusivity' concept for the future will bomb
just like DIVX did in the past. One of the reasons I got involved with collecting film prints back
in 1985 was because I had been so burned in electronic formats like Beta and Selectavision
(and ultimately laserdisc). The reason I recently purchased the Toshiba HD XA2 player was
because WB had so many of the titles I wanted in their library. Now I'm forced to purchase
a Blu-Ray player to see them. |
NPR did a short report yesterday regarding the west coast CES and reported the same thing about Warner Brothers. The person being interviewed indicated that BR had better disc protection which was part of the reason for the decision. The overall conclusion was that this put BR ahead of HD although supporters of HD say that the war isn't over yet. I agree with your point of view regarding DIVX and ownership but unfortunately I'm not sure many people have the same access to film prints that you do.
Bob
"There is always hope, even if it is just a fool's hope." |