a de facto knockout punch

Posted by Duilawyer (A) on January 5, 2008 at 19:48:15

By Dawn C. Chmielewski,
January 5, 2008

The fuzzy future of high-definition DVD came into sharper focus Friday after Warner Bros. said it would release movies for the home video market exclusively on the Blu-ray disc format.

The decision, announced on the eve of the influential Consumer Electronics Show, delivers a de facto knockout punch to the rival HD DVD format backed by Toshiba Corp. and others now supported by only two of Hollywood's six major movie studios.

It also averts a further costly format war that has been stymieing the growth of the next generation of DVD with promises of enhanced video images and digital audio to match the popularity of flat, big-screen television sets. For the first time, sales of movies on regular DVDs declined last year, jeopardizing a longtime and important source of profits for Hollywood. The studios hope the new, higher-quality format will spur consumers to restock their DVD shelves.

In addition to Warner Bros., studios supporting the Blu-ray format include News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Co., Sony Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Taken together, they represent about 70% of the home video market. HD DVD is supported by General Electric's NBC Universal, Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures and the independent studio DreamWorks Animation.

"Expect HD DVD to die a quick death," said Richard Greenfield, an analyst with Pali Research in New York, in a research note Friday.

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Topic - a de facto knockout punch - Duilawyer 19:48:15 01/05/08 (29)

OMG - navman 15:29:59 01/06/08 (12)

DSD is not in the specs for Blu-ray and HD DVD , and .... - ZS KEKL 19:24:08 01/06/08 (6)

I hope you're getting paid... - SF tech 16:09:19 01/07/08 (1)

DSD is not in the specs for Blu-ray and HD DVD .... - ZS KEKL 16:34:24 01/07/08 (0)

RE: DSD is not in the specs for Blu-ray and HD DVD , and .... - navman 20:20:32 01/06/08 (0)

In case you didn't notice, this is the video forum. DSD is not a video codec - racerguy 19:34:06 01/06/08 (2)

It's perfectly appropriate to discuss , in this forum , audio on Blu-ray and HD DVD . .... - ZS KEKL 20:06:46 01/06/08 (1)

Sorry guys! - navman 20:15:57 01/06/08 (0)

Where is he (now)? - Duilawyer 15:37:00 01/06/08 (4)

You declared that HD DVD was your " team " . ... - ZS KEKL 19:30:34 01/06/08 (0)

he's a coward - tunenut 19:05:46 01/06/08 (2)

There is no reason ..... - ZS KEKL 19:33:56 01/06/08 (1)

nobody cares anymore... - tunenut 20:39:51 01/06/08 (0)

I wanted Blu-Ray to win from the beginning - AbeCollins 20:17:42 01/05/08 (15)

I kind of wanted to go the PS3 route... - JoeLip 20:57:20 01/05/08 (12)

I agree, there have been times when I thought I was watching HD - Duilawyer 09:08:10 01/06/08 (0)

Interesting - Jack G 07:12:31 01/06/08 (10)

I feel like I'm over on AVS - Jazz Inmate 10:52:05 01/06/08 (9)

Reread my post - Jack G 11:38:31 01/06/08 (8)

Try rereading JoeLipp's post - Jazz Inmate 12:47:51 01/06/08 (7)

RE: Try rereading JoeLipp's post - Jack G 13:02:55 01/06/08 (6)

I didn't get from your post that "only average HD" was a significant improvement - Jazz Inmate 13:25:28 01/06/08 (5)

We are more or less in agreement - Jack G 13:47:26 01/06/08 (4)

"I hold HD, all formats to a higher standard... and I expect them to deliver...." - oscar 19:47:49 01/06/08 (2)

Thank you - Jack G 05:10:17 01/07/08 (0)

yeah, but after about 60 yrs of NTSC, HD seems like a godsend NT - Jazz Inmate 22:21:35 01/06/08 (0)

RE: We are more or less in agreement - Jazz Inmate 15:20:00 01/06/08 (0)

if you were a betting man, what do you think? Blue ray in 2010? odds? nt - Duilawyer 20:45:51 01/05/08 (1)

Maybe - 4season 20:55:46 01/06/08 (0)

a de facto knockout punch

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