What I would like to see from Warner's move, to push blu-ray to mainstream.

[LordTheNightKnight]

ssj12 said:

LordTheNightKnight said:

There is a difference between what Warner's move will mean to HD-DVD and what it will mean to mainstream consumers. Since NPD has shown just 11% of HDTV owners care about HD films, regardless of format, anyone who says this will push blu-ray to sell much better is kidding themselves.

I want HD to go mainstream, even if it doesn't overtake DVD. I would like to see some films in HD, but so far blu-ray and HD-DVD are just DVD with a few gimmicks.

The point of this thread is what this move should encourage, in order to push HD to mainstream. So let's pretend we are in charge of one company or studio, and what we would do to push Hd development.

For me, if I was in charge of Toshiba, I would have HD-DVD not give up mainly for the sake of competition. If you look at the VHS vs Betamax, you would see that sales still grew for VHS, even with Beta around. What also grew was the tech. Beta kept coming up with ways to increase the length and quality of its tapes, and VHS kept up.

So if nothing else, HD-DVD should stick around for a while just to keep blu-ray from turning complacent. That's why I would have HD-DVD drop the MSRP of its movies. Sure it would stink of desperation, but mainstream HDTV owners wouldn't care, anymore than they cared that Nintendo rushed the DS, and then did a quick redesign. Thus it would likely push sales. Now if it does, that would encourage blu-ray to follow suit, especially since the greater film library would mean more sales.

Secondly, since both formats are programmable, unlike DVD, I would have the best programmers I can get exploring what new features are possible, even if some require firmware updates (blu-rays have the space to just include them on the disc, even without internet connections). Blu-ray is already doing this with PiP, so HD-DVD can come up with a new thing, and blu-ray can add that, or vice versa. In the end, both formats would have some spectacular stuff, that DVD can't even try.

Space would be another factor. Now both sides push their disc capacities, but competition would just drive it faster. HD-DVD has the 51GB discs, and due to this move from Warner, I would make sure to get them out faster, which would in turn mean blu-ray would work on their triple and quadruple layer discs even harder.

Plus I would have all HD-DVD supporting studios get releases out much faster, even if it means more money. This would of course mean more blu-ray releases.

Now once HD movies hit mainstream sales, I mean 25% of the market, I would see what to do to end this. Assuming this happens to blu-ray and not HD-DVD, I would quietly phase out the format. If it happens to both, I would hammer out a truce.

Overall good arguement.

I want to point out a few issues with your arguement. Since you bolded points. I bolded and underlined what I'm pointing out.

1. It will push Blu-ray. Why? because there are tons of people holding off buying into the high-def movie formats till the war is over. If more and more people buy Blu-ray payers then before because the war is over that means it pushed the format.

That's why I wrote "much better". Of course there are some holdouts, but info suggests there are more people who just don't care than are hodling out. 

2. That is the point. There is a reason why HD-DVD has DVD in it's name. Both Blu-ray and HD-DVD are both advanced forms of DVD that are able to take DVD features to High Def levels and offer new features when thought of. Right now movie studios are creating more advanced menu systems for each movie, new game, pip, etc are all greatly enhanced.

You should have bolded the "so far" part right before, which is why you got the context of my comment a bit off, not to mention I later mention I would push for futher options.

3. Even without HD-DVD for competition prices will drop and actually drop faster due to customer damand helping lower production costs. Its just like DVD players. When they were first released they were geez.. 2 grand? for what we would consider now was the low-end $30 DVD player.And the DVDs geez. I remember walking into Walmart the first time they had put in a DVD shelf space. The movies were like $50 each, which was more expensive then the $25 - $30 Blu-ray and HD-DVD movies. Prices will go down especially for the low-end players but there will always be the extreme high-end models that cost $700 - $150. Just look at high-end DVD players.

Duh, the prices are dropping. Just that a movie price drop now would be good for pushing sales even faster.