http://www.ps3center.net/story-898-Warner-Bros-Bribed-With-Cash-To-Go-HDDVD.html

According to reports Warner Bros. has received a huge cash offer to go exclusive to the HD-DVD format and leave Blu-ray in a similar fashion Dreamworks and Paramount did a few weeks ago.

The LA Times is reporting that Warner Bros. is "mulling over a lucrative offer that could bring such popular titles as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix into the HD-DVD camp."

Note: When asked a direct question as to whether Warner has been offered money and will be going exclusive in the same vein as Paramount, Warner's director avoided the question saying "we are talking to both sides"

Read this :

http://www.tvpredictions.com/warner091207.htm

Warner: We're Staying With HD DVD & Blu-ray
The studio's home video prez discounts reports of a switch to HD DVD only
By Swanni

Washington, D.C. (September 12, 2007) -- Warner Home Video president Ron Sanders says the studio will continue to release films on Blu-ray and HD DVD high-def discs.

At least for now.

That's according to an article by TWICE Magazine.

The Los Angeles Times reported this week that Warner has received a "lucrative" offer from HD DVD supporters to back HD DVD exclusively in the format war. Paramount last month stunned the industry by announcing that it would support HD DVD exclusively. (Four major studios back Blu-ray only.)

But Sanders tells TWICE that Warner will "remain committed to both for the time being."

"We're talking to both sides and it’s crazy right now," he said. "We’ll see how the fourth quarter plays out. The consumer is still kind of divided, and we still believe that we should offer the content in both formats. Now, we will watch the marketplace very closely, and see how it plays out, but for now we are supporting both."

Interestingly, Sanders didn't deny the premise of TWICE's question: "Have you received offers from HD DVD or Blu-ray to be exclusive with either format, as Paramount recently did with HD DVD?"

Instead, he avoided a direct answer by saying "we're talking to both sides" and that Warner will "remain committed to both for the time being."

Sanders also told TWICE that Warner will release all four Harry Potter movies on high-def disc in time for the holiday season.


==> the fourth quarters will be 100% BR
with the +2M minimum PS3 :
end of 2008 : 0,7M HD-DVD player (let's say ...)

the TWIce interview if you want to read it ...

http://www.twice.com/article/CA6477849.html?nid=2402

12/09/07
TWICE: What is the status of your plans for TotalHD?


Sanders: We’re concerned that as the only one publishing on it, it would be hard to make it go. We’re still looking at, though. We’re still talking to retail, but it’s kind of on hold right now.


TWICE: With plans for THD on hold, what do you think about the new dual-format players on the market?


Sanders: I’m excited about dual-format players. It takes out that worry about picking the wrong format, and with the studios lining up on one or the other format it’s kind of a nice solution, but until the price points come down — they are still around $1,000 — it’s not going to be a mass product. As more and more drives go into computers for both formats, I think that will drive the price down for drives going into set tops.


TWICE: Have you received offers from HD DVD or Blu-ray to be exclusive with either format, as Paramount recently did with HD DVD?


Sanders: We’re talking to both sides and it’s crazy right now. We remain committed to both for the time being. We’ll see how the fourth quarter plays out. The consumer is still kind of divided, and we still believe that we should offer the content in both formats. Now, we will watch the marketplace very closely, and see how it plays out, but for now we are supporting both.


TWICE: Do you actively encourage retail accounts to stock both formats?


Sanders: We do. There are no special incentives to support both but they will chase the consumer, and the consumer wants both. In software, new release titles are selling around 2-to-1, Blu-ray to HD DVD. But it varies by any given title. On “Planet Earth” we sold more HD DVD than Blu-ray and on “300” we sold more Blu-ray than HD. It’s probably two-thirds to one-third, but you’re going to give up a third of that. We’re about returning the best profit on the asset of a film, and it’s hard to give that up. So, let’s see where it all plays out.


TWICE: What do you expect will happen?


Sanders: It’s really hard to handicap. I can’t tell, which side, if any, will win. Right now it’s like a Mexican standoff. If the consumer continues to support both formats, the industry will as well. It will be really pivotal what Toshiba does this fourth quarter in hardware. If they sell through everything they ship, and it’s a big number at the price points that are coming out, then I think [HD DVD] will be around for a long time. If they don’t, then it could go Blu-ray’s way. But Toshiba is getting very, very aggressive on pricing, which is putting pressure on Blu-ray player manufacturers to bring prices down. As a content company we just want more hardware in the homes. So what ever drives more hardware is good to see. Right now it looks like there is price pressure on both sides because there are two formats — more pressure than there would be if there was only one format. So, for our interests, more razors means we’ll sell more razor blades down the road.


TWICE: What will be the hot WHV high-definition releases for the holidays?


Sanders: We will have new versions of the complete “Harry Potter” catalog, I through IV, coming out this Christmas in high definition, we’ll have “Oceans 11” and “12” coming out in both high-def formats this fall with “Ocean’s 13”, and we’ll have popular TV series releases including “Nip Tuck” in high-definition this fall with more coming.


TWICE: How are you finding HD disc sales so far?


Sanders: “We have 60 titles released in Blu-ray already and we will be cranking that up further. We are just thrilled at how well they’ve been doing. Our top seller to date has been “300,” and before that it was “Planet Earth,” and before that was “The Departed.” We have had the top-selling HD title since we released “The Departed” at the Oscars.


By Christmas, we’ll probably do half a million units in high definition for “300,” so the marketplace is off and running. It’s becoming meaningful on a title basis.


TWICE: What reaction have you observed to the Web-enabled extras you’ve included in select HD DVDs and what are the plans to add similar capability to Blu-ray?


Sanders: I think with Blu-ray 2.0 coming this fall, we are going to see a lot more Web-enabled content coming from everyone. Consumers want it. We’ve had quite a number of downloads of ringtones on our “300” connected DVD and HD DVD. We don’t know where it’s going to go. We are kind of in the nascent stage of what is possible, but I think it’s going to be great. I think there is going to be a pent-up demand that is going to be very interesting to watch once [Web-enabled Blu-ray] products launch into the market.


TWICE: Will you differentiate the extras between the formats in any way?


Sanders: We plan to do exactly the same thing with both formats. The only thing we can’t do with Blu-ray yet is the connectivity


TWICE: Do you have any concerns about content security for either format as the market evolves?

Sanders: None. DRM is robust on both sides. There is no appreciable difference.

 This is the part i alluded to.  You'll notice that at no point in the rest of the article does he deny (or come close to denying) that they have received or are looking at an exclusivity offer from Toshiba.

It sounds (to me) like they are waiting to see whether HD DVD gets thrashed in stand-alone player sales (as these players have a FAR greater attach rate and Toshiba has very cheap HD DVD players for Christmas) before deciding whether to accept a nice fat check from Toshiba.

With reports saying Sony recently sold of an arm of its Finance business just to finance another price drop for the PS3, its highly unlikely it could match a lucrative cash deal from Microsoft and Toshiba. Also, there are limits to how far the PS3's price can drop, because if it did take off as a blu-ray player then other hardware manufacturers would abandon the format. 

It is also worth noting that two months ago no one dreamed that PAramount and Dreamworks would abandon Blu Ray, they did.

some good anti ps3 threads x dude.

to bad they are all bs.

 I wasn't aware that the High-Def format war had anything to do with the PS3. Unless you are implying that Sony "trojan-horsed" Blu Ray into the PS3 in an attempt to cynically make gamers pay for an expense that should have been shouldered by industry?

Still, thanks for the constructive comment. 

I think its clear to everyone except the most deluded playstation fanatics that Sony did trojan-horse Blu Ray into the PS3 in an attempt to cynically make gamers pay for an expense that should have been shouldered by the industry.  Some of the most deluded playstation/sony fanatics do see this but they are so blinded by their love for playstation/sony that they think this is a totally acceptable cost for them to bear.

I am not sure whether the PS3 boosters are that smart or that dumb. Most of them are backing the BluRay format. The reasons are quite obvious why. However had the player not been in the PS3 their interest would be quite marginal. They are committed however so they might as well be vocal.

However the dumb reasons are the obvious ones for Sony gaming boosters. What is good for BluRay is good for the PS3. The success of one is linked to the other. For instance if BluRay fails to dominate the market it will hurt the machine. Wanting all of Sony to do well, and validate the choices they have made.

The smart reasons are no less selfish, but show a real understanding as to how dangerous a move Sony made. Betting on a format, and making it into a trojan horse into their hardware not only has short term ramifications, but long term ramifications as well. For instance if BluRay fails. Then Sony still has to support backward compatibility on their next machine, or abandon backward compatibility. That will drive hardware costs up, or at the very least lead to a weaker machine. They could stick with the BluRay format, but it would be more expensive then the dominant technology, and worse they lose functionality for the consumer.

The initial pricing in part due to the BluRay increased the initial cost of their machine. However in the long run it could also make things far more expensive. The short term situation is a obvious lust for some success, but the long term situation shows a desperate need for the format to succeed. Other wise it hurts the prospects on the next machine. That was a massive gamble, and one not sure to pay off granted that HD-DVD is fast approaching the better price point. Like I posted in another thread the price difference is $200 in the United States, and it is $270 for the 360 owner who has the cheapest option. Sony might have seen a boost from the console. However it is doubtful it will win on the pricing front come this holiday season.

Interesting article.