Warner Home Video to support Blu-ray exclusively?

Don't etch this one in stone just yet, but for those keeping a close eye on studios and which camp(s) they support, here's the latest. Reportedly, a so-called Blu-ray Festival has been raging in Hollywood, and aside from BD backers showing up in support of upcoming / existing films, there have also been a few interesting remarks uttered along the way. Most notably, Dan Silverberg, VP of high-definition media for Warner Home Video, stated that "one thing that may be changing is [Warner's] strategy," and he continued by proclaiming that hardware prices had reached a point where consumers "no longer wanted to decide" which format reigned supreme. The speech actually got interesting when he mentioned that the "notion of staying in two formats for the duration is something the company was re-evaluating." Beyond that, egos were simply inflated even more as recent BD vs. HD DVD sales figures were trumpeted about, but we think the aforementioned commentary is far more interesting that hearing about numbers we're already familiar with.

[Thanks, AG23]

[Mark Sheffeld @ Oct 30th 2007 8:05AM]

The battle continues...

[DickHardknocks @ Oct 30th 2007 10:09AM]

The format war ended before it began. As expected, Blu Ray was going to be triumphant.

Its not because it was the neccesarily better format - its because of its tremendous support and its MARKET PENETRATION via PS3. Regardless whatHDDVD supporters claim, they cannot argue with the simple fact that PS3 MOVED BLU RAY into many homes that normally would not have spent money to upgrade to it.

Keep in mind, many homes in America and Europe don't even have the HD TV''s neccessary (mostly due to cost) to bother upgrading to Blu Ray or HDDVD in the first place.

Microsoft's failure to incorporate HDDVD into their Xbox360 speaks volumes - considering they were its main supporters. SONY took a gamble by incorporating Blu Ray which is definately paying off - or will eventually pay off tremendously considering the BR player adds "future proofing" to the system.

Blu Ray is the future. Manufacturers don't want to bother making multiple formats anymore and they will definately choose Blu Ray over HDDVD when forced to make a decision.

None of this matters anyway cause digital content delivery via wire will replace all disk formats anyway. Downside is, it will allow the RIAA to tighten their control on digital bootlegging.

[Ethan @ Oct 30th 2007 8:14AM]

That sounds like it could swing either way. Whoever's better at this 'courting' business I guess. Or has bigger pockets.

[Eric @ Oct 30th 2007 8:20AM]

I think the only thing that we can know for sure at this point is that the format war may soon be coming to a close one way or the other I think we all will be happy.

[Dave @ Oct 30th 2007 8:23AM]

The only reason Blu did so well last week was because they practically gave away discs with their BOGO sale at all the stores. I don't really care who wins this stupid "war"... I just want people to realize how these numbers are being generated.

[Hollywood Ron @ Oct 30th 2007 8:59AM]

What? An education? That's not what I go on the internet for! Where's the comedy?

[Actaeon @ Oct 30th 2007 9:47AM]

Dave speaks the truth.

I own a Blu-ray (PS3 60GB) and HDDVD player (Xbox360 Add-On), and I bought a BUNCH of Blu-ray movies (20 from Amazon.com, 4 from BestBuy) because of BOGO. I wouldn't have picked these up if it wasn't for the sale. On that note, because of no decent sale for HDDVD, I didn't pick up a single one up.

I do prefer HDDVD over Blu-ray though.

[FordGTGuy @ Oct 30th 2007 8:54AM]

The studio is already on Xbox Live Video Marketplace so I don't care.

[Dave @ Oct 30th 2007 9:07AM]

I would love it to be true!

[Dave @ Oct 30th 2007 9:07AM]

The only low-cost (under $200) hardware is currently HD DVD's hardware--so it sounds to me as though he's saying the opposite.

[TrentD @ Oct 30th 2007 9:26AM]

It's very funny - this one guy makes a comment, at a Blu-ray event, saying that their strategy may be changing, and all of a sudden Warner is going Blu.

HD DVD supporters have been saying for several days at AVS that Warner is going Red because they haven't renewed their BD Alliance membership. Now BD fans are saying they're going Blu. It's pretty entertaining watching people dissect quotes like there's no tomorrow.

[Lee Richards @ Oct 30th 2007 9:38AM]

In the original article, it goes on to say...

Silverberg noted that Warner has the top-selling Blu-ray title of all time with 300 and is consistently No. 1 or No. 2 in both Blu-ray sales market share and in number of Blu-ray titles in the market. “We can definitely talk Blu-ray,” he said. “We are committed to the format.”

[mattbrown @ Oct 30th 2007 10:16AM]

Please explain why this is a hint a blu-ray exclusivity. Certainly if he talking about low hardware prices being a motivation for a changing of stategy then he obviously isn't talking about blu-ray. Way to hide you biases.

[TrentD @ Oct 30th 2007 11:15AM]

Certainly true. It seems to me this article is being interpreted one way by HD fans, one way by BD fans.

[soulbabel @ Oct 30th 2007 10:23AM]

I guess this means they are abandoning their "Total Hi Def hybrid disc", or could this mean that's what they are pursuing?

[Chris @ Oct 30th 2007 10:51AM]

At this point, I really stopped caring. I picked up an A20 and love it. So far, no movies I am interested in are on Blu-Ray. When there are more than a few, I'll probably just go buy a PS3 or something.

The only thing I learned from this stupid "war" is that fanboys are unbelievably annoying, and that Universal apparently makes all the movies I enjoy.

[BG @ Oct 30th 2007 11:00AM]

In the article it was said that blu-ray sold more discs during the Transformers release week, this is because the Disney/Blu-ray camp had a 2 for 1 disc sale that week. Actually they had a very slight lead like 51% over 49% of hi-def sales that week. Now they are just standing on the hill shouting that thev've sold more without announcing they actually had a buy 1 get 1 free sale. Typical of the Blu-ray camp.

[TrentD @ Oct 30th 2007 11:30AM]

And this is the fourth or fifth BOGO sale they've had this year.

If Blu-ray discs cost more to make, and they get discounted to half price all the time, doesn't that make HD DVD a much more lucrative format, profit-wise, for movie studios?

And despite what some say, sales don't matter - dollars made matter.

[Charlie J @ Oct 30th 2007 12:04PM]

I honestly dont think blu-ray will win. The only way it will win is if it gets cheaper. Look back at betamax, it was a better technology than vhs, but lost cause it was so expensive. Minidisc is a better technology than compact disc, but lost because it was so expensive.

do we really think that anything will change?

PS3 is technically a better system than the 360, but it started out way more expensive, and guess what, it isnt winning.

Now that they dropped the price they might become competitive, but only if they can start getting some games released worth playing.

[Jeebus @ Oct 30th 2007 1:15PM]

"Minidisc is a better technology than compact disc"

What? If anything, it "lost" (on the music sales side) because it's lossy compression, i.e. "worse" technology. As a recording format it was very successful everywhere outside the US, until it was overtaken by cheap flash memory and the MP3 players that followed.

[Charlie J @ Oct 30th 2007 11:11PM]

ok, the minidisc had lossy compression but overall it was a better format. A good vinyl record sounds better than a compact disc but i wouldnt say they are better. The minidisc held more information, couldnt be scratched and was smaller. And your probably right, maybe it was successful everywhere else, but it wasn't in the US and thats the market im referring to.

[teej @ Oct 30th 2007 12:16PM]

Engadget putting another Blu-ray spin on an article. He didn't say if the Warner VP made this announcement at the Blu-ray Festival; he only mentioned that the festival is happening and Warner VP happened to say something about choosing a side; he DIDN'T SAY WHICH SIDE.

[Jeebus @ Oct 30th 2007 1:07PM]

"he DIDN'T SAY WHICH SIDE"

Considering Blu-ray movies are outselling HD DVD 2 to 1, which side would you guess he's thinking of?

[Kenban @ Oct 30th 2007 1:16PM]

There is also rumors going around that Warner is going HD-DVD exclusive. There is a claim the contract with Blu-ray expires on Wednesday and they have yet to renew it. Until Warner announces something all its nothing more then a rumor.

[Rick wilson @ Oct 30th 2007 1:35PM]

Of course it will support Blu-ray exclusively. I mean, blu-ray has out sold hd dvd 2:1 for almost a year now despite what cheapskates voicing their opinions think.

[Guyver @ Oct 30th 2007 2:01PM]

A few things to note:

1. The format war is ridiculously small. I've read that only 1% of all HDTV owners own a HD player. Using stand alone player sales or disc sales to trumpet a victory at this stage in the game has been ridiculous.

2. Earlier this year, it was announced that Blu-Ray and HD-DVD sales reached a new "milestone" by exceeding VHS sales for this year. Is this worthy of being a milestone?

3. It is largely accepted that the PS3 is the driving force of the 2:1 disc sales advantage by providing along with standalone player sales a 5:1 player advantage over HD-DVD. Keep in mind, that there has not yet been a really good game for the PS3 platform. There is no Halo 3 killer. So what you've got is the "PS3 effect" of bored gamers looking to use their PS3 in other ways... namely watching a movie while they wait on a great game. What happens when the PS3 finally gets a great game? Will gamers prefer a $30 movie with 2 hours worth of entertainment or a $60 game with weeks worth of entertainment? Which has better replay value? Will gamers be able to maintain the momentum the PS3 has provided for disc sales in this unremarkably small war?

4. Recent disc sales trends for both formats show a decline in movie purchases. Blu-Ray having the sharpest decline. Is this bored gamers buying into less movies?

Food for thought.

Until then, the Format War is better described as a skirmish at best. Spinning a victory using cherry picked facts in a tiny war is ridiculous.

[Karl Viklund @ Oct 30th 2007 1:46PM]

Good good. The right format wins. Bluray is the leader.

[Franssu @ Oct 30th 2007 3:57PM]

The guy said, like, nothing, and all of a sudden WB is going Blu exclusive ? Engadget : the blu spin never stops !

The saddest thing in all this is that gizmodo repeated your spin. The blogosphere is goind down, people.

As for WB going red or blu, my only guess is : wait and see...

[Franssu @ Oct 30th 2007 3:57PM]

The guy said, like, nothing, and all of a sudden WB is going Blu exclusive ? Engadget : the blu spin never stops !

The saddest thing in all this is that gizmodo repeated your spin. The blogosphere is goind down, people.

As for WB going red or blu, my only guess is : wait and see...

[Martin @ Oct 30th 2007 5:28PM]

you all ned to get a life. Do you think Sony and others blu Ray player marketers arent going to go and lower BD movie players to match HD? Now dont get me wrong everyone has an opinion and welcomed to it but show me where HD is far superior thn BD? HD is at its limits for Storage space. BD can go above the 50gig infact I heard some company now can make 100gigs open on BD. So where does that leave HD which is called unexspandable? And any good company or format would creat a sale to make there format lead. Common sense tells me witht he advancements already in Blu ray, and The many forms of getting a BD player in the house will probabl out due HD.

Someone said something about his XB360 and the add on HD player. Well heres the thing its just something else to have to store on a shelf. Where PS3 has the BD internal so right theres a bonus.

I feel why bicker about it support your format by buying the movie sin that format. Fortunately tho the BD is outselling and probably will with Disney Behind it etc.

[Martin @ Oct 30th 2007 5:41PM]

Guyver where is the source your using for your notes? also sorry you ticked of a PS3 owner here. PS3 has no Halo killers sorry my friend but from the people I talk to that own the 360 and all Halos Halo 3 is the same as the other two. Some Eb gamer employees have also said (locally) that they think Killzone 2 will destroy any Halo 3 left overs what ever they mean?

Its true the PS3 is a driving force for Blu ray but as the weeks and battle rages on each format will lower prices.

Other notes: blockbuster is renting blu ray dvd
Target is carrying mostly blu ray, Walmart seems to be carrying more blu ray. Disney backed blu ray all these bigger companies are backing it. So i doubt HD will out live blu ray. You can fit a lot more, and uncompressed all the way movies and games on it.

[Eric Isaac @ Oct 31st 2007 2:38PM]

I've noticed a recent push in the way of Blu-Ray over HD-DVD. The stores (especially the Blue store appears to have more BRD titles over HDDVD, however you notice they will face the BRD's and stagger the HDDVD's like a bookshelf...so its really only appearances, not reality. Also: Spiderman 3, only on BRD...wtf?

[Mike @ Nov 1st 2007 12:23PM]

The truly sad part is that if the Blu-Ray group would drop their absurd insistence on region coding their disc, which does little to nothing to stop pirates, there would not even be a war. If you ignore the people who simply hate this company or that, the primary complaint against BD seems to be the region coding. So, if the companies really wanted to end this war, then BD would drop the region coding.

However, considering that HD discs sell for more then old DVDs I am not sure that either side really cares to settle the war. Considering that with the end of the war will come broader acceptance, and with broader acceptance will come a demand for cheaper HD content. And cheaper HD content will mean less money for the studios.

[Electromodo @ Oct 30th 2007 10:23AM]

@Mike

"...the primary complaint against BD seems to be the region coding."

How about equipment prices? Toshiba HD DVD player for $198 is more attractive for me than overpriced Blu-ray

[Jeebus @ Oct 30th 2007 1:08PM]

Yes, region coding sucks. However it's only an option, not mandated. Most movies are region free by choice.

[Evan @ Oct 30th 2007 3:11PM]

Wal Mart is selling many HD DVDs at stores for 18.74. They have found a way to creep into DVDs price range seeing as many new DVDs at 15 dollars.

In addition it does not appear that the Warner VP mentioned which side they would potentially favor. Noting that Transformers is currently the best selling next gen movie of all time it doesn't appear to me that this thing is over. The market for HD players is so minuscule compared to regular DVDs and this war will drag I believe well into next year as the US approaches the ATSC change over in 2009. Until they are forced to, many consumers will have no idea how to properly us HDTVs or HD players.