Disney Announces BLU-RAY Partnership

If that doesn't mean the end of the Blu Ray vs. HD-DVD wars, I don't know what will. I guess I'll be asking for a Playstation 3 for Christmas so I can watch Blu Ray.

Disney has been a backer of Blu Ray since the format was released. This is more of the same news. As far as the implication that Disney will only release Ratatouille on Blu-ray... Well.. Disney's money machine just isn't that stupid. Their target demographic is not going to shell out $500 $25 for the player and movie just to view that movie. Rest assured, the Rat will be released by um.. the Rat around or at the same time the Bluray is released. You can bet on it. This will follow the pattern of previous format exclusives. Remember DVD vs. DIVX? Fox, Dreamworks and Paramount quickly jumped off the exclusivity band wagon once it became apparent that there was money to be lost by hanging on to a single format. Disney will figure that out eventually as well.

"Remember DVD vs. DIVX?" You're kidding, right? You even consider that a format war? The reason those companies jumped off the bandwagon is because DIVX went nowhere fast; it was gone within 2 years of being introduced. The only company right now who isn't doing exclusives for Blu-Ray or HD-DVD is WB. I don't see anybody else bothering to join them, not when Target is only selling Blu-Ray players, and Blockbuster's stores are only going to stock Blu-Ray discs.

Why don't they just come out and say the format war is over and blu ray won. I mean how long does it take to declare a winner. Blu rays are outselling HDs. Blockbuster and Target came out and said they only will deal with Blu Ray, the WB couldn't decide so they are going to have single discs with both blu ray and hd, there are a couple of studios only doing blu ray and the PS3 already has blu ray integrated putting a player on thousands of gamers. Netflix has more blu rays also. I'm betting pretty soon Wal-Mart will come out and say they will only deal with blu ray also, maybe when that happens that will be the nail in the coffin.

Yeah, but X-box 360 is HD-DVD, and with companies making players that play both of them, I don't think it's quite over. I hope Blu-ray does win. It is a superior disc, however I have heard that the companies doing the HD-DVD's do a nicer job on their movies quality in picture and sound. I'm itching to get one or the other, but the price is still very high. If I had to buy now though I'd get a multi=player just in case. But since HD TV isn't even offered in my town other than over the air, I will continue to wait to get a HD television and so therefore no player either.

the HD-DVD on 360 is a separate purchase, who wants to buy the 360 and the HD player, that's about the same price as the PS3, and for me the PS3 is still a little high, with not so many great games as of yet. I think Bluray will win, but I doubt it will have much to do with either gaming system, considering PS3 is just now starting to sell better, but not much. I have a feeling George Lucas's little trilogy of films may decide a true winner, and don't forget Frodo. Then again if Star Wars gets released on Bluray then Lord of the Rings gets released on HD DVD, we may be back at square one, but I don't think that will happen. Lucas will probably wait awhile before he releases them, considering how long he waited to release the original trilogy. Damn he stands to make even more millions.

Like Yeoman said. The prob is with a PS3 you automatically get the Blu Ray player but wiith Xbox you don't. Lucas will wait until there is a clear winner or he may just go ahead and shaft everyone by releasing on the losing format and then releasing on the victor. I LUcas and how he keeps milking the same shit over and over.

Right now, Sony has said they don't want to allow Blu-Ray to be used by the 'adult entertainment' industry. While this might sound like a joke, it's not. The porn industry almost single-handedly killed Beta for the same reason. Sony has lost every format war they've started because they're too restrictive and don't want to license stuff to other manufacturers. This killed them when there was a decision on the format to use for music CDs (anyone know there WAS a format war there?). Sony claims a win because they 'forced' some concessions from the other side, but they were minor changes to a format in the works. Sony was the parent of Beta, and we know how that worked. The format wars aren't over, and I agree with earlier statements that Disney (or any studio) is stupid enough to release on only one format. Hell, several studios still do VHS along with DVD, because there are still folks who have moved along to the late 90s yet....

"You're kidding, right? You even consider that a format war?" The notion of DIVX had the DVD side scared shitless at the time. So yeah, it was a format war. Circuit city sold them exclusively, and I knew some guys at Best Buy HQ that had mentioned they were considering it as well. I was working in the video industry. While it might not have been terribly visible to the public at large, there was a lot of propoghanda and religious debate about it amongst video and big-box retailers. There really was a big fear for awhile that DVD would lose, and the "disposable" format would be the way things went. My point is, the so-called exclusivity deals will last for as long as the company perceives who the winning side is, what sells, and what type of money they're getting out of it. Retail exclusivity (such as target and block-buster) almost always has a manufacturer kick-back associated with it. In other words, I'm sure Sony has promised to pay for a good portion of the marketing costs for those retailers. The demographic that is aimed at Hi def content isn't really the typical Blockbuster customer anyway. So, it makes good sense for them to only stock one format as long as Sony's footing the bill for it. Having also worked for Target HQ for awhile, I can assure you that if something doesn't move on the shelf there, it doesn't stay long. Blu-ray will have to be ultra competitive since there's a rumor of $200 HD-DVD players coming out final quarter. WarCry also has some valid points. Never underestimate the clout the adult entertainment industry has. Though with the internet's streaming video capabilities, their power might be more in that arena now than home video. Though I'm sure many people appreciate the mult-angle features of DVD here ;) Personally, if there had to be one format, I wish Blu-ray would win, as it's a superior format. On the other hand, I wish Sony didn't control the licensing of it for the reasons mentioned above. As WarCry mentioned, they had a lot to do with Beta, and SACD (SACD... the alternate music CD format, coincidentally still exists, but most players either play both formats, or the CD itself is hybrid). Let's not forget Mini Disc either. If Sony hadn't been so successful with the playstations, it wouldn't nearly have the clout it has today on things like formats, as it's history of success is mostly non-existant.. Sony also has to be a bit careful about the way it uses it's clout. They simply need to look at the history of one of the backer's of their competitor... Microsoft. They used very similar tactics in the 90's.. bullying and/or coersing manufacterers and software developers to promote Windows exclusively, either through behind-closed-doors deals that were anti-competitive, or by implying that non-support of their product will have consequences. Especially since they own some major movie studios, they are possibly setting themselves up for a big legal battle if they win. In the end, this all might end up like the video game industry (or SACD), where there is no real winner, and the formats co-exist. People either end up owning multiple machines or buying dual format players.

"If Sony hadn't been so successful with the playstations" Sony also had a major hand in the creation of the CD, as well as CD-ROM and CD-R. So, can we stop demonizing Sony already for where they've failed, and acknowledge for once where they've succeeded?