Dreamworks, Paramount Now HD-DVD Exclusive

I sense a few years of "screw the consumer" about to commence -

I'll happily stick with DVD for the foreseeable future. :)

hah agreed Merin, changing new media formats is like nobles starting a civil war... and the battle lines are still being drawn.

But with so much at stake I can't really blame them. It'd be nice though if Warner Bros remained neutral through this power struggle. My bet right now is on Blu-ray

HD DVD kicks ass, and I'll probably add a blue ray player in the next year about the same time I upgrade my 2001 HDTV. By the time I do, I'll probably have spent a total of about $600 on both players. Big whoop.
DVD blows compared to the picture of HD DVD.

Wow, just when you thought it was almost over. Paramount is, well paramount. They're the biggest right? I was actually thinking about getting a Blu-ray for Christmas, but no way now.

wait, so they ARENT producing the regular DVD format anymore?

Yes. They've decided to forgoe the millions of dollars in revenue that would come from the DVD release of Shrek 3 in an attempt to force everyone to buy a new HD DVD player. Sarcastic enuf for you? Then NO...they will still produce DVD versions. LOL.

The reason DVD worked so well and so quickly was for several reasons -

1 - Picture quality (obviously) - coupled with how much easier it is to navigate on a DVD than it is with a magnetic tape that needs to be rewound - added to durability (DVD's last longer than video tapes)
2 - Pretty much the whole industry got behind it from the get go, unlike video and laser discs, unlike beta and VHS, and unlike HD and blu-ray : when DVD happened, pretty much everyone was onboard or jumped onboard immediately - there was the DVD - R and DVD + R formats undecided, but that didn't affect consumers of pre-recorded discs.
3 - Cost! DVDs were not much more than video tapes when they first came out, and for the better quality that was a good buy! Box sets of DVDs at the start were cheaper than VHS box sets (I got Record of Lodoss Wars for $60 when the VHS's were $120 at the same store.) This was even at the initial release stage (the prices) which leads into -
4 - Rental stores had a big incentive to get into the game early! Machine rentals, and the CHEAPER cost of new releases! I worked at a video rental store in college when DVD's first started coming out - the video rental was part of an appliance store, one that was on the DVD player bandwagon at the VERY beginning of commercial sales - and let me tell you, when a store has to pay about $100 per VHS tape for a new release (rental stores were charged this, yes, because distributors made such a deal under the "reasoning" that rental stores would easily make that money back) or about $30 per DVD. Rental stores and rental customers, therefore, were easily enticed.
5 - Computers started coming out with DVD players right away, and those buying new computers could ignore the extra cost of a DVD ROM easier than someone buying a $1000 stand-alone player. All computer DVD-Roms would play all DVD discs, plus normal CDs (so it acted like a CD player, too, and people would have a library of discs ready to use on it!)

Unless I'm missing something (and it is quite possible I am as I've really NOT been following this format war nonsense), the only thing the next gen discs have is PART of #1 on my previous list - the better picture quality.
Are the discs cheaper? More durable? Easier to navigate? Is the whole industry behind one format? Are they cheaper for rental stores to purchase? Are there machines coming preloaded with next gen disc readers in ways that you don't even notice the added cost?
The one I don't know is whether blu-ray or HD players can read regular DVDs and CDs. If so, then there's less risk involved in moving up. If not, why the hell would you make the change now unless you can easily toss hundreds of dollars around to just have the latest thing?

"The one I don't know is whether blu-ray or HD players can read regular DVDs and CDs."

Most if not all Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players are designed to be backwards compatible with DVD's, if not also CD's.

So, the only risk is going with one or the other, instead of a universal player.

I'd agree with your "screwing the consumer" comment if not for the fact that movies are still coming out on DVD - they're not BR or HD only, thus forcing you to upgrade period to watch the latest movies. It's honestly a move I'm surprised they didn't make, knowing the greed in Hollywood.

Merin, good question, do regular dvd's play on Bluray players? they should, and they do on HD-DVD making the picture slightly better from what I hear. I assume you can play regular dvd's on the PS3? No? anyone?

This whole format war is being blown out of proportion. Everyone assumes that one format will win and the other will become obsolete, but I don't see that happening. The Beta/VHS comparison isn't fair; they were different dimensions, making it impractical for a player that plays both. There are already players that play both HD DVDs and BluRays, and though they're expensive. As soon as the price comes down, there will be no need for anyone to choose one format, and allowing both formats to coexist. Keep in mind, standard DVDs have about 6 'incompatible' formats, but nowadays, any DVD drive worth its weight in crappy Sandra Bullock movies can play all of them, be it DVD+R, -R, DVD ROM, or whatever.

The fact that DreamWorks and Paramount are now backing HD DVD is a good thing. Up until this point, BluRay had a distinct advantage, but this evens the playing field enough to ensure that both formats will be around long enough for players that read both discs to become the standard. If you don't want to spend $1000 on a Universal player now, then just choose whatever format has the best selection of movies you want, and in a few years, upgrade to a Universal player for 100 bucks at Target. Your movie collection will be fine.

And Yeoman, every virtually every BluRay Player on the market plays standard DVDs. There might be something cheap out there that doesn't, and I am not positive about the PS3 since its primary function is gaming. And BluRay upconverts standard DVDs as HD DVD players do.