Suck

*EDIT*

I may be adding to this all day, depending on what I read. Nikki Finke has an interesting post with info on the HD-DVD payout to Paramount/Dreamworks for this commitment. This shit makes me sick, but I am not the least surprised.

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/desperation-move-cash-grab-or-intensified-blu-rayhd-dvd-format-war/


It's also worth pointing out that there is a HUGE conspiracy theory as to Microsoft backing HD-DVD solely to prolong the format war, so as to let digital downloads take over the market. True or not, do any of you have a hard time believing it? I thought not.


*ORIGINAL POST*

http://www.viacom.com/NEWS/NewsText.aspx?RID=1042073

This news makes me sad today. Just as the next-generation HD Disc format war was giving signs of ending, Paramount/Dreamworks has to go and muck it up.

My stance is this: maybe Blu-Ray Disc is better tech, maybe HD-DVD (I tend to think BR is for a whole host of reasons). But regardless, the format war is BAD. It stops general adoption. It stops studios from investing in real quality releases. All it does is push back the day I watch all my movies in high definition. Universal was, until today, the *only* HD-DVD exclusive studio. Now there are 2 with Paramount/Dreamworks in the mix. That leaves us with 5 for BD (Disney, Fox, Sony, MGM, Lionsgate), of which 3 are majors, and 1 format-neutral company (Warner Bros). New Line may go neutral as a subsidiary of WB, but who knows.

Paramount's decision is theirs to make. They may've seen some features in HD-DVD that seemed better than BD, but I doubt it. With BD 1.1 spec two months away (with all BD-Java and PiP features), and BD 2.0 maybe 6 months away, BD will be extraordinarily capable by next summer. HD-DVD has a lot of that now, but the sales figures have been supporting an approx. 3:1 sales ratio in favor of BD (see The DigitalBits for more info), dropping BD completely seems rash.

Two days ago I was telling friends that Sony probably has a team of engineers working on replicating Universal's needs on a BD system, and as soon as they had it, Uni would probably go neutral. Today I find a studio made a switch in the *opposite* direction.

I'm at the point: I don't care what format wins. I DON'T CARE.

I just want a winner AS FAST AS POSSIBLE.

A final side note: if you read through the press release, there's an interesting note:

Today's announcement does not include films directed by Steven Spielberg as his films are not exclusive to either format.

Makes me wonder what The Beard thinks of all of this. With his first film due for BD release in October (Close Encounters), it seems he doesn't have a preference. Universal announced a bunch of his films in HD-DVD at one point, but then recanted. I must say, I'd love to see influencial filmmakers call out the studio execs and hardware manufacturers and tell them to pick a format ASAP. Not that I think it'd make a difference, but one can dream...