Finally the stupid high definition format war is coming to an end.
Warner will exclusively support the more popular Blu-ray format in the future. Chances for a long-term survival of HD DVD are very small now.
Perfect timing for me because I bought a Blu-ray-player just two weeks ago :-)

Here's the press-release:

WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT TO RELEASE ITS HIGH-DEFINITION DVD TITLES EXCLUSIVELY IN THE BLU-RAY DISC FORMAT BEGINNING LATER THIS YEAR

Decision Made in Response to Strong Consumer Preference for Format

(January 4, 2008 - Burbank, CA) - In response to consumer demand, Warner Bros. Entertainment will release its high-definition DVD titles exclusively in the Blu-ray disc format beginning later this year, it was announced today by Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros. and Kevin Tsujihara, President, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group.

"Warner Bros.' move to exclusively release in the Blu-ray disc format is a strategic decision focused on the long term and the most direct way to give consumers what they want," said Meyer. "The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger. We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers."

Warner Home Video will continue to release its titles in standard DVD format and Blu-ray. After a short window following their standard DVD and Blu-ray releases, all new titles will continue to be released in HD DVD until the end of May 2008.

"Warner Bros. has produced in both high-definition formats in an effort to provide consumer choice, foster mainstream adoption and drive down hardware prices," said Jeff Bewkes, President and Chief Executive Officer, Time Warner Inc., the parent company of Warner Bros. Entertainment. "Today's decision by Warner Bros. to distribute in a single format comes at the right time and is the best decision both for consumers and Time Warner."

"A two-format landscape has led to consumer confusion and indifference toward high definition, which has kept the technology from reaching mass adoption and becoming the important revenue stream that it can be for the industry," said Tsujihara. "Consumers have clearly chosen Blu-ray, and we believe that recognizing this preference is the right step in making this great home entertainment experience accessible to the widest possible audience. Warner Bros. has worked very closely with the Toshiba Corporation in promoting high definition media and we have enormous respect for their efforts. We look forward to working with them on other projects in the future."

That's a bit disappointing. Now I gotta get another player - prices of which had better plummet, you a**hats.

Oh, and dual-format player support would be a generous sop to early adopters. Edit: You a**hats.

Luckily, I got the HD-A2 as part of that Walmart $99 deal and I have nearly 50 HD-DVDs so far, so I don't feel too burned. I'll keep my player and the HD-DVDs I already have, and I'll pick up a BD player in a couple months. At the very least, this format war had one good effect- it forced BD to pick up the pace after the first wave of lackluster releases which paled in comparison to the initial HD-DVDs, and led to prices coming down a lot more quickly than they normally would have.

Vincent

Great news that it's finally over (at least it looks like it is).

I'm glad I never ventured into either format before this dumb war was over. And it wasn't because of financial issues per se, I just don't like supporting a pretty forseeable dead format - and one of them was going to be.

Now I can go buy "2001" and others I've held out on with not a penny lost. It really didn't matter to me which side won - as long as one finally did. Can't wait to jump into the Blu-Ray market now, buy a player, and catch up on some important titles. Maybe I'll wait a few weeks, though, just to make sure all of this goes down correctly!

The format war wasn't stupid, it was capitalism. Of course if we folowed Karl Marx and the economy was run by the state we would never run into these situations but I think good old fashioned competition was the best way to settle the format war. And it's reassuring to know that capitalist bullies like Bill Gates don't always get their way.

Yeah, it was totally either this or Marxism. :P

Hey Jeff, instead of just being obnoxious, why don't you tell us all about the third option? Should a company that spent millions and years developing a product just give up when they realize they are facing competition? As someone once said of capitalism; " It's the worst possible system, except for all the other systems" I've read a thousand internet posts and articles describe the format war as "stupid". Tell us all how, and by whom, this issue should have been decided.

Sony actually having one of its formats (a moment of silence for beta, the mini-disc, atrac, umd, etc...) become a standard? Tis surely an ill omen.

By finalizing alliances before either format came to market. By the same companies who are now throwing money back and forth at each other to settle this before they completely kill the current market by concentrating on downloads.

I don't believe the decisions driving this were as transparent and meritocratic as your post seems to imply. I don't know that there was a clear-cut *better* product (though I edge toward HD DVD simply for being a more *finished* one), or that consumers made any sort of informed choice based on that. I think Blu-ray had the more popular gaming system supporting it, and that's what the general public voted on. They were quite content to sit it out, otherwise.

I think this all came down to deals cut between corporations, and those maneuvers certainly could have been made away from the market.

Did the play at competition drive costs down? It sure did. I think presenting a clear path to Hi-Def for consumers would have resulted in better penetration overall (especially with the PS3 as part of the package), and prices would have gotten to where they are now before too long anyway. I benefitted from it, and now that I've found myself on the losing team, I get to pass the savings right back to Sony. Oops. Screwed that one up.

As to my rampant obnoxia, I just thought your reference to Marx to be kinda funny in its extremity. Thanks for going right to argument, and making me the apparent locus for your vexation with format war nay-sayers. I guess it was about as appreciated as my crack was to you. For my part, I meant no offense.

Obnoxious, who moi?!?!

This was the first ever comment I've ever made about the Blu-Ray/HD war and I get attacked immediately so I guess this really was a war! Honestly, I never cared which format would win in the end, just that one would. And I never actually called this war "stupid" - I called it "dumb". :P And I stick by that. I understand capitalism. I understand both sides fighting as hard as they can to win and the exorbitant amounts of money spent by both sides. I also understand two sides that were as hard-headed as can be and couldn't come to some middleground when talks first started. Instead of compromise, both sides just threw tons and tons of money (aka 'casualties of war') into the battlefield as the majority of consumers watched in disinterest from the sidelines as the mega-giants fought it out. Eventually, one will come out the victor, but at what cost (and do I have to feel compassion for how a mega-corporation spews out their money?) So, yes, I think it's a bit dumb - as I believe most wars are, business or real-world, but if you think otherwise, so be it.

If you were a HD devotee, I'm sorry if my 'happy the war is over' comments offended you by being obnoxious. That was not my intent at all. I would have been just as happy if HD won over Blu-Ray. It wasn't about the victor to me at all. And if I had bought into the losing format already and had a bunch of movies on that format, I still would have been OK with it and taken it in stride - and still enjoy what I bought just like I did with beta and laserdisc. I waited it out this time and feel good that it finally ended. What's wrong with that? If my feelings are obnoxious, I guess there really is no hope for me. :(

EDIT:

I'm not sure if I was the 'obnoxious" one or it was supposed to be Jeffrey. I vote on Jeffrey! Ha!

Oh, it was me, no question. I made an ill-considered funny.

Sorry about the confusion. Stupid same names!

Shame on you!!!!

But look at me, I just made this long-winded response to something not even directed at me!!! I must re-evaluate the term "dumb"!

:lol:

Least *you've* got manners. I'm a destroyer. :(

If this does, in fact, signal the end of the format war, I wonder if Blu-Ray will really be adopted by the public with the enthusiasm conventional DVD's were? My gut tells me that studios shouldn't be so quick to think the cash cow machine is getting revved up. What's the argument, in these uncertain financial times, to begin re-purchasing titles in a new format that one already has in the perfectly valid old one?

To tie in with the HDTVs that people *are* interested in. I think you're right that HDM will never be the phenomenon that DVD was. Matter of fact, I'll bet a lot of folks regret buying so many of those to begin with.

So, wait - who is Warner going with? Jeff or Jeffrey?

Seriously, I should have known this would happen. I always pick the wrong format when it comes to any new innovation. I was 100% behind BETA, Laserdisc and HD-DVD. I'm doing about as well there as I do when it comes to elections.

There is clear and strong interest in HDTV's among the general public, and I have no doubt that whatever the newest blockbusters are will be snapped up on Blu-Ray to show off their systems. However, I see no interest in the general public in the re-purchasing of serious catalogue titles like I AM CUBA, FORD AT FOX, the MONSTERS AND MADMEN box, or all the televison shows season sets currently available.

Is the average Joe that's interested in HDTV and subsequently Blu-Ray going to spring for THE MALTESE FALCON? I don't think people are going to access the ol' Swiss bank account to upgrade their collections the way I, for example, did with my laserdisc to DVD conversion. Whatever impact Blu-Ray is to have in the future, I agree, will not be on the same level as regular DVD's.

Absolutely. I know there's been a lot of grousing about these two competing formats, but both Blu-ray and (briefly!) HD DVD have been better for it.

I've seen the 'format war' cited very frequently as the primary reason a lot of DVD collectors haven't bought in, but I really don't think there's that much demand for a high-def format in general right now. The format war has just been an easy excuse.

I would only take that a step further and posit that if there had been more interest in Hi-Def formats, the 'war' would have been a decisive factor. As it stands, it was a confusion most lay consumers simply opted not to experience. But a lot of them bought PlayStations anyway.

Like the two are mutually exclusive?

It’s fair to say that this news nails HD-DVDs coffin closed. Now Universal making a similar announcement would be the equivalent to removing the emergency bell from the lid.

Well DVD had a about a ten year run right? I’m going to take a ten-year break from buying movies. Lets see what formats will be around then. Perhaps Blu Ray will have gone away by then. Besides I’m grand-fathered in with my older formats and I don’t have the money or real estate to spend.

Firmly in the HD-DVD camp via my Xbox360 add-on and buying quite a few discs, I now await my first 'free' BluRay disc from Disney (one of those Pirates Of The Caribbean Black Pearl 'replacements'). I'll pick up a Japanese PS3 in March probably, in order to play US discs (by reason of more releases, less censorship, etc) - but that will not let me play any UK rental discs when I am in the UK.

Whilst disliking BluRay for (the above) Region Coding, terrible MPEG2 single layer releases at the start of the format war, only now just adding specs to a 'finalisation' that may not work on the players of early adopters, excessive anti-piracy prtection levels that cause some newer discs ages to load (and even threats of disabling players if a 'dodgy' disc is loaded?), higher liscensing and manufacturing costs (which may or may not put off boutique labels), and general wariness of the format I guess I'll just have to put up with it.

I still have a memory of Betamax looking like the winner in 1982, yet VHS somehow trumped it because of the Studio support. This time Sony had enough backing to pull it off, and although making a loss on each PS3 they will hopefully get some cheaper top spec players out in the market.

Which apparently don't work, as a small number of blue ray discs have been uploaded to some sites.
Though I should think that the 25-35gb download would discourage most sane people from grabbing these.

Just curious here... does this mean the studio movies that haven't been released yet on basic DVD are gonna be pushed further back as the focus goes to re-releasing the more popular titles on BluRay?

Format war: not decided until Something Weird picks a side.

Actually, I think that Something Weird is out of the commercial DVD business, now that Image has ended their contract. SWV will continue to mail order DVD-Rs and VHS.

I have no preference for either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD, so the news doesn't really float my boat. I am very happy with standard DVD. In fact, I don't perceive any core dissatisfaction with standard DVD amongst the mainstream of consumers, so I feel that standard def will linger around for a few more years. Since DVD lasted about ten years, as someone here said, I'm not sure that Blu-Ray will even reign that long.

One thing I wish they would change is that horrible school lunch box look that passes for branding.

##shudder##

RANT

I'll be holding on to SD TV and DVD until the very last moment. The whole format conversion campaign of "the truth about HDTV" "digital has made just about everything better" and news programs plugging HD with their certain segments and "ad-libbed" comments, and watching Best Buy employees who know nothing about what they're selling other than what's in the brochures selling to people who know nothing about what they're buying has soured me on the whole experience. It feels more like a "distract the masses" sort of thing than a home entertainment revolution.

Yeah, I need DUCK SOUP on Blu-ray!

Considering you're a proponent of home video quality, I'm surprised to hear that hype and misinformation would even be a factor in your thinking.

I would have thought you'd be not only interested in the increased resolution, but especially the decreased compression, and the phasing out of differing standards, considering how often they impact the other region masters and transfers you gravitate toward.

I'm trying to strike a balance between essential film/book/electronic expenditures (hence, no iPod or the like) and student loan/credit card debt.

As for video quality, I have seen some outstanding HD and BluRay transfers but I fear the films I care about will reach the BluRay format with extreme edge-enhancement and digital color "restoration" techniques and have their mono or standard stereo soundtracks (likely from the prints' optical tracks or in some cases ripped from a VHS' audio) with Dolby Plus or DTS multichannel tracks (its the multichannel aspect I disagree with in those cases, I appreciate DTS's lesser compression).

But, yes, the social aspect of the introduction of HD has indeed soured me on it. I'll probably get myself a modest setup when the prices come down further but I'm still waiting for a more diverse selection of high definition titles (Schrader's CAT PEOPLE is tempting but I wonder how the transfer technicians treated the softness of the image - they probably got the saturation right which will probably be where the HD disc trumps the SD one).

Well, after a few days of watching Blu-ray Discs on my new Pioneer Kuro plasma I'm done with buying new DVDs, except for old academy ratio movies and rare cult movies.
High Definition is SO MUCH better that every euro I would spend from now on on big studio movies on DVD would feel like wasted money.

I hope Criterion will go Blu soon.

I honestly wouldn't bother with CAT PEOPLE on HD DVD. The technicians have absolutely mangled that one, going way overboard with the noise reduction and edge enhancement tools. Universal's track record with their catalogue releases is less than stellar, and this is one of their very weakest.

I think we're seeing very similar amounts of post-processing and sound mix arrays as we are on SD, for better and for worse. So far, HD isn't proving to reveal studios turning over a new leaf, but neither are they doing discrete tweaking to draw in people who want everything to look and sound like cut scenes from the PlayStation.

CAT PEOPLE has indeed been flagged as ridiculously DVNR'ed and EE'ed. Universal's been putting out their first iterations of HD transfers on most of their catalog titles, and they're proving to be too often compromised by SD compensation practices.

That's what worries me about these transfers. For most people, HD is a bigger image, more pixels, and SHARPER. I like my films still looking like film.

CAT PEOPLE had some Albert Whitlock matte paintings but those desert landscapes were real sound studio sets (with background mattes). There should not be so much edge enhancement that it looks like the actors are matted into digital environments (I just read a review of the HD disc that mentions that the actors "look like cardboard cutouts against the background(s)" (DVDBeaver).

I hope whoever puts out a BluRay disc of THE COMFORT OF STRANGERS reigns in their impulse to sharpen the image.

Obviously not a football junkie :D

The NFL in HD (along with other sports in general) is/was HDTV's true "killer app"...

It's a shame, because when Universal has released catalog titles with newer transfers, the results have been stunning. I'm thinking of THE DEER HUNTER in particular- what a gorgeous image on that HD-DVD! I hear Carpenter's THE THING looks awfully nice, too, but I'm still waiting to get that as one of my "5 free" mail-in titles.

Vincent

I haven't seen Universal's release of THE DEER HUNTER, but I did see the version Studio Canal released in Europe. I have no idea whether the same transfer was used in both territories, but I felt that the Studio Canal version, while pretty nice, did suffer from some oversharpening.

It's not entirely surprising, but the best-looking titles are almost always those sourced from a digital intermediate. That's not a hard and fast rule, but by and large it seems to hold true. Sony, Universal and Paramount in particular seem to understand that the best thing to do, if you have a pristine source, is to leave it alone completely and simply encode it to their format of choice without applying any edge enhancement, noise reduction, filtering and the like. There are very few DVDs that I am completely happy with, even within the limits of the format's resolution, bit rate etc., but, in under two years, there have already been an impressive number of films released on both of the HD formats that, by my estimation, are as close to perfect as you can get with lossy compression. I recently wrote a round-up of my "favourite" ten HD transfers of 2007, and it was such a pleasure to be able to write in completely positive terms about them, and actually be spoiled for choice when it came to narrowing the list down to ten discs.

I also maintain an HD Image Quality Rankings page, which I update with every disc, HD DVD or Blu-ray, that I've seen, attempting to provide as close as possible to a linear ranking system, going from best transfer to worst, along with direct 1920x1080 screen captures from as many discs as possible. It certainly reveals some interesting patterns about the various studios and the quality of their output. Broadly speaking, Sony, Paramount and Universal fare the best with new releases, with Universal being completely all over the place when it comes to catalogue material.

Bookmarked.

Keep it up, Michael. Thanks.