http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/11757.cfm
Blockbuster hopes to compete with Netflix by not competing with Netflix
10 November 2007 15:35 by vurbal
Earlier this week Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes announced a new focus for the company. Ironically, the new focus is on the company's old brick and mortar rentail business.
Keyes spoke about the company's Total Access plan, which this year made Blockbuster the first company to ever seriously compete with Netflix in online rentals. "The concept of Total Access—brilliant. The execution of Total Access left a little to be desired," Keyes said. He was referring to the fact that despite being a success in terms of attracting subscribers, so far the program has failed to turn a profit. In fact, according to Keyes the program has cannibalized Blockbuster's in-store customer base.
"We've decided that instead of a horizontal shift [to mail], we think there might be more of a vertical opportunity to move customers across channels so that store customers don't have to only move to digital or by mail," he said. "The ability to transform these customers and allow them to have different use occasions and sources of access, we think is a more relative model for us and will be the more likely migration path over the next few years."
One of the methods Blockbuster intends to use for their digital delivery plans is the newly acquired Movielink download service. Blockbuster bought Movielink earlier this year in an apparent attempt to compete with the Watch Instantly feature debuted by Netflix earlier this year. The purchase gives Blockbuster access to what Keyes calls the "largest amount of digital title rights in the marketplace today."
However isn't in a hurry to implement the new technology though, telling analysts "Let's very carefully explore and continue to penetrate a digital model but not prematurely."
ok people, you gotta think PIRACY!!!!! sure, the only things normal blue rays are good for is having the data space for the HUGE ps-3 games. or the space for h-d movies{which dont fit on normal dvds}. but that isnt the fun part.
its PIRACY which will benefit the most. imagine, you can have hundreds of hours of low quality or mp-3 quality movies'series etc.{they do that u know, decrease the quality a bit, take out 5.1 channels/special feature etc etc. and can fit in around 12 -13 hours of movie on a single dvd. i shud know, i only really get those pirated ones where i live 🙂 } on a single dvd. also, consider that if you have a blue ray writer, you can store hundreds of episodes of series/anime etc that you have downloaded online with a high speed broadband. will make it cheeper for people who cant buy all those expensive external harddrives.
basically, yay for me, as long as i am able to affprd a 1-2 mbp/s , unlimited broadband connection{hope its soon}. lol
Well! MS just threw gasoline into the fire.
Xbox 360 HD DVD Player Drops to $130
Wed Dec 5, 2007 12:00AM ESTSome deals are just too good to pass up during the holiday season, especially when prices on Blu-ray and HD DVD players keep dropping as the format war drags on.
Gizmodo says the Xbox 360 HD DVD player is selling for $130 at places like Amazon and Toys R Us. That's the lowest price I've seen on a HD DVD player this month. You really can't go wrong buying one for that price, especially when it includes the "King Kong" HD-DVD and a mail-in offer that qualifies you for five free HD-DVDs. I've had mine for a year and have been very happy with it.
If you don't have an Xbox 360 or a PlayStation 3 but want to enjoy high-definition movies on your HDTV, check out the Venturer High-Definition DVD player Ben wrote about a few months ago. The player is still selling for for $189.98 over at Wal-Mart.
If you're still on the fence regarding the transition to high-definition DVD players, this would be an excellent time to make your move.
Other Sources: http://www.betanews.com/article/Microsoft_slashes_price_of_Xbox_360_HD_DVD_addon/1196869845
Five free movies and the player for my 360? I hope this deal last. Because this is something I would get.
Damn! I didn't want to join either camp. But now...this is looking more favorable for the HD DVD people. 🙁
It looks like Blu Ray held its own following black Friday.
Blu-Ray seems to be controlling the market...but can't quite edge out HD DVD. However, the following article seems a bit one sided, IMO.
http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6509196.html?industryid=47215
Warner Bros have Joined Blue ray !!!!!!!!
Press Release from Warner Home Video:
(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.”
Update
Toshiba has issued a brief press release in response to Warner Home Video's decision to exclusively support the Blu-ray format beginning in May. Expect more reactions and news over the next several days with the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2008) coming up next week.
Press Release from Toshiba:
(January 4, 2008 - Tokyo, Japan) Toshiba is quite surprised by Warner Bros.' decision to abandon HD DVD in favor of Blu-ray, despite the fact that there are various contracts in place between our companies concerning the support of HD DVD. As central members of the DVD Forum, we have long maintained a close partnership with Warner Bros. We worked closely together to help standardize the first-generation DVD format as well as to define and shape HD DVD as its next-generation successor.
We were particularly disappointed that this decision was made in spite of the significant momentum HD DVD has gained in the US market as well as other regions in 2007. HD DVD players and PCs have outsold Blu-ray in the US market in 2007.
We will assess the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies and evaluate potential next steps. We remain firm in our belief that HD DVD is the format best suited to the wants and needs of the consumer.
News by Matt Joseph
From http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releases/warner-goes-blu.html
I accompanied my parents to help them with purchasing an HDTV and they were sold into buying the the Dual HD-DVD and Blu-Ray player from LG (BH100 model) at Best Buy which cost them a cool $1000! It worked great until we popped in the Spiderman 3 Blu-ray and it did not work!
The problem was it needed to be updated (we just bought the damn thing). This consisted of calling the number on the back of the model and waiting on customer service to get an update-disc (4 week delivery timeline).
Lesson learned? Don't purchase the Dual player. I'd stick with the Blu-ray.
http://gorillamask.net/gm_media.php?show_page=video&page_id=14670
Hitler isn't pleased.
Originally posted by coolmovies
I watched a bond movie yeturday 'You only live twice' and i could see grains and lines in the movie . I know its a old movie but i dont think films like these will benefit from HD ?
Not as much. That's what people aren't thinking about - this is about getting us to buy recent films & the just released, to take advantage of the tech. There's only so much they can do for films a few decades old or more. Can they really improve upon what the best standard DVD can do?
What I want to see in the future - the oldest B&W films COMPLETELY restored. No scratches on the frames, no hiss from the soundtrack.