Another Opinion - On the Matter of the HD DVD Petition...

[allchemie]

"OK, so the chances of the Petition changing Warner's position are next to nothing; still the consumer should have the right to express their feelings to the company. ... OR is it a case of trying to say, freedom of expression shouldn't be allowed. Too many big businesses operate in a vacuum as if the customer doesn't matter, so customer feedback IS important.
"

Of course you have the right to petition any business. Petitioning Toshiba is of no help. They agree with you. You'd have to petition all the studios that are solely recording Blu Ray and the HD ones that are or will be going to Blu Ray.

Will this do any good? If getting something off your chest is good, then it's good. But since the penetration of both formats is still next to nothing compared to dvd's the chances of any success is between Slim and None. And Slim left town.

You'd also have to petition all the retail outlets that only want to sell one format, which is probably all of them. Shelf space is expensive and stores hardly want to sell two different formats that do the same exact thing. The stores are far more interested in satisfying the over 99.6% (that may be generous) of Americans that don't have a Hi-Rez disc player yet. It will be more futile than yelling at Target, Costco, or Walmart to start selling LP's in addition to CD's. They won't do it.

Only video specialty stores might be interested in selling both and the big stores chains will eventually (within a year)be selling more Blu Ray machines and discs accidentally in a a couple of days than specialty stores would sell HD's in two years.

The only chance HD has is if Microsoft decides to continue selling HD players with their gaming console. But I think it is dubious they will stay with HD in the long run--as much as they have interests in HD and don't like Sony. Afterall, Sony buys their computer Operating Systems mostly from Microsoft. I'm sure that Microsoft is far more interested in selling its gaming consoles with the popular hi-rez format. And is Microsoft willing to take the chance that it will hurt their XBOX sales because they are the only ones with HD? I doubt it, but time will tell. In addition Microsoft is likely more interested in takingon Apple in streaming Hi Rez and standard definition movies and shows. They see what a boon that has been for Apple.

Greg

Things

[terrypaullin]

Phil,
First of all, NO COURT in the land is going to force any studio to publish in any perscribed way. Thankfully, we still live in a free enterprise system. The reason continuing with two formats is less preferable than either one winning outright is that is too expensive for the studios and therefore for consumers as well, since costs always trickle down. If all energies are focused on one format, we will likely get better discs, better players and eventually, if for no other reason than volume, lower costs. I truly wish the other side had won (see my column in Widescreen Review) but they didn't.
Who should we be mad at - Sony for doing what they had to do and writing the big check? - Warner for being the lynch pin? - Toshiba for not being smart enough to win the war? Hey, it is what it is. Let's get on with enjoying High Definition movies, however they're wrapped.

[beatdrum]

Regarding Miller's response for me to check my facts, I did!

Excellent information regarding the use of online petitions to remedy issues is available at snopes.com

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/internet.asp

[Shane]

Whether an online petition is legally submittable to government is not important. It's press. You better believe that the PR department at WB knows about this petition, regardless of whether it's ever "officially submitted".

Whether they do anything about it is anyone's guess.

- Shane

[David Turkheimer]

I've been in the computer/communication business for decades, and it is rarely the case that the "white hat" (i.e., better) technology wins. It's usually ok technology (the "gray hats") that's been heavily marketed that wins. (See Microsoft for examples).

I believe Blu-Ray is the better technology. With greater capacity and an open Java development environment, it should be the winner.

So I've been holding my breath, expecting to be disappointed once again. (Anyone want my laserdisc collection?). With the Warner Bros., the possibility rears its head that Blu-Ray could win!

However, I've been bitten too often to get my hopes up.

So I look on the HD-DVD petition as, well, the devil's spawn.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[regman]

Yeah and there are billions stuck with 8 tracks, cassettes, Beta recorders, black & white TV's, soon to be TV's with analog tuners, 4:3 TV's, anything with CRT's in it, Windows 98 machines and soon to be Windows XP machines. I would even venture that BD will go down eventually since large capacity RAM is getting so cheap and the concept of a true media server is moving closer. You're like the Dutch boy with his finger in the dike. For a devine revelation hang out at any ewaste collection point for a while. Personally I think the sooner the better I would love to free up my media storage room for different uses, like a library and quiet place to read.

Most BD players upconvert to 1080P so buying an HD DVD for that purpose alone is a redundancy.

The new Apple iTouch has dumped the micro disk drives and it's just the start (at only 16gigs)... It's just the way that technology is constantly leap frogging ahead. You'll get over it. It was a cheap interim investment. I remember when the first CD players were a grand or more with a couple dozen CD's available. It's just the nature of things. I invested when they dropped to $600. When I bought my first 34" CRT HDTV was when they dropped from 8K to 4K - look at the prices now for 42" sets. This is why a lot of investors hate high technology stocks.

I paid $400 for my iPhone, which eveyone thinks is over the top expensive, when I ran across my original Moto Razr V3 bill (which they give away now) it was $599.00. My 8700C Blackberry was also around $599.00 and that when when the dollar was worth a whole lot more than it is today. Gas was around 2 bucks or so a gallon.

It was certainly a noble cause - some petitions have been successful in bringing back TV programs so my comments are nor meant to "dis" you.

[Guest]

I agree that the petition means little in the short run. HD DVD still offers the most affordable way for anyone looking to get into a high def optical format. Moreover, Universal and recent Paramount movies are not available on Blu-Ray. That may change in the future. However, we are still in a two format state now.

Petitioners would be better off setting up their preferences at the Warner store. At least it will be a bit more quantifiable than the petition with fake names and little to no verification.

http://email-warnerbros.com/registratio ... source=WBB

The "let HD DVD die" people should petition Blu-Ray manufacturers to lower the prices of their players.

[akirby]

The "let HD DVD die" people should petition Blu-Ray manufacturers to lower the prices of their players.

There are only 2 ways to get cheap players - sell them below cost to gain a foothold in the marketplace and establish your format as a defacto standard (see Toshiba) or get the volume ramped up so that manufacturing costs come down.

In other words the free lunch will soon be over. Get it now, if you want it.

[pmalter0]

First of all, NO COURT in the land is going to force any studio to publish in any perscribed way. Thankfully, we still live in a free enterprise system.

Wrong again Terry, we live under a free enterprise system, not a free predation system. And the courts do prevent contracts or conspiracies to restrain trade such as the Warners/Sony deal.

The reason continuing with two formats is less preferable than either one winning outright is that is too expensive for the studios and therefore for consumers as well, since costs always trickle down. If all energies are focused on one format, we will likely get better discs, better players and eventually, if for no other reason than volume, lower costs.

Just like having two cell phone companies is more expensive than just one (it actually is -- for the cell phone companies). Your trickle-down theory is quaint, but also quite na

[pmalter0]

There are only 2 ways to get cheap players - sell them below cost to gain a foothold in the marketplace and establish your format as a defacto standard (see Toshiba) or get the volume ramped up so that manufacturing costs come down.

You miss the third and most important way: competition fomented technology (see regman above).

Phil