So you want to petition Warner and let them know you still want HD-DVD.........and you've got 12,000 signatures..................really?

What are you guys thinking?!!

How many HD DVD...

Read the Column

Doesn't matter the number, if it were 1,000,000 and I'm a Warner Exec, I would EXPECT 1,000,000 names on the petition and not one less.

It's a good thing you are NOT a Warner Exec, because you are expecting a 100% response rate. When in the real world does that ever happen???

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.

Bob Diaz

Petition for Consumer Justice...a quaint idea, but very, very naive

Wrong, Mr. Paullin, I've been petitioning for consumer justice most successfully for 40 years (although I do agree with you that Warner is not the party to be petitioned). BTW, assuming someone successfully petitions the court to require the studios to license movies in both formats, why do you think that would be inferior to having Blue Ray only?

Phil

Question: How do you piss off a million people?

The count is now up to 30,000...++

So is it a good idea to buy an HD-DVD player now, and start scooping up HD-DVDs? The A35 is under $250 @ Amazon

Its currently $129 at Costco, with five free HD DVDs. That also includes an HDMI cable, which effectively matches the previous $98 deal of several months ago. Its a no brainer to buy if you would benefit even with only a quality upconversion DVD player. I purchased one several months ago and feel way ahead of the game. I received my five free DVDs yesterday. If I never buy another HD DVD, I have paid a ridiculously low price for some very high quality goodies. I don't have a problem with buying a Blue Ray player down the road, if that is the only format available. What is wrong with stacking these two different formated players on top of each other. Both are relatively small components. There is nothing incompatible about using two different formats to reproduce movies. I still use (on a regular basis) in addition to CDs, a turntable, cassette deck, and a reel to reel tape deck to reproduce audio. Each of these components has its own strengths and weaknesses.

Regarding the original petition, I mentioned the following in another forum:

Petitions via email are not effective. A friend who is a computer expert received the following directly from a system administrator for a corporate system. It is an excellent message that recommends to NOT forward petitions!

He states: "Have you ever gotten an email that is a petition? It states a position
and asks you to add your name and address and to forward it to 10 or 15
people or your entire address book. The email can be forwarded on and on and
can collect thousands of names and email addresses.

A FACT: The completed petition is actually worth a couple of bucks to a
professional spammer because of the wealth of valid names and email
addresses contained therein. If you want to support the petition, send it as
your own personal letter to the intended recipient. Your position may carry
more weight as a personal letter than a laundry list of names and email
address on a petition. (Actually, if you think about it, who's supposed to
send the petition in to whatever cause it supports? No one. And don't
believe the ones that say that the email is being traced, it just ain't so!)
Besides:

ANOTHER FACT: Government entities, from the White House on down, DO NOT
accept emails as any semblance of a valid petition."

The above appears to make a lot of sense. As such, I won't be signing the HD petition, although I am enjoying and supporting HD DVD.

First, for anyone looking for a link the the petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/SAVEHDD/petition.html

beatdrum wrote:He states: "Have you ever gotten an email that is a petition? It states a position and asks you to add your name and address and to forward it to 10 or 15 people or your entire address book. The email can be forwarded on and on and can collect thousands of names and email addresses.

A valid concern. Always check out the privacy policy on these websites in addition to a quick Google search to verify their legitimacy. Here is a link to the privacy statement for the site in question:
http://www.petitiononline.com/privacy-pets.html

A quick look and check of this policy quickly alleviated any concerns I might have had.

beatdrum wrote:ANOTHER FACT: Government entities, from the White House on down, DO NOT accept emails as any semblance of a valid petition."

You might want to brush up on your "facts":
http://www.petitiononline.com/petition_FAQ.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Signatures_in_Global_and_National_Commerce_Act


- Miller

Jordanm,
It's hard for anyone else to say what the "right" value proposition is for YOU. Turns out there are about 1,000 titles out there currently, some of which are foreign, documentarys and concert videos. Still, there are 7 or 800 "normal" movies. Just know that someday (soon, I expect) the lights will go out completely on HD-DVD. Assuming you will want to continue the magic of high definition optical disc, you will have to buy a BD player. You will then be left with a "spare" that is good for archived HD-DVDs and up-converting NTSC discs. The real question is, of all the HD-DVDs that are available, how many do you really want to own/rent. If the number is small, perhaps your $250 is better spent as a headstart toward a BD player.

Bob,
Of course you never get 100% on a petition. You took me too literally. I only meant to say that no one at Warner (or Sony) expects any HD-DVD owner to be happy with this situation. That said, there's no turning back. They got what they want and 1,000,000 of us are stuck with the debris (remember Divx). I couldn't agree more that many big businesses attempt to operate in a vacuum, though these businesses eventually fade away. An immutable law of business is that they must sell products that people want to buy. Warner and Sony have already calculated that although they may have pissed off 1,000,000 people, those same people won't swear off HD optical discs just to get even. The few that might are easily replaced with "fence-sitters" who will now get in the game since the future is (now) clear. If it makes you feel better, by all means, sign the petition. It may serve as an excellent blood pressure reduction aid.

"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

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.

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

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

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.