Studios Spar Over HD Formats

[Pirate]

Disney CEO Bob Iger criticize HD DVD supporters and says that it was "easy money" that led some studios to only support HD DVD.

"We believe it's a no-brainer ... that the industry should be behind Blu-ray," Iger told investors at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference.

"I think those studios were likely taking easy money. We haven't taken any money because we believe it," he said.

Our opinion on this:
Disney really has to watch it's comments and next steps. That Disney will talk negative about studios he don't even want to mention by name is one thing and very unprofessional. Don't trow with stones if you live in a glass house! A few examples of what Blu-ray did. Sony bought enough MGM shares before launch of Blu-ray. This ultimately led to that they has the final say in what MGM chose to support. They also refused to work with the DVD Forum and did not sit down to talk before they had finished Blu-ray basically saying take what we have made or you have a format war. Also, a funny thing is that the interactive features found in the HD DVD format was co-developed by Microsoft and Disney but suddenly Disney decided to drop it and support Blu-ray. Why? Who knows but my guess is that it had something to do with money. The point is that companies do what they find best for their company and Disney has done the same on a number times. Hey Bob, if you want Paramount and DreamWorks to support Blu-ray again why don't you do the same and go neutral with support of HD DVD? Oh and lastly, if you have to talk bad about others to justify your own decision to investors... isn't that worse than taking money...

http://www.dvdtown.com/news/disney-c...upporters/4757

[Pirate]

More:

The high-def format war hit new heights yesterday as CEOs representing Disney, Fox, Parament and Warner all weighed in on the ongoing battle for next-gen supremacy.

Each of the execs made their comments during an investor conference in New York sponsored by Goldman Sachs, and if there was any doubt that the format war wasn't being discussed at the highest levels of these companies, it can be put to rest.

Making the strongest statements were Disney's Robert Iger and Fox's Rupert Murdoch, who each reaffirmed their companies' support for Blu-ray, while criticising Paramount's recent decision to support HD DVD only.

"The public is going to want Blu-ray. The public can tell the difference," said Murdoch. "Paramount switched out the other day. God knows why."

Disney's Iger concurred. "We believe it's a no-brainer that the industry should be behind Blu-ray." The exec went on to state that his company had not taken any money to choose Blu-ray.

Meanwhile, Philippe Dauman, the CEO of Viacom (which owns Paramount) defended his company's decision to support HD DVD only, saying that supporting both formats "creates some inherent inefficiencies, and we would like to see the HD format have success." Dauman refused comment on reports that Paramount/DreamWorks had received $150 million dollars in exchange for its exclusive support of HD DVD.

For its part, Warner emphasized its agnostic stance in the format war, with Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons saying it's still too early to predict which side will win.

"The consumer doesn't care about the format. It's linear penetration that counts," said Parsons. "Our objective is not to take sides on the format but to do what we need to do to get maximum penetration."

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/sh...ay,_HD_DVD/985

[ganthc]

Wow, nice grammar on the opinion there!

Of course, this is a prime example of how Disney will be going neutral in just a short time, right?

[sub780lime]

Originally Posted by ganthc

Wow, nice grammar on the opinion there!

Yeah, made it a little difficult to read.

The only thing I got out of both articles is, "Mine is bigger than yours".

[MooglePorn]

At this point it's a dual-format generation and likely a laserdisc-esque niche product because of it. I'm fine with that I guess, though it surely prevents us from getting the releases we want at the pace we want them.

I don't see either format dying anytime soon. It's bad for consumers, but hey... I guess we chose it by supporting both.

Whatever.

[Derb]

Originally Posted by MooglePorn

At this point it's a dual-format generation and likely a laserdisc-esque niche product because of it. I'm fine with that I guess, though it surely prevents us from getting the releases we want at the pace we want them.

Been spreading my opinions about the format war in general & how it is more than likey that both will co-exsist ala laserdisc/VHS but no one could agree & made it out to sound more like a VHS/Betemax dealy. While its too soon to say my opinions will be written in stone, I strongly believe both formats will be around for some time.

[tomdkat]

Interesting. I wonder how the other studios feel about these comments from Disney.

Peace...

[pizza]

Originally Posted by MooglePorn

It's bad for consumers, but hey... I guess we chose it by supporting both.

Totally agree.

[jriseden]

Originally Posted by tomdkat

Interesting. I wonder how the other studios feel about these comments from Disney.

Peace...

Well if I had to guess, I would say...

Sony popped a boner.

Fox probably loves it.

MGM didn't even blink since they are the puppets of Sony & Fox.

Universal doesn't care since they exist in a vacuum.

And Paramount HATED the fact they were called sellouts but LOVED the free publicity they got since this is the most attention the studio has had since they broke up with lil Tommy Cruise back in 2006.