MS Pays Off Paramount – Paramount Switch-a-ruse To HDDVD Only

Comment from: Mr. Peabody
To the long comment above [in previous post]: Thanks for the really long advertisment for MS. Whether you like it or not, that’s the objective truth. MS has and is willing to continue to pay big bucks to keep their codecs prolific around the globe so that they can ultimately do what they’ve always, done, get us all hooked on their inner workings then screw us – at least those of us that don’t use Windows.

For being so amazing objective it’s amazing how subjectively your post is written. And your conclusion?
- “…lower cost…” – Less capacity lower cost, how does that make it a better technology for the end user? And over time I don’t believe that BR will cost any more than HDDVD.

- “…better features…” – I don’t see how that has been demonstrated in the article, and again, I think you would hard pressed to prove that has anything to do with the core technology, it’s what the developer brings to the table, the disk isn’t a limiting factor at all.

- “…easier production…” – Again, not a limitation of of the disk technology, not to mention that, along with your first point – “…lower cost…”, this has been the mantra of every MS sales rep. since the beginning of time – “Don’t use Macs…, Don’t use Apple…, Don’t use Unix…, Don’t use anything that isn’t MS because it’s gonna cost more…” Conveniently leaving out the truth which is that it’s not more expensive, if you do your own homework, and running MS products of any kind at any level always and without exception costs more to actually operate – period.

The DRM thing – again please put your ducks in a row – it’s not the disk technology, it’s the developer.

BR is clearly the way to go to get the best value per GB for the end user – period. Arguments about DRM and lower costs are nothing short of misdirection on the part of MS and it’s partners – and you can, and will, go to the bank on that.

IN RESPONSE TO:

Comment from: @ Comment from: @ Kevin under “John”
Good point. So, I went and read the “TVPredictions.com” article.

As soon as I realized the link went to that site, I knew automatically what to expect. I have been keeping tabs on many news stories for many months that have “HD DVD” in them, thanks to Google’s email alerts. Whenever I read a story from TVPredictions.com, the site seems extremely biased in favor of the Blu-ray camp. As my previous post noted: Blu-ray supporters are very defensive, which makes their articles, comments, blogs, etc. full of overly harsh criticism, name calling, and over-exaggerated conclusions based on less than all the facts.

There is definitely lots of propoganda out there. And, well, the Blu-ray camp seems to be doing their best at lobbying against Paramount and Dreamworks for making a well-informed, well-reasoned, and overall smart business decision.

My assumption is that anyone shedding their portfolio of Paramount and/or Dreamworks stock as a result of recent events will not be motivated by rational and astute business sense, but rather an emotional response due to their ties to, or favor of, Blu-ray. The smart investor, in my humble opinion, would see a company that has made a smart, reasoned, business decision based on plenty of research and forethought. This was not some knee-jerk reaction. Smart investors know that you don’t jump in when something looks hot at the moment with no promise of future performance… but you jump in when you believe that something is better, more stable, and has much more promise (in your estimation based on facts) of performing well in the future. If anyone looks into the other reasons (beyond just $150m) that Paramount/Dreamworks made this decision, I believe they will find their decision to be in line with the above reasoning.

The person with confidence of the strength of their position has no fear revealing the good points of the competition; to discuss and educate on what the counter perspective is.
It seems to me that Michael Bay’s 3 friends that support Blu-ray did not have such confidence, or simply had never given HD DVD a try, or are less than fully informed about the strengths and weaknesses of both formats. They threw him a line and he bought it, leading him to make a hasty post online about being open to doing Transformers 2. The next day he posted again. This time to confess he had been duped by his frenzied Blu-ray supporting friends, and after looking at 300 on HD DVD, he said “It rocks!” And then he commented that he would definitely be open to doing Transformers 2. He had taken some time to find out why Paramount and Dreamworks made the decision they did. Rather than continuing to be defensive, he actually gave the studios the benefit of the doubt and let them speak.

This is exactly why I recommend that people consult a “techy” friend they trust that will give them the truth (as far as they know) about both sides.

I admit to my friends the strengths that Blu-ray has, and correct them when they undermine the truth of the Blu-ray format (for example, people still think that Blu-ray discs all use MPEG2 as their compression codec, and that it would be substandard to do so. The reality is, some discs do still come out with the codec but it is not the only codec used, and some reviewers with better equipment than myself have stated that an MPEG2 Blu-ray transfer looked the same as the VC-1 HD DVD counterpart.)

I believe Paramount and Dreamworks decision is in the consumers (as a whole and not just a segment of Blu-ray consumers) best interest. I believe them when they say that they believe the HD DVD format to be more family friendly due to the price point of players, and better for business due to the lower cost of manufacturing (which can then be passed on to the consumer – if they chose to do so). I know the Blu-ray camp says that the price difference has lessened recently, and that’s true. But HD DVD players are still cheaper, and you get more functionality for your money with the promise of studios putting more and better features on their discs because they know that all players (since inception of the format) will be able to play any and all features they put on a disc. As long as that player carries the “HD DVD” official logo (sorry LG), it will be able to play it all. Blu-ray simply cannot make the same statement.

For me, I was just glad to see a studio make a decision to go exclusive with a format for reasons that WERE consumer friendly (lower cost, better features, easier production), rather than being motivated by better DRM to protect their intellectual property. I say “way to go Paramount and Dreamworks!”

IN RESPONSE TO:

MacDailyNews – Paramount’s HD DVD payola is anti-consumer

Paramount’s HD DVD payola is anti-consumer

Sunday, August 26, 2007 – 02:02 PM EDT
“According to the New York Times, HD DVD promoters are paying $150 million to Paramount/Dreamworks to pay for Paramount dropping its support of Blu-ray while retaining support of HD DVD,” Robert Smith reports for TVPredictions.

”Two years ago, Paramount announced that they would support both HD DVD and Blu-ray in the HDTV disc format war. Blu-ray has been selling two-to-one over HD DVD this year, and this includes Paramount titles,” Smith reports.

”Within the market for HDTV disc players, consumers have to be warned that they cannot depend on anything. I am advising all of my friends and associates to be wary of both formats now, and especially of the apparent commitments made by studios,” Smith reports.

”This decision of Paramount has seriously destabilized the already tenuous HDTV disc market and left customers in a greater state of uncertainty and mistrust that they were before,” Smith reports.

Full article here.