Seriously Everyone, Don't Buy The 360's HD DVD Add-on

Kotaku writes: "Transforming from my week with Gizmodo covering CES, I bring a little perspective from the buzz of the CES press rooms, several high ranking media journalists and at least one adult film director of the year: HD DVD really is dead. Microsoft may not be going Blu-ray just yet, but Warner is gone from HD DVD and it really will cause a ripple through the industry".

[Joey Gladstone]

...........
......
.."The JOEY has Spoken"

[TheTwelve]

Dang...I thought Kotaku was anti-Sony. Hmmm.

12

[InMyOpinion]

All sites are anti-Sony as long as they don't post good news concerning Sony and their consoles. The fact that 2007 wasn't a great year for Sony and the PS3 has nothing to do with it at all...

HD-DVD is t3h d34dz0rz.

[VirusE]

The joey i have you to suffer through you so you must be new. Nice bubble count.

"Dang...I thought Kotaku was anti-Sony. Hmmm. "

well said.

[Leathersoup]

Why wouldn't I?

[solar]

holy crap. best avatar ive seen all week. full house baby! lmao!

[kingofps3]

Pay attention to Kotaku kids. Don't do HD-DVD.

[MailMan]

Since Xbots LACK common sense,it comes as no SURPRISE that they are still SUPPORTING HD DVD,a DEAD format.

But at the same time,Xbots also support their DEAD consoles and the accompanying Online service that's DYING.

Jump OUT and Play B3YOND

[NRG]

I need to use CAPS because I don't know how to add EMPHASIS to my post any other way. If I DON'T, I fear people will not take me SERIOUSLY. Oh wait...

[UnblessedSoul]

Idiots will still buy it from their clearance sale LOL

[nicholascage24]

But the numbers would still be very minute.

I mean most xbox 360 owners have already seen the results. They might go for DD or Blu-Ray .

It is unlikely that any xbox 360 owner would be that foolish to buy an obsolete add-on

[Primetimebt]

They were foolish to buy a console with the average life span of 2 month so what make you think buying an dead HD DVD add on would be any different?

[Chubear]

oh very well said and very true. I mean, look at the next main post.

[Eamon]

seriously, wouldn't have Warner started to make revenue out of the HD market a lot quicker with HD DVD than with Blu-Ray.

I am not against Blu-Ray. I actually like it more than HD DVD because it has greater capacity.

It's just when looking at it from Warner's view, it would have been more advantageous for them to back HD DVD.

Oh well. At least now the clear winner is emerging and maybe I can finally get a HD movie player. w00t

Edit: The reason why I think it would sell more on HD DVD is because of the price. Blu-Ray's price won't drop to the affordable price till very late 2008 and maybe 2009. HD DVD is already cheap and can grab consumer attention.

[nicholascage24]

Transformers HD DVD couldnt encode HD audio due to lack of space. although i dont know to what extent that claim is valid.

the holiday purchase pattern influenced Warner's decision too. NPD reported that Blu-ray standalone players outsold HD DVD standalone players for the month of December in 2007.

I think that is what cuased Warner's to defect to Blu Ray exclusivity

[AceLuby]

with your logic is that all those sub $200 and $100 HD-DVD players were all sold FAR under cost and can't be sold for that little for longer than a single sale. Look at any non-Toshiba HD-DVD player. They are still in the $399 range and there are only 2 companies other than Toshiba making standalone players. IMO HD-DVD was going to 'consistently' sell at those prices roughly the same time that blu consistently were at that price.

The reason Toshiba could do that was that there isn't much competition to undercut. The cheapest BR player is Samsung ($299) w/ most players about the same cost as a PS3. The reason Warner went over is that BR discs outsell their HD-DVD counterparts, sales are stifling w/out a single HD format, and despite the 'firesales' that Toshiba has been trying to orchestrate, sales on both the disc side and the player side is far in blu's favor. If blu is the single next gen format then sales for just BR will overshadow sales of BR + HD w/ two formats as more people will be willing to upgrade w/ only one format.

[InMyOpinion]

Warner got payed, remember? =)

http://www.n4g.com/industry...

*edit* I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it. That's how it works and Warner would probably have gone with Blu-Ray anyways since it was the winning format.

@Adamalicious - "Warner Home Entertainment President Kevin Tsujihara says the studio took no pay-offs to exclusively back Blu-ray. "

"Warner Home Entertainment President Kevin Tsujihara says..."
C'mon man. What else can he say? He would be THE last person on earth to admit it. The fact that he counter-comments on the whole thing just makes it seem more suspicious.

[Eamon]

@AceLuby: F00|! It's obvious that the real Blu-Ray sales will "rise" like hell once it becomes the default HD format. The same "logic" could apply to HD DVD. Only I said, that, HD DVD's "rise" will start before Blu-Ray's "rise."

@Jenzo: Maybe they did, but at least the sum would last them until Blu-Ray's "rise."

P.S. LOLZ AT TEH "R1S3"

[Adamalicious]

from http://www.highdefdigest.co...

<qft>Warner Home Entertainment President Kevin Tsujihara says the studio took no pay-offs to exclusively back Blu-ray.

In a post-announcement conference call, Tsujihara flatly denied rumors that studio had accepted anywhere from 250M to $500M in exchange for dropping its HD DVD format support.
According to the exec, Warner's sole motivation in dropping its HD DVD format support was to ensure growth of the "category" and the long-term health of the industry.

"The packaged media business is a $42 billion dollar business worldwide at the retail level, and we [Warner] have the largest market share of anybody," said Tsujihara. "From our perspective, the most important piece of this whole puzzle is, "How do we get growth back into this category?" That far outweighed anything else."
This [decision] was one hundred percent around what makes the most sense for the consumer, the retailer and the industry. This was not a bidding war. This was all about what was best, strategically, for us." </qft>

[LJWooly]

So what if Warner got paid? Paramount got paid to stick with HD-DVD, only difference is that Warner's backing the winner.

Besides, I thought warner chose Blu Ray due the sales of Blu-ray standalone players.

[undacovabrothe]

No Warner is looking at the bigger picture here. If there are 2 formats consumers will hault buying 1 of the 2 since they either dont know whats better or which format will last. Warner quickly ending the battle makes consumers more confident in their purchase increasing revenue for them.

[THUNDERMARE]

Warner might make some money of HD-DVD, but remember the main reason, and only reason, is that Warner is not stupid. If they join the HD-DVD side, the format war will keep all the potential consumers away from adopting new a format at all. So Warner decide to kill of a format, and they pick HD-DVD.

[ravinash]

Price makes no difference if no one is buying it.
Blue ray was outselling HD-DVD all around the world 2:1 in US and 9:1 in japan, and this was before warner went BlueRay.
If warner wants to make money, they needed to kill off the media war as soon as possible so people will start coming over to the HD format.
Go HD-DVD would have split the market down the middle and there would be no end in sight. But going BlueRay, you can already see the results and now its just a matter of time before the other studios come over as no one will be able to play their films.

[BigKev45]

I brought the HD DVD add on when it first came out, well at least I also have a PS3.

[shelbygt33]

I also have the add-on as well as a ps3. I'll be enjoying my HD-DVD's until the drive craps out. Considering that I own about 7 movies, and rented a whole HECK of a lot more over the last year or so, I feel as though I got my money's worth.

[Sersnake]

its not useful for games and the movie market is dead so better buy a bluray player if you don't want to buy a ps3.

[Excalibur]

About 5 months ago and I'm very happy with it.
I actually got the 6 free movies and have bought a few more here and there.
There are still plenty of good movies to buy for it and if the format dies then there will be plenty of good discounted movies for it so it's really no biggie for me either way.

[Kwertie]

I love how everyone is claiming Bluray the victor, when in reality both formats are still niche. The war isn't between the two, it's between Bluray & HD-DVD vs DVD.

Anyway, HD-DVD will be back, mark my words. As for the studios? Well if HD-DVD began outselling Bluray, who would stick with the failing format? They will jump ship just as easy as they have jumped ship before.

The other thing is that Bluray only has the installed userbase it does due to the PS3. If MS had forced HD-DVD on everyone, that would be at least 16 million HD-DVD players in the wild, and well, considering how dumb people are to fall for the PS3 as a game machine when in reality Sony will make more profit in selling movie discs for it, I kinda wish MS did the same.

Those who were supporting HD-DVD will either continue to do so, or support regular DVD in spite of Bluray. This will only slow the transition further and Bluray may even just fade away like Laser Disc, Mini Disc, Betamax or Super Audio CD.

Oh that reminds me. I read somewhere that regular DVDs look absolute crap on the PS3, worse than a regular DVD player. I say this is the same quality lowering tactics as they used for SACD. Normal CDs actually sounded worse on an SACD player, to enhance the difference between them.

[GIJeff]

regular DVDs look far superior on PS3, i watch them all the time.

[weezeru2]

Why dont you talk about something that you actually know about! Coming from someone who has a PS3 regular DVDs actually look better than most Upconvert DVD players... and they sure as hell look better than the upconvert on an HD-DVD player. And dont be so ignorant about people going back regular DVD in spite on Blu-Ray.. that is just ridiculous! Let me go back to 480p resolution then upgrade to beautiful 1080p with true HD sound?

"HD-DVD will be back... mark my words." sounds like a super villian

[hardmetal]

Guess what?!! You are owned already.

Even Toshiba didn't say that. lol

[AceLuby]

My PS3 upconverts DVD's FAR better than my 360 and any non action movie I would rather get on DVD as seeing it in HD is nearly the same. A comedy is a comedy whether it's in HD or not (and 480p for $10 is a much better value IMO than 1080p for $30 which is why I have Superbad on DVD) Also, how can HD-DVD start to get better sales when 60% of the market is exclusive to blu? Single format means more people will be willing to upgrade which means more $$$ for players and more $$$ for discs.

[Shadow Flare]

Did he actually say hd-dvd will be back? Your head's a dream factory mate. Look if Hd-dvd couldn't outsell bluray with warner, what makes you think they'll outsell bluray without warner? Along with the other studios that have left hd-dvd

[VirusE]

Normal cd sound worse than on an sacd player? My lexicon RT10 begs to differ. The problem is most people who bought into sacd bought a crappy player. Anything under 1k was a waste of time. Before some idiot comments on the ps3 and sacd. Sacd is worthless if converted out out of dsd into pcm. So the ps3 sucks for sacds.

I think that bluray and hd-dvd are both still niche products that 90% of consumers don't care about. I know not one person who owns either unless they have a ps3. I have a ps3 so i bought and watched a few bluray disc but honestly I am not interested in rebuying all my dvds. I know guys with over 400 dvds and i know they feel the same way. I will wait until bluray is more mature to buy a real player (sorry the ps3 is nice and all but i want a quality player that can replace my lexicon player). Most first and 2nd gen players will blow after a year or so anyway.

[bigshynepo]

Toshiba is hurting. They are going to try and flood the market with firesale-priced crap that is just going to piss the consumer off even more than they already are when it comes to High Def.

[Zuhk]

This just goes to show you sony fanbots that Xbox 360 is a superior piece of machinery that will dominate the PoS3 and blu-ray as soon as they release the HD-DVD 360 that is right around the corner. Once that happens kiss your beloved BR goodbye. Long live Microsoft!

[weezeru2]

I was wondering why you havent commented on these stories... And maybe I thought it was because you might have seen the light that 2008 is going to be a year dominated by Sony... but no that is obviously not true... You are still blind to the fact that Blu-Ray is kicking the crap out of HD-DVD and that 2008 is looking to be a far more promising year for the PS3! But I guess what they say is true... ignorance is bliss.

XBOX 360 intigrated with HD-DVD!! Not bloody likely! LOL

[Eamon]

Zhuk, was that your final scream before the spear of Sony just penetrated your stomach.

A battle cry!

But Zhuk, you usually type in a posh mature way. Why the sudden change of tone?

Or did someone hack your account?

EDIT: YO GUYS!! IT ISNT ZHUK. LOOK AT HIS NAME! ITS ZUHK!! I knew that there was something weird about him. Lol, what a retard!

[Ice2ms]

Zhuk lol did you even look at the article or even the title. Also what makes you think that the Xbox HD-DVD will sell more than the ps3 or the origional xbox 360 ... 15 million xbox have been sold don't u think that the hardcore gamers have already bought 360s and the r tards that go out and buy another 360 just because it can play HD-DVD should be excommunicated from society. Also Since most of the good studios like warner bros have gone blu why would you even buy a HD-DVD player now ? i Have a HD-DVD player because it upscalled my dvds b4 my ps3 came along i have like 4 HD-DVDs xD i have 20 Blu Rays because when you run them side by side with surround sound it is obvious which is better.
Also Zhuk you Suck

[moujahed]

Coming from someone who might've replaced his 360 several times is mind bogglin'.

[wipeout2000]

that "Zhuk's" name is actually Zuhk lol

[Maldread]

The only way that statement would make any sense, was if you were making a case for Digital Downloads domination, which if it indeed happens, will be years down the line.

Superior hardware ? How`s the failure rate of 360 vs PS3 again ? Say what you will about software, but surely even fanboys like you can see that from a hardware point of view, PS3 is more reliable and you get a lot more for your money.

An HD-DVD 360 would be as stupid as your logic thinking seems to be. If Microsoft hasn`t done it before, why should they possibly do so now ? Look at sales and studio support of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD and think again. And if Microsoft really was about choice as they claimed to be, why didn`t the give the consumer the choice between a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD add-on, instead of just HD-DVD ?

Seriously, the logic in your post was as lacking as Microsofts current 2008 lineup.

[solar]

bubble for your wipeout for knowing that wasnt the real Zhuk.

[she00win99]

if i'm not mistaken that is the original zhuk, the spelling of his name is different...
just another moron 360 fanboy copycat...

[stennexxx]

XBOTS DON'T BUY THE HDVD ADDON. SERIOUSLY DON'T. REMEMBER THE SEGA CD, THE 32X, ADDONS SUCK. IN THE CASE OF THE XBOX HD-DVD WHICH IS ANOTHER ADD ON DONT BUY IT. BUY GAMES WITH YOUR MONEY OR SAVE IT.

[Eamon]

Funnily, with all your upper case characters, I had presumed you were gonna flame Xbox 360 owners but instead you are advising.

+ 1 Agree

[power of Green]

XBOT? WTF is wrong with you?. lol

Some people may still find value paying $100 for hundreds of movies thats $40 more than a game to watch movies, HD and upconverted. lol

Only a P-bot would buy a PS3?.

I see the new rules are already working cut the PS3 fanboy trolling down by 50% and 50% of the Sony fanboy trolls seemed to have vanished(multi account crackdown).

All they have to do now is keep PS3 fanboy contributors from trolling anti 360 news being used for propaganda.

[DaEnforcer]

LOL buddy if 360 had a HD-DVD drive, there wouldn't be 16 million HD-DVD players in the wild, you must have forgotten HD-DVD came long after 360 launched. I'm pretty sure MS would prefer HD-DVD over DVD for the 360, but their first priority was to be first to the market and they chose to rush that thing what ended in a RROD sensation equipped with an outdated drive. Too bad being first didn't help MS that much, Sony outsold MS WW in the hollidays and that with both consoles PS3 and PS2 haha and also not many games. 2008 - Game Over Xbots

[Shadow Flare]

Right now, buying a hd-dvd player is like buying a McChicken burger. They're both cheap and they're both dead

[Master X 24]

Transformers
Zodiac
The Kingdom
Eastern Promises
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Matrix
Shrek the Third
Batman Begins

Plus tons others are still only on HD DVD
http://hddvd.highdefdigest....

I just got Underworld and Fantastic Four on HD DVD via import.
http://forums.highdefdigest...

[weezeru2]

I will just wait for the Blu-Ray releases of those... thanks anyways.
Buy these they are great...
Pirates 1,2 and 3
Casino Royale
The Simpsons Movie
Spiderman 1,2 and 3
Cars
Ratatouille
Harry Potter... soon to only be available in Blu
X-men
Prestige
3:10 to Yuma
The Rock
Die Hard 1,2,3 and 4

and coming soon...Narnia, Finding Nemo, National Treasure, I Am Legend, Batman Begins, The Matrix Trilogy, V for Vendetta, Golden Compass, oh and.... LORD OF THE RINGS!!!

[whoelse]

All those titles will be on Blu-ray sometime this year so keep of HD DVD!

[vloeistof]

the dark knight = blu

[Hellgiver]

The only reason I got the HDDVD add-on was because it only cost me about 60 bucks in reality, and that was the only way I'd see Transformers in HD. Anyone who got the add-on should have gotten the 5 free HDDVD movies that they could mail in, then trade those in at a Wal-Mart for in-store credit, resulting in about 80-140 bucks. Also, that way I could get some movies that only were headed for HDDVD at the time. It looks like Blu-Ray may be turning into the winner, but regardless, I prefer to be safe.

[BigKev45]

or better yet S. Flare the KFC chicken little sandwich. (it was sold in the 80's) HAHAHA.

[Black Maverick]

Even though HD-DVD is dead, unless you want or already have a PS3, I still say wait awhile before you invest in Blu-ray. For strictly movie watchers, BR players are still pretty expensive, not to mention some might not support future disc features. (PS3's can update through firmware). If you can, I say wait until 2008's holiday season where you'll be able to find plenty of good deals depending on your needs.

[xtreamezz]

So HD DVD looses Warner Brothers, leaving the HD DVD side 2 remaining Studios, Universal and Paramount. Sad considering that HD DVD supporters have always had the least impresive exclusives, im sure anyone who follows the format war would agree. So Blu Ray knocked you down, your on the ground looking up, what ya gonna do. Rumors are spreading like wild fire that paramount and universal are going nuetral or just completly to the Blu side. I have been thinking to myself,and i think if they wanted to stay in the battle they would have to appeal to the dvd market. Let me explain. We all have DVDs we are always going to have them, dvd players out sell any other electronic device. Toshiba can afford to take a loss for a couple years for hd guts, SELL HD DVD PLAYERS, AS DVD PLAYERS THAT ALSO PLAY HD DVDS. Would you buy a kick ass dvd player for $50 that also just happend to play hd dvds. It should upscale standard dvds like no other and if you feel like buying a movie worth a crap get it on HD DVD.

[LJWooly]

HD-DVD = F*cked. And i think everyone still defending it should let it go.
Go argue that Live is better than PSN, at least you still have a wee bit of an argment left there.

Oh, and another thing, does ANYONE know what a 'troll' is? Why are people calling each other 'trolls' simply because they don't agree with what the other person says? (Xbox fans seem to be most guilty of this)

I'll post you all a link to the definition of an 'internet troll' to help you out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

Enjoy.

[lawgone]

This is hardly news. HD DVD is dying, why keep stating it? But it will be a slow death and if someone wants to take advantage of a fire sale then more power to them! You see, when you're not a fanboy you can actually get good deals. If someone buys a 360 HD DVD drive for $99 with 6 free movies that they get to enjoy plus they're able to watch HD DVD exclusives NOW rather than wait for Blu Ray to adopt them, then they made a good decision. Would waiting for those same movies to come out on Blu Ray and paying full price for them be smarter? Heck no. But hey, you fanboys keep showing you're devotion to "your" respective consoles and make some old executives richer.

[LastDance]

Your logic to buy almost obsolete equipment escapes me.

[ohnoTheRancor]

agreed - how is this news?

[etownone]

no need to buy the add on when the stand alone players are dropping in price so fast.

You can now get the A3 for $130 and the A30 for $178.... now know you'll be getting one of the best up-converting players (toshiba) on the market, along with 2 HD-DVD movies in the box and 5 more in the mail.....

so just look at it like your getting a great upconverter for your reg dvd's that can play over 400 titles that are made in HD-DVD with 7 free HD-DVD movies included.

[chfthnder26]

look all i have to say is that hddvd isnt dead and until i cant go into a store and pick one up then thats how i look at it and they r still announcing movies for the format ok big deal warner bros. is blu now so wut hddvd still has universal and paramount two of the biggest studios in the world but u know wut it is all a game cuz u can get blu ray exclusive in america on hddvd from over seas but blu ray cant do that cuz of its reagional coding so if u want movies that r on bluray on hddvd then look online and get them xploitedcinema.com has some i love my 360 add on i just bought superman and MI 1and2 yesterday plus i have like 35 other movies as well adn if hddvd dies so wut i will always have those movies so its not a waste of money like u fanboys are saying so dont try to tell people wut to get cuz there r a lot of good movies on hddvd also have you noticed that hddvd have a lot more classics than bluray just think about it u be like man it would be really good to watch this movie in hi def i got enter the dragon and face off on hddvd and they look awesome laugh all u want sony boys the war really isnt over

[Maddens Raiders]

until Microsoft says otherwise I still believe that HD-DVD is the best choice for consumers! <--- [es]

[Xbox is the BEST]

this friday

[Rice]

im seeing that movie, it looks crazy....

[sheeepy]

Lol @ all the people who think the PS3 is superior just because it has Blu-Ray. Xbox 360, Wii, and PS3 are all gaming consoles, having the ability to play DVDs is an added luxury, it shouldn't define the console. I could have bought the PS3 for the Blu-Ray player like I know a lot (if not most) people did. Instead I bought the 360 because I saw all exclusive games coming out for it, since it is a gaming console after all. Go ahead and say "lol haev fun wit your xbokz now b4 it breaks in 2 weeks" because that's all you got. I got mine on launch day and have yet to haven even a hiccup regarding it breaking, if that makes a difference.

[Bladestar]

Why not? Cause blu-ray is winning? Well... that's exactly why I got an xbox 360 HD DVD addon.. and I am getting myself 2 more HD DVD standalone...
And there is nothing you leg humpers can do about it...
word of advice... don't suffer what others do with their money... Some of us rather have an obsolete HD DVD than a PS3... live with it...

These HD DVD players are great even to upscale...
Do you know what I'm giving my staff as a bonus this year? HD DVDs! haha!

[AceLuby]

You're telling me you would rather have 2 beta... I mean HD-DVD players than a PS3 that will allow you to play the exclusives you know you want along w/ most (any in < 1 yr) new HD movies? WTF is wrong w/ you?

[konrad]

You can be more original. Buy your staff LaserDisc players :) . And maybe You can save more money miser.