First of all, given how much people are STILL not buying into EITHER format until the marketplace shakes out more, I hardly think ONE movie is going to be the tipping point -- and even if that was the case, it sure as hell wouldn't be TF.

The fact that Spielberg used HIS clout to tell Paramount-- and by extension even Bill Gates and Microsoft -- to suck his dick and that HIS films would remain available in BOTH formats...and Paramount then blinked and agreed to his terms...certainly speaks volumes.

Also, come holiday season, it's not that TRANSFORMERS will sell a lot of players. It simply means the standard DVD will move a lot of units as expected, as once again people who want the movie -- but who haven't committed to a particular high end format yet -- will simply pick up their usual standard DVD at Best Buy or wherever for 15 bucks, and not think twice about it.

From Franchising.com:

"Blockbuster has lost significant amounts of money in recent years: $1.6 billion in 2002, almost $1.0 billion in 2003, and $1.2 billion in 2004."

Blockbuster also shitcanned its CEO a week or so after its Blu-ray announcement.

Generally speaking, most consumers haven't gotten to the stage where the quality of their television sets will support formats like 1080p, or even 720p/1080i. We're still talking about a society that, by and large, depends upon older technologies upon which to watch their shows. In addition... and as much as it pains me to say it out loud, it IS true... most people just can't tell much of a difference, and don't care that much to invest thousands of dollars into a new alternative.

In the meantime, we're starting to see more and more all-digital delivery methods, like Amazon's download service and Netflix On Demand. I believe one of these, or some alternate in-home delivery method, is the way movies will see distribution in the not-so-far-off future. We've gotten to the point where people prefer digital distribution of their music, and they trust that the digital files aren't going to become suddenly corrupted or lost, so CD sales have suffered. Once they get movies in an easy-to-obtain format like that on a centralized media server, that will end the format war as we know it. And don't think for a second that Microsoft and Apple aren't both on the cutting edge of making that a reality. Bank on them both being major players in this brave new world.

When there is a universal format player for 150 bucks, call me....

to show that I despise them both impartially, I post this in both the BluRay and HD DVD talkbacks. Full Disclosure Reigns Supreme

A Paramount tech guy is not revealing something profound here. Everybody knows it's more expensive to produce BD discs but if Paramount is claiming that that is the reason for their action then what about the other studios? Why does a small company like Anchor Bay go BD if it's more expensive? Why? Because it sells better. Simple as that.

And do you really think that the Paramount tech guy isn't selling you something? Do you really think that what he says to you are his own thoughts? And do you really think that Microsoft's money had nothing to do with this?

Please stop commenting on this issues because you will just get shit from the readers and you've continously made an ass of yourself by spouting utter crap regarding the formats.

I think I know.

In most cases it's human error trying to be fixed with technology. This time it's technology being fixed with pay offs (ie human error)?

What a waste of time.

What kind of business plan is that? I'll tell you what kind it is: it's the kind they use to keep your mind off of all the other crap going on in the world. Seriously, there's a "war" between bluray and hd-dvd? Isn't there some other "war" going on that we should be a little bit more worried about?