As some of you may have heard. Paramount and DreamWorks Animation each has declared exclusive support for HD DVD.
Before I say more, I want to make it clear that I support the Blu-ray Disc format and not the HD DVD format. I have my reasons and there are more to the story than meet the eyes.
Yes, it is a blow to the Blu-ray camp. There's no doubt in that part. Though that's not what I'm here to discuss.
Even though nothing is official but I have my reasons to believe that at least one law was broken. It's awfully suspicious and there are already talks of the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) starting up an investigation in response to the announcement today. Keep in mind that these are all speculations. They are not official yet.
Reason No. 1:
It's a documented fact that every title released onto the Blu-ray format from Paramount in the last 8 months has outsold the same titles on the HD DVD format.
Why would they all of a sudden dump Blu-ray Disc in favour for HD DVD when they are outselling the HD DVD format by at least 200%? It doesn't make any sense, business-wise.
Reason No. 2:
Paramount was literally shilling for Blu-ray Disc as being the better format until now. They were making all sorts of praises toward the Blu-ray Disc format. According to industry insiders, the technical team at Paramount had hoped that Blu-ray would become the dominant format. The problem is, the executives at Paramount listened to the bean counters and not the technical team.
Reason No. 3:
On July 27th, Paramount announced that it was shifting its focus to Blu-ray. They were supposed to ship Blu-ray titles with lossless or uncompressed soundtracks starting with 'Blades of Glory’, which was scheduled for August 28th.
It was quite a big newsmaker that day because prior to the announcement, they were providing standard Dolby Digital soundtracks which is equal to the soundtracks found on the DVD format.
Reason No. 4:
Steven Spielberg has been quite vocal about not allowing Universal Pictures to release his movies onto HD DVD. Universal is HD DVD exclusive, just in case you didn't know. They have been committed to the HD DVD format from the beginning. However, I suspect they aren't too happy with their sales on HD DVD. If I recall correctly, Universal has a contract with the DVD Forum to release over a hundred titles onto the HD DVD format within a year. So, there is always the possibility they may go neutral and release movies onto both formats after the contract expires.
Not only to mention that Paramount will be unable to release Spielberg movies on HD DVD only. Reports claim that Spielberg insisted that his movies should be released onto both formats. However, I am skeptical for a reason. I believe Spielberg is leaning toward the Blu-ray Disc format.
In fact, the first Steven Spielberg film is coming to a high-definition format and guess what? It is Blu-ray Disc exclusive. Not convinced that Spielberg is leaning toward the Blu-ray format yet? How about the fact that he personally approved the new high-definition video master for 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'? They even shot a new video interview with Spielberg himself. Why would he embrace the Blu-ray format just like that when he flatly said no when Universal announced plans to release his movies onto HD DVD? It's the same situation with Paramount as well.
All right, I've shared four reasons and I do believe they are significant. It makes the whole situation seem awfully suspicious. This is why I mentioned the SEC earlier. Word has it that Paramount was paid an amount of $50 million and DreamWorks Animation was paid $100 million by whom?
Microsoft.
At least two blabbermouths work at Paramount. I wonder if they knew that their big mouths might result in a major SEC investigation? There weren't any mention of a payoff by Microsoft in the press release issued by Viacom today. I think it's safe to assume that the executives at Paramount tried their best to sweep the deal with Microsoft under the carpet. Of course, somebody talked. It's just about to get really interesting the next few days, maybe weeks or months.
Microsoft is the one who developed the VC-1 codec. It's a video codec that is used on most or all of the HD DVD titles. Microsoft collects royalties from all of the HD DVD discs that were encoded in VC-1. The codec is also known as Windows Media Video 9 codec.
So in a way, it makes sense why Microsoft would bribe Paramount in going HD DVD and dump Blu-ray. For months, it has been speculated that Microsoft is deliberately sabotaging the future for both HD DVD and Blu-ray in order to push downloadable movies. What people don't realize is that the concept of downloadable movies will not be going mainstream for at least 5 years, probably 10 years at the earliest. I don't see how it is possible when most people's internet connection is capped to 10 to 30GB per month. A downloadable movie in heavily compressed HD would be at least 10GB. To get a good HD version would be at least 15GB to 30GB depending on the length.
If you don't think this is a big deal. Well, it is a big deal. If the allegations against Microsoft turn out to be true, then they may be in deep trouble. There are anti-trust laws in the USA and Europe. I can guarantee you that Microsoft will get grilled for it in Europe. It is illegal to pay someone to shut down a particular facility, service, etc in order to kill the competition. They are saying that Microsoft paid Paramount to stop selling Blu-ray in exchange for money. That is a strong form of monopoly and this isn't the first time Microsoft has resorted to such a tactic. It's a business tactic I have no respect for.
I am quite disappointed with Paramount for making such an ill-advised business move, which may result in severe legal consequences. They faced temptation and caved in. They may as well face the consequences. I wouldn't be surprised if the investors are becoming upset over this because this will not benefit them when they do the math. The best solution is to stay neutral or become Blu-ray exclusive, at least it would make more sense business-wise.
By the way, Michael Bay on his website has declared that he will not direct 'Transformers 2' as a response to Paramount's decision to become HD DVD exclusive. He's not a filmmaker I hold in high admiration but I must say I now admire him for his courage to speak up against Paramount's decision. I do like some of his movies though.
Anyway, I just cannot condone such a business deal. Corporations should be able to decide for themselves rather than being bribed to kill the competition. The consumers are supposed to decide what format will prevail. However, it's becoming more difficult now that there are allegations of payoff and corruption among the corporations involved with both formats.
I feel sorry for the consumers; it is just going to get more confusing for them on deciding what format to support. Two formats cannot co-exist the whole time, it just cannot. It's too much for the average consumer to deal with. We have transitions and that's when consumers can get confused but this is a difficult time because there are two new formats and they aren't sure which one to get.
No, a combo player is not the answer. Not when the manufacturers have to pay licensing fees to both DVD Forum and BDA for including both HD DVD and Blu-ray. Right now, the format war is just going to be prolonged for just a little longer than expected.
I've said all I can for now. So have a good day.
UPDATE: Just as I suspected, Steven Spielberg is indeed a big Blu-ray supporter. Click here to read the article.
UPDATE II: Reason No. 4 was removed and replaced with Reason No. 5. A reader pointed out that Blockbuster is no longer a part of Viacom. I checked it out and apparently it's true. I missed out on that one.
Yes, you read that right. They are going to make a movie based on the famous board game, 'Monopoly'. What's even more bizarre is that Ridley Scott is involved with the project.
The very same Ridley Scott who directed 'Alien', 'Blade Runner', 'Black Hawk Down', 'Gladiator' and more.
"Monopoly: The Movie"?Ridley Scott must be on something if he would get involved with a project like this. I find it hard to imagine how they will pull this one off. It's not everyday they produce a movie based on a game board. I remember ‘Clue’; it was also famous for having more than one ending. They had at least 3 endings from what I recall. They showed different versions at the theatres and people got confused when they discussed the movie with their friends and family relatives because they didn't watch the same ending. Quite a clever marketing gimmick, I'll say.
Monopoly is still the most popular board game -- I might be misquoting! -- in the world. So it's really finding the universe for that game. Because clearly it ought to be humorous and for the family -- the funny way it brings out, particularly when your uncle suddenly gets Park Lane and -- in England, we have Park Lane, Mayfair and Barclay Square, what's it in America? Park and Madison? So you watch people change. You're witness to Jekyll and Hyde. Somewhere in that is a hysterically amusing and I think rather exciting film.
Source: Los Angeles Times
Ridley Scott is full of surprises these days.
