This is the curtain call, there is no more to see. Wipe the tears from your cheek fellow fanboys, for this will be final installment of This Week in HD DVD.
Toshiba and Microsoft no longer support the HD DVD format, so we'd feel guilty and a bit dirty to continue our own support of a format that deserves to simply rest in peace. You will be missed HD DVD. That's a fact. You were strong and wise, but you were unable to gather support by the masses and as a result, you passed at a young age. This is it, the final curtain call. Goodbye HD DVD and goodbye to This Week in HD DVD. We promised we wouldn't cry ...
According to one of Ars Technica's insider moles, Microsoft will be either announcing or secretly informing retail stores that the Xbox 360 HD DVD player's new retail price is (drum roll) $50. Yup, $50. A drop of $80 from the recently announced price drop to $129. Ars Technica says that the new $50 price tag was to be revealed yesterday the 21st, but so far we haven't heard anything from Microsoft regarding any price cut. We also searched a few major online retailers for a magic $50 price tag, but were unsuccessful. We'll just have to wait and see what becomes of the 360's HD DVD player as we expect its price to drop significantly as it dies a slow, tortuous death. The same death that the entire HD DVD format has been experiencing. But on the brighter side of things, we hear the 360's HD DVD player makes a fantastic door stop, so be sure to keep that in mind.
We don't think you need anymore reminding that HD DVD is getting its bum whooped lately. Heck, just take a look at our HD DVD tag and you'll see a solid dozen stories reporting about its eventual downfall. So, we guess our general negative feelings and bummy attitude is warranted. We're depressed about this HD DVD stuff and depressed that our This Week in HD DVD column may be coming to an untimely end. That's it then. No golden foil from us. Here are your HD DVD releases for this week. If anyone still cares.
Posted Feb 18th 2008 11:30AM by Dustin Burg
Filed under: News
Let's be honest guys, it hasn't been the best week for team HD DVD. Retailers have been dropping support left and right, wild speculation has been running rampant across the internets and Engadget even put HD DVD on their "death watch" list. Ouch. Rumors have even been swirling that Toshiba will be announcing the death of HD DVD as early as sometime this week. But we're guessing Toshiba isn't ready to pull the plug yet as earlier this morning they put out a statement regarding that rumor saying that "the media reported that Toshiba will discontinue its HD DVD business" but "Toshiba has not made any announcement concerning this." They go on to say that "although Toshiba is currently assessing its business strategies, no decision has been made at this moment." Toshiba also confirmed that Toshiba likes to refer to itself in third person.
So, there you have it. Toshiba isn't throwing in the towel just yet or they simply aren't ready to announce that they will be throwing in the towel. Still no answers and all bad news for HD DVD ... humph.
Our friends at Engadget stumbled upon information that seems to mark the final nail in the HD DVD coffin. Citing unnamed industry sources, The Hollywood Reporter says they've been told the dying format will be buried in the next coming weeks. Jodi Sally, vp of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products insists that nothing has been confirmed for the future of HD DVD saying, "based on its technological advancements, we continue to believe HD DVD is the best format for consumers, given the value and consistent quality inherent in our player offerings."
While nothing has been set in stone for the format Sally did offer a hint that Toshiba is considering the exodus of the HD format. "Given the market developments in the past month," she said, "Toshiba will continue to study the market impact and the value proposition for consumers, particularly in light of our recent price reductions on all HD DVD players."
After the recent announcements of studios, retailers and rental companies ditching the format is anyone really surprised that HD DVD will go the way of the Betamax?
Sure, HD DVD might be knocking on Death'sdoor, but that won't stop us from posting a good deal. 1saleaday.com (we haven't heard of them) is currently offering the Xbox 360 HD DVD player for $89.99. Not only that, but the deal includes a free HD DVD copy of King Kong as well. Unfortunately, that's about all we know. No where on the site does it mention if the item is in new condition, for example. Still, it's a hell of deal, especially when you throw in the 5 free HD DVDs deal on top of the $90 price. If you're interested, you've got about ten hours to make the purchase as of this posting.
As if the HD DVD news couldn't get happier today! After Microsoft slashed the price of the HD DVD add-on for the Xbox 360 only days ago, Amazon has undercut the MSRP by a cool $10, offering the player for $119.99. The savings don't end there mind you as a slew of HD DVDs have been discounted to up to 50% off the regular retail price. Is this another sign that the high-def format war is winding to a close and Amazon is letting go of its inventory or are they trying to make room for that Blu-Ray add-on that we've heard Microsoft talk about?
With news that Netflix will dropping the HD DVD format later this year, we've been bit bummed over at camp HD DVD today. So, in an effort to raise our spirits, we invited any upcoming HD DVD to join our new release party, laugh a bit, share a few stories and drink our sorrows away. But our plan backfired. Only two new HD DVDs RSVP'ed for this week's party leaving us to question where our HD DVD supporters have gone. Then we noticed that one of this week's new releases is none other than the girls from Girls Gone Wild and in full HD. But we soon realized that they were a yawn fest and had zero substance (we aren't that shallow), so now our plan is to go into hibernation until next week. Maybe then we'll be treated to a surprise HD DVD release party with some 30 attendees. A man can dream.
Well folks, the time is now. If you're planning on picking up an Xbox 360 HD DVD player, it's not going to get much better than this. Major Nelson just announced that the 360 HD DVD player's price has been officially reduced to $129.99. Combine that with the 5 free HD DVDs offer, and Microsoft is essentially giving away the player for free. In fact, Best Buy is already selling them for $119.99, making the deal even sweeter. Keep your eyes peeled fanboys, because there are likely to be similar price cuts and deals elsewhere. If you find any, let us know.
Bringing an end to January's HD DVD releases are three new discs that aren't blockbusters, but are dandy in their own right. Nothing overly special really. Fear not though, because in the weeks to come we promise bigger blockbusters, more excitement and an HD DVD dunking tank as well. So, while we wait for the blockbusters to appear and the dunk tank to arrive we can all huddle around the television this Super Bowl Sunday to watch a 2.7 million dollar HD DVD commercial. It has a strong possibility of actually being entertaining and is guaranteed to put a hole in Toshiba's wallet. Either way, it's a win-win for everyone. Here are this week's HD DVD releases.
HD DVD Movie Releases: January 29th
Dispatch: Zimbabwe - Live at Madison Square Garden
It's HD DVD Monday and that means we're dishing out this week's new HD DVD releases all of which are now available in both low fat and sugar free versions. Though, we only have two new HD DVD releases available for consumption; Channels and Method Man: Live from the Sunset Strip. And if by chance those two titles don't get your salivators salivating, we have open bar and complimentary mini sausage hor'dourves from 7-9:00PM. Our research tells us that an intoxicated consumer is an HD DVD purchasing consumer. So, we're sure we'll be seeing you later on this evening and remember to bring your wallet.
This week we've got some rather bad news and other news that's either good or bad depending on how you want to take it. And first up, the bad news. We're sad to report that there's only one new release this week and, as you can see below, it's the movie The Ten. Yawn, yawn, yawn ... Moving right along, we also thought we'd share with you the good / bad news (depending on how you want to take it) that most HD DVD related goods are seeing a discount. In light of the recent pro Blu-ray news as of late, Toshiba has slashed the prices on their HD DVD players and discounted HD DVD movie titles. While we don't believe this discounting to be official, it's quite widespread and is happening all over.
Good or bad, that's the latest HD DVD news and this week's new movie release. Enjoy, be happy and eat some deliciously moist cheesecake. Because cheesecake rocks and makes us smile.
Update: Paramount released a statement today saying that their "current plan is to continue to support the HD DVD format". Good news we say, although the the whole "current plan" wording doesn't put us at complete ease.
HD DVD is getting its metaphorical bum whipped lately and things do not look to be getting any brighter.
The Financial Times has cooked up the latest HD DVD versus Blu-ray rumor and are claiming that Paramount may be close to announcing that they're going Blu-ray exclusive and abandon their multi-million dollar partnership with the HD DVD camp. The rumor is based on sources close to Paramount's deal with Toshiba saying that there is a clause in the contract that allows Paramount to back Blu-ray in the event Warner Bros. goes blu. And wouldn't you know, last week Warner did just that. If Paramount were to jump to Blu-ray then Sony would have a massive choke hold on the HD format war further pushing their movie studio support higher than their current 70% rate. The other question mark in the equation is Dreamworks who are best buds with Paramount and are said to have a similar contract with Toshiba. Oh well, there's always Universal. They got HD DVD's back ... don't they?
Even though the HD DVD format was thrown a devastating blow this week (courtesy of our friends at Warner), we're moving forward with our head high and bringing you new HD DVD releases. No bad HD DVD news will stop us from publishing This Week in HD DVD. None! And it's a good thing too seeing that the director's cut of Zodiac and The Pianist release this week. Two movies we're sure most will enjoy. We do have one question though. Who thought it to be a good idea to make a sequel to White Noise? Really? We can smell a direct to HD DVD release from a mile away.
The question we find ourselves asking is "what does Michael Bay think?" Warner Bros. Entertainment today announced that the company will discontinue releasing its movies on HD DVD beginning in May of this year in favor of Blu-Ray exclusivity. The decision comes as Warner Bros. CEO Bary Meyer airs concerns that "The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger." In other words, if one format doesn't win out soon, a newer format could dominate them both. Digital downloads, perhaps? Maybe Michael Bay was right after all. Whatever your position in the format war (we're happy with our DVDs, thanks), this represents a big blow to HD DVD, and rumor has it that Warner Bros. received a hefty chunk of change in exchange for Blu-Ray exclusivity.
So, starting this summer, your 360 HD DVD player might be feeling a bit lonely (except for the fine films from Paramount and Dreamworks, of course). We're guessing you'll still be able to pick up Warner Bros. movies off of Video Marketplace though.
This is the curtain call, there is no more to see. Wipe the tears from your cheek fellow fanboys, for this will be final installment of This Week in HD DVD.
Let's be honest guys, it hasn't been the best week for team 
