Batman On Bluray

[L.J.]

Has a nice ring to it

Warner announced these Batman titles to drop in Q3.

Batman Anthology
Batman Begins: Limited Collector's Edition Box Set
The Dark Night

"During a press event held to celebrate the studio's 85th Anniversary yesterday, Warner Brothers revealed some of their planned upcoming Blu-ray releases. Included in the list is the highly anticipated Blu-ray release of 'Batman Begins', as well as a number of classic Warner titles, such as 'The Wizard of Oz', which will go into moratorium soon after release.

Here are some of the titles which were announced for Blu-ray release last night:

08Q1
Bonnie and Clyde: Ultimate Collector's Edition

08Q2
Dirty Harry: Ultimate Collector's Edition Box Set (Dirty Harry, Magnum Force, The Enforcer, Sudden Impact, Dead Pool, and Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows)

08Q3
Batman Anthology
Batman Begins: Limited Collector's Edition Box Set
The Dark Night

08Q4
Otis: Uncut

2009
Gone With the Wind
North by Northwest
The Wizard of Oz
Woodstock

This is only a sampling of the titles coming to Blu-ray this year from the studio, and does not include all the theatrical titles coming to Blu-ray including 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Price'. We'll keep this post updated when we get additional information."

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=933

[kexodusc]

Damn, I just lost $20.

I bet for sure there'd be no way in hell "Batman & Robin" would make it to BluRay or HD-DVD. Shouldn't count, since the only way it'll sell is as part of an "anthology" but still...would anyone notice if it was gone?

[Rich-n-Texas]

I'm counting on Blu-ray player prices to be in my price range by 3Q08, so the Batman Begins & Dark night Titles will be a good way to start off my BD collection.

[L.J.]

I'll be picking up Begins & DK for sure

Hey mods, can we get a drool smilie

[Rich-n-Texas]

Not until after we get a vomit smilie...

[L.J.]

I'm counting on Blu-ray player prices to be in my price range by 3Q08, so the Batman Begins & Dark night Titles will be a good way to start off my BD collection.

Didn't someone here just pick up a PS3 for $299 using a CC promo

Wait, here it is:
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...msId=sony_card

[Rich-n-Texas]

At it again aren't ya?!?!?!

[GMichael]

At it again aren't ya?!?!?!

Sometimes he is just way too helpful.

[pixelthis]

I'm counting on Blu-ray player prices to be in my price range by 3Q08, so the Batman Begins & Dark night Titles will be a good way to start off my BD collection.

I don't think they'll be in cereal boxes quite by then.

heres something I do, don't know if it will suit you, but I TEND TO BUY DISCS before I
buy the player. That way I can use my new toy till I am sick of it.
I plan on getting BLADERUNNER, and several others, then when the rebate check gets here, (600$) I'll be in arrogant pissant heaven

[Rich-n-Texas]

I don't think they'll be in cereal boxes quite by then.

I'll bet ya $10.00 they'll be selling them in grocery stores by then!

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

I'll bet ya $10.00 they'll be selling them in grocery stores by then!

I doubt that you will see a bluray player in any grocery store any time soon. One of the biggest mistakes the DVD forum did was grant liscences to Chinese manufacturers. That action basically gutted the DVD business all so a few chinese manufacturers could make pennies on a player, and the CE giants couldn't make a dime. From what I understand the BDA is going to be very strict about their liscenses, making the price high enough to keep player prices from being undercut by chinese manufacturers who enjoy cheaper labor as a way to reduce costs. That way the market stays healthy, and prices drop naturally through economy of scale, and not by cheap quality parts and poor build made by underpaid workers.

[Groundbeef]

I doubt that you will see a bluray player in any grocery store any time soon. One of the biggest mistakes the DVD forum did was grant liscenses to Chinese manufacturers. That action basically gutted the DVD business all so a few chinese manufacturers could make pennies on a player, and the CE giants couldn't make a dime. From what I understand the BDA is going to be very strict about their liscenses, making the price high enough to keep player prices from being undercut by chinese manufacturers who enjoy cheaper labor as a way to reduce costs. That way the market stays healthy(and the consumer gets screwed), and prices drop naturally through economy of scale, and not by cheap quality parts and poor build made by underpaid workers.

Unless I'm off my rocker, I'm pretty sure any BR player is assembled in China/Korea NOW and someone is making a mint off low labor costs in China.

Are you just suggesting that BDA is keeping licence prices high to discourage "off-brand" players from flooding the market? That part I can buy. But to somehow suggest that China doesn't have a hand in making first tier BR players is funny at best.

I just haven't read where there is any USA (domestic) production of BR players. I'm not sure about Japan making players, but they have been shifting labor to China as well.

[Groundbeef]

That way the market stays healthy, and prices drop naturally through economy of scale, and not by cheap quality parts and poor build made by underpaid workers.

Thats a little loaded. 1st, I'm no fan of offshoring our labor, but the reality is we (The USA) does it all the time. I'm not sure how you can suggest that Chinese built electronic goods are made of cheap quality parts, and poor builds when even the mighty PS3 is made there.
And you don't seem to mind about that.

2nd. The term "underpaid" workers is also a bit loaded. True enough, I wouldn't work for $3.00 a day, but in some parts of the world, thats not a bad wage. In fact, I was just listening to NPR today, and they were talking about hiring police officers in Afghanastan. Guess how much they get paid? $70 A MONTH. And they have all kinds of takers. Can you imagine trying to pay an officer that here? They make that in a day (or even more), as well they should.

The point is, who is paying these police officers? Why the citizens of the USA. So are you suggesting that the USA is underpaying them? Who's the judge?

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Unless I'm off my rocker, I'm pretty sure any BR player is assembled in China/Korea NOW and someone is making a mint off low labor costs in China.

Its one thing to assemble it somewhere, its another thing to grant the liscense to assemble something somewhere. I can assemble a player in china without granting a liscense to the manufacturer. I control costs, quality, parts, and I set the price in the end. When you grant a liscence to produce a player, the manufacturer controls the costs, quality. parts, and sets the price. The former keeps the market healthy, the latter allows for what exactly happened with DVD

Are you just suggesting that BDA is keeping licence prices high to discourage "off-brand" players from flooding the market? That part I can buy. But to somehow suggest that China doesn't have a hand in making first tier BR players is funny at best.

I am not talking about assembly, I am talking about liscenses to manufacture.

I just haven't read where there is any USA (domestic) production of BR players. I'm not sure about Japan making players, but they have been shifting labor to China as well.

China does assemble bluray players but the CE companies choose the parts, design, they QC, but no chinese company has the liscense to manufacture players from the ground up.

[Woochifer]

Unless I'm off my rocker, I'm pretty sure any BR player is assembled in China/Korea NOW and someone is making a mint off low labor costs in China.

Are you just suggesting that BDA is keeping licence prices high to discourage "off-brand" players from flooding the market? That part I can buy. But to somehow suggest that China doesn't have a hand in making first tier BR players is funny at best.

I just haven't read where there is any USA (domestic) production of BR players. I'm not sure about Japan making players, but they have been shifting labor to China as well.

Actually, all of the Sony standalone Blu-ray players I've seen are made in either Malaysia or Japan.

The problem with the DVD licenses had less to do with allowing Chinese manufacturers into the fold, but rather licensing the format to a whole rash of shady fly-by-night operators, nearly all of which were based in China, who would ramp up for a huge production run of cheaply built players and then promptly fold up shop and pocket their millions. I recall that in one year, over 80% of the DVD manufacturers in China went out of business (although others did spring up in their place). I also recall that some of these manufacturers were less than trustworthy when it came to royalty payments.

Apex Digital made a fortune by doing business with these guys. The players might have carried the Apex name, but every one of their models might have been manufactured by completely different companies. It was a big shell game, and the net effect was accelerating the downward profit spiral for legitimate businesses that were actually interested in making decent quality DVD players, and flooding consumers with poorly made DVD players.

Toshiba began licensing HD-DVD to any and all Chinese off-brand manufacturers, but so far nothing has come out of that since Toshiba has done enough price-cutting on its own. Off-brand manufacturers will only come into the market if they can significantly undercut the mass market brands on an in-demand product. Off-brand companies like Apex came into the market when mass market DVD players were still selling for more than $300, and could easily undercut everyone by pricing their DVD players for $200.

Blu-ray does have an off-brand Chinese manufacturer on board, Funai (which markets its products under multiple brands such as Sansui, Sylvania, and Emerson). The difference between Funai and the litany of defunct DVD licensees is that Funai has had an established market presence, and has operated as an outsource manufacturer for several years. They were due to come into the market back with a $500 Blu-ray player when player prices from Sony, Panasonic, and Samsung were still at the $600 price point. Right now, the list prices are down to $300, so if Funai is going to make any market impact, they would need to come in under $200.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Thats a little loaded. 1st, I'm no fan of offshoring our labor, but the reality is we (The USA) does it all the time. I'm not sure how you can suggest that Chinese built electronic goods are made of cheap quality parts, and poor builds when even the mighty PS3 is made there.
And you don't seem to mind about that.

Once again beef, it goes back to the liscense to manfacture, or plain assemble. Right now the chinese only assemble players, they do not have a liscense to manufacture from the ground up.

2nd. The term "underpaid" workers is also a bit loaded. True enough, I wouldn't work for $3.00 a day, but in some parts of the world, thats not a bad wage. In fact, I was just listening to NPR today, and they were talking about hiring police officers in Afghanastan. Guess how much they get paid? $70 A MONTH. And they have all kinds of takers. Can you imagine trying to pay an officer that here? They make that in a day (or even more), as well they should.

It is one thing to pay for cheap labor that only effects your country internally. But when you use that cheap labor to pull down the quality and price that affects an entire industry, that is an issue. The Chinese have been using cheap labor, poor QC and sub quality materials to produce products that undercut prices world wide. That goes for textiles, CE products, food etc.

The point is, who is paying these police officers? Why the citizens of the USA. So are you suggesting that the USA is underpaying them? Who's the judge?

While we may be funding the force, the Afghan government sets the salary. So I do not think the USA is underpaying them, their own government is. In the country, it might not be an underpayment. When we talk about China, its not just about the pay, its about the labor abuse, working conditions, evironmental damages, and lack of oversight.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Actually, all of the Sony standalone Blu-ray players I've seen are made in either Malaysia or Japan.

The problem with the DVD licenses had less to do with allowing Chinese manufacturers into the fold, but rather licensing the format to a whole rash of shady fly-by-night operators, nearly all of which were based in China, who would ramp up for a huge production run of cheaply built players and then promptly fold up shop and pocket their millions. I recall that in one year, over 80% of the DVD manufacturers in China went out of business (although others did spring up in their place). I also recall that some of these manufacturers were less than trustworthy when it came to royalty payments.

Apex Digital made a fortune by doing business with these guys. The players might have carried the Apex name, but every one of their models might have been manufactured by completely different companies. It was a big shell game, and the net effect was accelerating the downward profit spiral for legitimate businesses that were actually interested in making decent quality DVD players, and flooding consumers with poorly made DVD players.

Toshiba began licensing HD-DVD to any and all Chinese off-brand manufacturers, but so far nothing has come out of that since Toshiba has done enough price-cutting on its own. Off-brand manufacturers will only come into the market if they can significantly undercut the mass market brands on an in-demand product. Off-brand companies like Apex came into the market when mass market DVD players were still selling for more than $300, and could easily undercut everyone by pricing their DVD players for $200.

Blu-ray does have an off-brand Chinese manufacturer on board, Funai (which markets its products under multiple brands such as Sansui, Sylvania, and Emerson). The difference between Funai and the litany of defunct DVD licensees is that Funai has had an established market presence, and has operated as an outsource manufacturer for several years. They were due to come into the market back with a $500 Blu-ray player when player prices from Sony, Panasonic, and Samsung were still at the $600 price point. Right now, the list prices are down to $300, so if Funai is going to make any market impact, they would need to come in under $200.

My brotha from another motha, Funai is a Japanese company. People often make the mistake of thinking they are chinese. Funai player was announced at CES, but the price that is listed is going to make this player sit in a very crowded market.

http://funai.us/Funai.aspx

[Groundbeef]

I can buy your explanation. I'm pretty sure the savings attributed to low cost labor in China isn't being translated directly to the consumer however. I'm not so niave to think that it ever is though!

Agreements with China are tricky beasts though. Once they realize how to assemble something, its not uncommon for it to pop up elsewhere even after the agreement has passed.

I noticed Warner/Sony and another music co sued China today over music copyright infringment violations. An amazing 99% of ALL music traded online in China is stolen.
And to think we keep doing business with them. Its unbeliveable.

[Woochifer]

My brotha from another motha, Funai is a Japanese company. People often make the mistake of thinking they are chinese. Funai player was announced at CES, but the price that is listed is going to make this player sit in a very crowded market.

http://funai.us/Funai.aspx

Ah! Thanks, I shouldn't have presumed, but an easy mistake to make given that they all look alike anyway!

(For newbies -- this is an inside joke, so no need to spin any racist hay out of this post!)

[pixelthis]

I doubt that you will see a bluray player in any grocery store any time soon. One of the biggest mistakes the DVD forum did was grant liscences to Chinese manufacturers. That action basically gutted the DVD business all so a few chinese manufacturers could make pennies on a player, and the CE giants couldn't make a dime. From what I understand the BDA is going to be very strict about their liscenses, making the price high enough to keep player prices from being undercut by chinese manufacturers who enjoy cheaper labor as a way to reduce costs. That way the market stays healthy, and prices drop naturally through economy of scale, and not by cheap quality parts and poor build made by underpaid workers.

In other words like apple computers, pricey and few owners.
You cant beat market forces.
You might not like it but the great unwashed LOVES cheap DVD players.
I can just about guareentee ya that Blu will be less than a 100$ in a year after HD capitalation(which still hasnt happened yet)
And if they are not, one of the new blue laser based formats coming out indepentdently from china WILL.
You cant beat the market, a lot of people smarter than you have tried

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

In other words like apple computers, pricey and few owners.
You cant beat market forces.
You might not like it but the great unwashed LOVES cheap DVD players.
I can just about guareentee ya that Blu will be less than a 100$ in a year after HD capitalation(which still hasnt happened yet)
And if they are not, one of the new blue laser based formats coming out indepentdently from china WILL.
You cant beat the market, a lot of people smarter than you have tried

Do you think people just pull a format out of their bums, and they take off? You need content, and you can bet this; if the chinese come up with a format, the Hollywood studios are not going to support it. The Chinese have their own format CHD-DVD right now, and they are having problems selling it because their are no big movies to support the format. Hollywood is staying away because of the lack of sufficient content protection in a market that loves to steal movies.

The chinese can invent all they want, but they better have content to support it. Hollywood is in no rush to support ANY player developed by the Chinese. Bluray players are already in China and Toshiba is helping to support China's CHD player. However the BDA has several major manufacturers signed up to manufacture bluray players just for that market. The Japanese and Hollywood have a long time love affair with each other. I do not think the Chinese have a prayer in breaking up that combination.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Ah! Thanks, I shouldn't have presumed, but an easy mistake to make given that they all look alike anyway!

(For newbies -- this is an inside joke, so no need to spin any racist hay out of this post!)

Well brudda, you know what they say about us puerto ricans. The only suits we own are the ones we stole! LOL

[Rich-n-Texas]

Lemming of the BD Lemming of the BD BDBDAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaAAA!

Sorry, didn't mean to interupt... had a Monty Python moment.

[GMichael]

I'll bet ya $10.00 they'll be selling them in grocery stores by then!

See what you started? Loose lips my friend. Loose lips.

[Woochifer]

Do you think people just pull a format out of their bums, and they take off? You need content, and you can bet this; if the chinese come up with a format, the Hollywood studios are not going to support it. The Chinese have their own format CHD-DVD right now, and they are having problems selling it because their are no big movies to support the format. Hollywood is staying away because of the lack of sufficient content protection in a market that loves to steal movies.

The chinese can invent all they want, but they better have content to support it. Hollywood is in no rush to support ANY player developed by the Chinese. Bluray players are already in China and Toshiba is helping to support China's CHD player. However the BDA has several major manufacturers signed up to manufacture bluray players just for that market. The Japanese and Hollywood have a long time love affair with each other. I do not think the Chinese have a prayer in breaking up that combination.

Is this the same format that was getting pitched to the Bollywood studios in India?

I can see why the suits in Hollywood wouldn't want any part of a new Chinese disc format, but if the Chinese and Indian film industries get on board with this CHD format, that's still a sizable chunk of the global market supporting an alternative format. Bollywood is the most prolific film industry in the world, so that's potentially a lot of content in the Hindi-language market alone. Add to that the combined output from China and Hong Kong, and you got a lot of titles that can be used to seed a disc format for those large markets. I know that China and Hong Kong have developed an appetite for Hollywood titles, which would obviously not help CHD, but India remains very much a home-grown movie market.

Well brudda, you know what they say about us puerto ricans. The only suits we own are the ones we stole! LOL

I figured you'd get it! Now, all we need is a follically-challenged reference, so that this thread can hit the inside humor trifecta...