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MGM Purchase Gives Sony An Edge In Disc Format War

Posted by timothy on from the any-color-so-long-as-it's-sony dept.

Grump writes "The New York Times reports: 'The purchase of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by a group led by Sony will not only give the company an enormous film library but also considerable power in its fight to set the format for the next generation of digital video discs.' The article goes on to suggest that Sony is gearing up for another Betamax-style failure."

10 of 254 comments (clear)

  1. Bad news by mirko · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I do not like the way all of these studios suddenly get aggregated by huge multinational companies...
    If they decide to prevent a movie from reaching the theaters, it begins easier and easier...

    Would "Clerks" still make a success in 2004 ?
    In 10 years, will Fahrenheit 911 sequels ever reach the public ?

    --
    Trolling using another account since 2005.
    1. Re:Bad news by Nos. · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yes, it would. Independat film producers making it to the "big screen" is becoming more common, yes they are using the bigger companies like Tristar, Fox, etc for distribution, but these companies are trying to make money. If they see a movie with lots of potential from an independant (Farenheit 911, The Passion of The Christ) they are not going to turn it down. Controversy for something like a movie just makes it more popular.
      Remeber that old movie, Exit to Eden? It was banned for a while here in Saskatchewan. It just made the movie more popular. It never hit the theatres, but when the ban was lifted and it came to video stores, it was impossible to keep it in stock, and it wasn't a great movie.

    2. Re:Bad news by Portigui · · Score: 5, Informative
      Crap like this wouldn't happen under a Democratic President.
      You're right, major mergers would never happen under a Democratic president. In case those four don't fit your build because they are not entertainment driven, try this one.

      These happen regardless of the president in the office at the time.
  2. Sony vs Microsoft by frankthechicken · · Score: 5, Interesting

    With Microsoft supporting the NEC and Toshiba blue ray format. And Sony, with its huge movie, and technology back up, who is more likely to win the war of the formats?

    Hopefully, the consumers.

  3. Says Who? by justkarl · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "It further tips scales that were already tipped toward Blu-ray," said Ross Rubin, a consumer electronics analyst at the NPD Group.

    I don't know about all of you, but I certainly don't favor expensive new technology to proven successes. DVD may skip a frame now and then, and yes, there's still the chance that the disc may scratch, but for the most part, it's more than value-priced technology. That is, the price is fair given the failure rate.

    1. Re:Says Who? by hrm · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Yes, but the capacity on current DVDs is simply not sufficient for HD signals. And HD is where we're headed...

      This is also the reason I favour the Blu-Ray format; it has 25 GB where HD-DVD offers 15 (I think both numbers are per layer, could be wrong).

      Going from 4.5 to 15 per layer does not seem worth the effort, from 4.5 to 25 just might be. Also, I think the HD-DVD camp is making the very common mistake of overestimating *practical* video compression technology. Theoretically 15 GB might just be enough for 3 hours HD movie at 1920x1080i. However, the current DVD market shows most studios can't tell their arse from a good mpeg encoder.

      Video compression is a bit like compiler technology; when Intel launches a new pentium it's like "well it won't work faster than the old one right away, but with a smart compiler it'll really fly"... however, that new compiler never materializes, or simply isn't used by your software vendor. So your shiny new processer won't fly after all.

      Therefore, in CPUs and DVD storage capacity alike, over-engineer where you can! Vote blu-ray.

  4. Nothing Compelling by Mr.+Arbusto · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Seriously, people just bought DVD's. Heck, most of my collection is in DVD format. Which is as good as I need and probably as good as it gets for the next 20 years. From DVD there is no real compelling reason for the consumer to upgrade. It is already high digtial, the market already enjoys the Value Added features. Making a release in another format would be like Sony Max all over again.

  5. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  6. Who cares by Alizarin+Erythrosin · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Both formats will probably have a ton of DRM in it anyways. It's all just a money making ploy to get us to buy new "special edition" disc sets... "Now with 15 seconds of additional footage and some interview with one of the extras!" That and new players of course.

    And isn't DVD already in 480p?

    --
    There are only 10 kinds of people in this world... those who understand binary and those who don't
  7. What bad track record? by tepples · · Score: 5, Informative

    PlayStation. PlayStation 2. Compact Disc itself, co-developed with Philips.

    True, Betamax the format is dead, but Betacam the format and Betamax the copyright precedent live on for now.