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Microsoft Fueling HD Wars For Own Benefit?

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the well-they-ain't-running-a-charity-over-there dept.

DaveyJJ writes "According to Transformers' director Michael Bay, in a story over on Electronista, Microsoft is deliberately feeding into the HD disc format wars to ensure that its own downloads succeed where physical copies fail, he says in a response to a question posed through his official forums. The producer contends that Microsoft is writing "$100 million dollar checks" to movie studios to ensure HD DVD exclusives that hurt the overall market regardless of the format's actual merit or its popularity, preventing any one format from gaining a clear upper hand."

5 of 359 comments (clear)

  1. Because heaven knows.... by Churla · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Because heaven knows Sony hasn't thrown around a ton of money to make sure it gets as many studios and others on the Blu Ray train.

    Both Sony and MS throw money into supporting the horse that their respective wagon is tied to. That's how it is.

    And I agree that in the long term on line distribution will win, but before it can the internet as we know it needs some substantial upgrading. Not to support the concept (it already does), but to support what happens when the masses start using it.

    --
    I'm a fiscal conservative, it's a pity we don't have a political party anymore
    1. Re:Because heaven knows.... by east+coast · · Score: 4, Interesting

      And I agree that in the long term on line distribution will win, but before it can the internet as we know it needs some substantial upgrading. Not to support the concept (it already does), but to support what happens when the masses start using it.

      Bingo! MS isn't trying to destroy physical media anymore than Verizon is trying to destroy the POTS. While both know that the future doesn't lay in these technologies both also know that for now they're pulling down a reasonable profit with them because of mass usage.

      By the time the internet is seriously up to the task of delivering HD styled content to the masses both HD DVD and Blu Ray will have gone the way of the laser disc. The lifespan of these new formats will not be longer than that of the traditional DVD. We've been DVD for what now? 10 or 12 years? Do people here honestly think that technologies like FIOS are going to be nation wide (let alone world wide) in the next decade? I think people are fooling themselves into the ultra futuristic world of downloadable content being just around the corner. We have communities within 20 miles of a somewhat major city (if you can call Pittsburgh a major city) that still don't have DSL or Cable internet. This doesn't even bring the frail backbone of the internet into question.

      Online content as a mass market is still a long ways off and it's ability to replace physical media won't be a reality in the next 10 years.

      --
      Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
  2. They wrote the HD content software. by Dr_Barnowl · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Microsoft wrote the software for the HD interactive, which means they must be getting a royalty for each machine.

    What's a few $100M here and there when you have the potential to collect so many licenses from consumer boxes?

    Plus, the Blu-Ray content software is written in Java. What better reason for MS to hate it?

  3. Re:I call bullshit on this one... by Tom90deg · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It also doesn't make much logical sense. Bay claims that MS is prolonging the format war until they can get downloadable video working right, then swoop in and be declared "A winner is you!" Seems to me that Bay as been watching too many of his own movies.

    True, Downloadable video is nice, as is stuff like Video on demand. I can picture telling my kids that "In my day, if you wanted to watch a show? You just had to wait until it was on." However, I don't think that downloadable movies will ever overtake actually having the disk in hand. If I want to watch Army Of Darkness, I don't want to wait 20 minutes for it to stream, then hope that my connection stays steady enough to prevent it from freezing. Just pop in the disk, no problem. The more steps you take from wanting to watch a movie, and pressing play, the worse off it is, in my opinion.

  4. Re:I call bullshit on this one... by tbannist · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Microsoft is quite obviously betting it will. In fact, they've been telling people that's the future that Microsoft will bring for years now. I went to a "Digital Home" show that was nothing more than Microsoft shilling their Digital Home products under a different name.

    Throw in the added benefit of taking some of the wind out of the PS3 and it seems like a very cheap way for Microsoft to purchase marketshare in several different markets (Console, DVD Downloads, Home Electronics).

    --
    Fanatically anti-fanatical