betanews' Nate Mook: J'accuse!

[Grubert]

Blu-ray may have taken a commanding lead in the next-generation format war, but the group has a big problem looming: early supporters of the format will be left out in the cold when the Blu-ray Disc Association introduces BD Profile 2.0

http://www.betanews.com/article/Blur...nto/1199841379

[to Ken Graffeo]Warner essentially stabbed you in the back

Sony claims that the PS3 has given Blu-ray the market lead -- is this just posturing so Blu-ray can tout higher sales numbers?

http://www.betanews.com/article/Inte...tay/1200951636

HD DVD cancels CES press conference after Warner's snub

While it's not clear what exactly led the studio to change its mind, there is much speculation that Sony offered Warner a large incentive.

The author omits that Warner specifically gave reasons (backed by actual sales numbers), and gaves weight to the payoff suspicion.

http://www.betanews.com/article/HD_D...nub/1199508012

Each time BetaNews has met with Microsoft’s Kevin Collins, who heads up the company’s Consumer Media Technology Group and has active duties promoting HD DVD (more on Microsoft’s connection to HD DVD later), he is happy to show off -- and demo -- his collection of every single Blu-ray title as well. The same cannot be said about our meetings with the Blu-ray promotional group.

A little confidence can explain why: HD DVD believes its format is simply that much better in terms of features (video and audio quality is identical, as both use the same codecs). When placed side-by-side with Blu-ray versions of films, it will be a no-brainer for buyers to choose HD DVD, the group says, enumerating a number of reasons why.

Foremost is compatibility. All new movie titles from Universal and soon Warner will be combination (or twin-format) discs - HD DVD on one side and standard DVD on the other. This means that HD DVD discs will also play on older DVD players, which is crucial for portability. Collins noted that Blu-ray owners will end up buying two discs to watch the movie on their laptop or in the car on a road trip.

Beyond that are features such as picture-in-picture and network capabilities. For example, both the HD DVD and Blu-ray version of “300” include a “blue screen” extra that allows the viewer to see how the complex battle scenes were actually filmed. But only the HD DVD version lets you watch the blue screen version alongside the actual movie, and the comparison is what makes the extra actually interesting to watch.

HD DVD’s networking (Blu-ray is network capable, but it’s not required) opens the door to quite a few possibilities. On 300, one of the first films with such capability, viewers can set bookmarks and upload their favorite scenes to a central location, where other 300 owners can watch them. Ringtone and wallpaper downloads are available as well, which get sent to a cell phone automatically.

However, the network-enabled features are not all gimmicky; HD DVD owners will eventually be able to download new subtitle languages, trailers, and other extended content for films, keeping them fresh well past their sell date. Downloads are kept on the player's built-in storage, another requirement of HD DVD.

On Monday, both Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation announced support for HD DVD, citing the lower cost and better features available to customers. This decision apparently stemmed from the studios evaluating both formats for a year, and Collins expects more studios to follow this route.

Here, unlike Warner, the reasons Paramount gives are reproduced. No mention of a possible payoff (though they were reported by reputable media).

http://www.betanews.com/article/HD_D...ray/1187630265

The man has always had a pro-HD DVD bias, but now he is in an all-out campaign. And who ran the defection denials by Paramount and Universal?
http://www.betanews.com/article//119...ply_to=1299806
http://www.betanews.com/article/Univ...ply_to=1312547

[theflux]

He's a huge fanboy, and yet I have yet to see HD DVD trash him with the same fervor they trash Bill Hunt. Double standards are fun!

[online]

What is the point of this thread?

[Ellsworth]

I think I vote for Grubert as forum poster with most content per post.

Well laid out. How do you have time for these kinds of ownage?

[Grubert]

What is the point of this thread?

Establishing the blatant bias and one-sided reporting on the part of the author of the NPD "free players boosted sales" article linked by several members.

[Beta-guy]

Establishing the blatant bias and one-sided reporting on the part of the author of the NPD "free players boosted sales" article linked by several members.

the least he could do, is if he cannot separate his bias from his reporting, have a second guy there with a blu-ray bias, and compare notes and work together to write the article to make an unbiased just facts article.

[tlbowers57]

He's a huge fanboy, and yet I have yet to see HD DVD trash him with the same fervor they trash Bill Hunt. Double standards are fun!

To be fair, I never see blu fanboys trash Bill Hunt, no matter what he says, so yea Double standards are fun.
and no, am not a red fanboy.

[Flex Mentallo]

And for every Nate Mook and Rob Enderle (sp?) you've got a Scott Hettrick and Bill Hunt.

Find the nuggets of truth in their respective articles then filter out the bullshit.

[bt12483]

i will be curious to see what Nate Mook will have to say when the Nielsen thumping continues, and more and more bluray hardware keeps selling.

unless there is a swift uptake in HD DVD software sales, what will the so called "positive" reaction to their price cuts matter?

can't wait for this week's Nielsen numbers...

[undrafted]

To be fair, I never see blu fanboys trash Bill Hunt, no matter what he says, so yea Double standards are fun.
and no, am not a red fanboy.

Bill Hunt's main job isn't journalist, it's editorialist

[sodrock]

Also the dailygame article is mis representing what they say the NPD "said" when really they got the information from twice.com from a Jodi Sally comment.

Take a look and compare. Discuss.

Daily Game quote: supposedly from NPD
http://www.dailygame.net/news/archives/007137.php

"The facts are that during the week that is being singled out, both Blu-ray disc players and software were being given away for free with the purchase of 1080p TVs. It is also important to note that the instant rebate promotions that had previously netted Toshiba's players' MSRPs to $199 and $249 had actually ended on Jan. 5th -- causing an increase in HD DVD's MSRP back to $299 and $399 during that same week. Since Toshiba's retail price move on Jan. 13th to $149 / $199 -- Toshiba is seeing very positive sales trends at retail. This reinforces the fact that price is a significant driver of sales.

"Toshiba's HD DVD players represent a significant value to the consumer and the marketing campaign that just began is proving effective."

Jody Sally Statement:

http://www.twice.com/article/ca6524995.html

Commenting on the numbers, Jodi Sally, Toshiba Digital A/V Group marketing VP said: “We all know that it is not accurate to make long-term assumptions based on one week of sales. In fact, putting it into perspective, during that specific week, it’s important to recognize that the instant rebate promotions that had previously netted our players’ manufacturer’s suggested retail prices (MSRPs) to $199 and $249, had actually ended on Jan. 5th - causing an increase in our MSRPs back to $299 and $399.

“Since Toshiba’s retail price move on Jan. 13th to $149/$199 – we are seeing very positive sales results at retail,” she continued. “All of our consumer research and our experience indicates that retail price is the primary motivating factor in consumers’ purchasing habits and we are confident that Toshiba’s HD DVD players represent a significant value to the consumer.”

Is it not obvious that these are Identical. Midnightwatcher is claiming the above is a statement from the NPD, when in fact it is just taken out of context, add/delete from a Toshiba VP, Jodi Sally. SO FRUSTRATING!

[bt12483]

Also the dailygame article is mis representing what they say the NPD "said" when really they got the information from twice.com from a Jodi Sally comment.


Is it not obvious that these are Identical. Midnightwatcher is claiming the above is a statement from the NPD, when in fact it is just taken out of context, add/delete from a Toshiba VP, Jodi Sally. SO FRUSTRATING!

Any comments Midnight? How do you explain this? So much for the little pep you tried to provide to HD DVD with your misleading thread. looks like a bunch of rehashed old statements from Toshiba nonetheless...I am sure they are being completely forthcoming . Maybe you should do as much research as sodrock did here before posting your misleading threads. oh well, either way you got exposed...once again.

good work sodrock! smackdown.

[hdinred]

Establishing the blatant bias and one-sided reporting on the part of the author of the NPD "free players boosted sales" article linked by several members.

The problem with your argument (that the author is biased) is that the NPD themselves is disputing the propaganda of the BDA!

"According to Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis for NPD"

I'm referring to the first article called: "NPD: Free Blu-ray player deals led to boosted sales this month"

[mgillespie]

Long realised that Nate Mook is a total idiot, and foaming at the mouth HD DVD fanatic, who unfortunatly has a voice through Betanews. (a site full of rabid 360/HD DVD fanbots).

Never fear, both Nate Mook and Ken Graffeo will soon be out of work, begging for forgiveness...

[bt12483]

The problem with your argument (that the author is biased) is that the NPD themselves is disputing the propaganda of the BDA!

"According to Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis for NPD"

I'm referring to the first article called: "NPD: Free Blu-ray player deals led to boosted sales this month"

Did you read all of the actual quotes from Baker (if even those are to be believed)? He says nothing groundshaking, and never mentions the BDA, like you suggest. He merely says some data was inadvertently leaked, and that one week of sales is not indicative of long term trends.

However, the more important thing is picking up the obvious bias of the article:

"Baker wouldn't get specific -- since NPD normally never even comments on weekly sales data -- but said there was some drop in HD DVD player sales. For its part, the HD DVD Promotional Group told BetaNews the weekly sales data was from before the HD DVD player price drop Toshiba announced last week.

Baker did provide BetaNews some insight as to how NPD counts sales. It receives its data from point-of-sale systems from a number of retail outlets across the United States. He would not say how many retailers send data to NPD, but said it was "double digits."

NPD's numbers do not include online sales from the likes of Amazon, where Toshiba's HD-A3 HD DVD player is the number one seller in the DVD player category and number 14 in all of electronics. By contrast, standalone Blu-ray players do not make the electronics list."

Regarding the "some drop" statement - it is a gentle way of presenting the fact that there was a drop in HD DVD player sales, period...and notice that the statement is not a direct quote, and appears to be a paraphrase. Wonder why?

Regarding the bold section, how blatant is that? Everyone knows amazons reliability as a predictor of overall sales has been smashed down repeatedly. Even still, the author makes a point to show that the A3 is on the list, while "blu-ray players do not make the electronics list" which is in itself a fabrication since they have been on the list several times. Furthermore, the amazon list changes so frequently that I personally would never print such a statement, as the sales situation over at amazon is too liquid to make such a blanket statement. By doing so, the author makes it appear that bluray is never and will never be on the list, which is a blatant lie.

From now on, many of these articles are highly suspect in my opinion, especially given the apparent copy and paste job of the NPD article in light of the dailygame article where Sally's comments were chopped up to make it appear as if the NPD said them. That is shameful for any "news" website or even bonafide blog to do, as it is blatant misrepresentation of actual words spoken. Here's the full expose in case anyone missed it:

http://forums.highdefdigest.com/show...2&postcount=98