Michael Bay Rants About "Microsoft Conspiracy"
Transformers director Michael Bay claims that Microsoft is backing HD DVD because it wants both hi-def formats to fail.His statements, posted on his official website, went on to say:
"That is the dirty secret no one is talking about. That is why Microsoft is handing out $100 million dollar checks to studios just embrace the HD DVD and not the leading, and superior Blu-ray. They want confusion in the market until they perfect the digital downloads. Time will tell and you will see the truth."
This isn't the first time we've heard the Microsoft conspiracy theory, but it's the first time we've heard it from someone as "high up" in Hollywood as Bay.
In other Bay news, the director also has come out to claim that Transformers doesn't look as good on HD DVD as it would have on Blu-ray (currently Paramount is HD DVD exclusive). Bay stated the following:
"I see every frame of my films over a hundred times before it is ever released. I know the lighting conditions I shot it and the result on the DI. I know the range. I know what the final product should look like - Blu-ray suits my films better."
Is Bay right, or is he - like most of his movies - disoriented and confused?
posted by Shannon T. Nutt at 11:09 AM
7 Comments:
I would tend to believe him moreso than not concerning the Microsoft Conspiracy. Bay can't be that disoriented and confused producing a great film such as Transformers. Who knows what their movies should look like more than the directors themselves.
Blu-ray seems to have weathered the storm Toshiba produced with their $99 HD-DVD players maintaining a strong 2-1 advantage in sales.
What Mr. bay plainly does not understand is that the only difference between the two is capacity. There is no difference in visual quality. The thing I personaly look at and why I went with HD DVD is price. When it comes to price, HD DVD wins hands down. That's why HD DVD is gonna win. Aside from us people who sit here and argue tech specs, mom & pop know nothing except price and what the sales guy at the consumer electronics store tells them. If they go to Best Buy then they will buy a Blu-Ray player. If they go into a Circuit City then they will walk out with a HD DVD player.
The price argument is flawed. iPod is markedly more costly than its competitors yet it has sold over 100-million. Honda is more costly than Kia yet Kia only has a fraction of Honda sales.
Consumers aren't idiots, they don't just buy stuff based on price. Samsung LCD displays are outselling Vizio displays - could it be because Samsung TVs are better quality? It's not the price for sure. And there are dozens of other LCD manufacturers so the cheapest ones only hold a small portion of the market.
Consumers like to make educated purchases. When they measure the benefits of Blu-ray's studio and industry support against HD DVD the price difference isn't an issue. Why buy HD DVD when you can't watch Disney, Pixar, Columbia, Fox, etc movies?
The biggest issue I have with this is that Michael Bay is comparing an existing product to a hypothetical one. Transformers does not exist on Blu-Ray, so how is he making this comparison? He has shown an unequivocal bias towards Blu-Ray in the past and this just seems like another attempt to slam HD DVD without any real quantitative explanation to support his claim.
"I know what it should look like"
Okay, no argument. But since it's not on Blu-Ray, there is no way to know it would look any better on that format. Every objective comparison I have seen comparing the two formats with the same material proves the fact that there is no significant difference in quality.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion but when it is presented as fact without supporting evidence... isn't that slander?? hmmmm....
I wouldnt be surprised if Mr. Bay has actually seen a "prospective" Blu-Ray transfer of ALL of his films by now, so his statement isn't surprising...it's probably based on his actual viewing of a Blu-Ray transfer of "Transformers".
The video media on a HD DVD and a Blu-Ray disc is exactly the same. If you were to rip the media off of the discs, they both would be identicle. So...no.
What it comes down to is NOT what the consumer wants, but the politics behind the scenes with the Studios.
Even though HD DVD is cheaper for the consumer and cheaper to make, if there are no movies (studios) supporting HD DVD... no one is going to buy HD DVD and instead buy the format that has the most of not the best movies... Blu-Ray.
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