2 Guys 1 Cup

I didn't have the stomach to watch the 'original', but this video contains a funny spoof of 2 Girls 1 Cup by John Mayer (naturally?)

PS: It beats the piss out of me why my blog displays like a train wreck in Firefox all-of-the-sudden. It works in Safari and Internet Explorer just fine. Anybody else have this problem?
-Kody

I am Legend, etc.

Check out this movie trailer:

I'm pretty excited about it, and I cant wait to see it December 14.

And Lastly, I would like to offer a calm, fanboy free analysis as an alternative to my ranting and raving on recent posts.

Over the weekend, I read several reports of folks who rushed to Wal-Mart stores to pick up ther bargain bin HD DVD players, and the majority of them purchased standard definition DVD's to go along with it.

Lets think about this for a minute. We have 2 formats, Blu-Ray and HD DVD. Both of them are just over a year old, and for the most part fall squarely into the realm of tech enthusiasts and early adopters.

Disney and Panasonic, two very outspoken proponents of Blu-Ray have spent the past several months putting on a 'roadshow' to educate consumers about the benefits and experiences of Blu-Ray versus standard definition DVD's. They have reached tens of thousands of people.

This is a crucial step. People are hesitant to buy into a new technology, especially when some don't even notice the difference between Blu-Ray/HD DVD and standard DVD's. Those people are mainly those who do not yet have high definition displays. This battle for market share is indeed two-fold. You first have to get people into HDTV, then HD discs. The fact that there are 2 HD disc options really throws a wrench into the machine.

The other thing to consider is that this is all new technology. Both formats are new. Does it really speak well of a new technology if you can get it for less than some DVD players, DVD having been around for a decade at this point? For me this is one of the most telling signs that HD DVD is in serious trouble. As I stated previously, more expensive hardware is only natural for new technologies. Not only is this an accepted fact of consumer electronics, but it stimulates the whole tech industry, infuses it with new sources of income, and drives funding for further research and development of said technology.

Now, referring back to my first sentence, it makes perfect sense to me why this whole cheap player scheme seems destined to backfire for Toshiba. Not only is the average joe not expecting to get his hands on this new technology for bargain basement prices, he doesn't know enough about the technology to appreciate it or even know to pick up the appropriate discs. Not to mention, this price slashing over and over is not going to win any trusted consumer electronics brands into the HD DVD camp. Not when Toshiba is single-handily going against accepted industry moves on pricing and treatment of new technologies.

I think that the true picture is that A) Toshiba has a huge excess of these last-generation players and they need to clear them out and B) Warner Brothers has made it pretty clear that the 4th quarter of 2007 will determine where they will align themselves, as being format neutral is something they are no longer keen on doing. Toshiba and HD DVD knowing that they have been outsold by more than 2:1 by Blu-Ray all year thus far is making a last dithced desperate move to saturate the market with cheap HD DVD players to try to boost their software sales. I think Warner leaning one way or the other would be a devastating blow to the opposite team.

This move would more than likely boost Blu-Ray to an untouchable level, with them already controlling two thirds of all HD software being sold and having support of virtually all trusted electronics brands, as well as having more studio support already.

If HD DVD were to bag Warner Brothers (fortunately they have said they will not succumb to bribery unlike Paramount ) this would mean that the Studio support would be nearly an even split, though most agree Warner holds a huge stake in this format battle whoever they choose.

Lets get this 4th quarter over quickly in hopes that we may soon have a resolution to the whole debacle

CNBC

Hey cool, I just got quoted on CNBC in this article:

Click

Jim Goldman, a technology journalist for CNBC wrote what I thought was an incredibly inaccurate and biased article about Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD, so I wrote him about it.
I guess you can't blame him for being biased. NBC is in bed with Microsoft and Universal, part of the HD DVD axis of evil.

Fun :)

Also, check out this audio interview with Blu-Ray Disc association's director Bill Sheppard regarding the BDA's response to Toshiba practically now giving their players away with the purchase of an Egg McMuffin (just watch, I bet thats their next move)

UPDATE: It's just too bad Jim Goldman used the word 'uniformed' when referring to my e-mail, when I clearly wrote 'uninformed'

Here was my original e-mail:

Hello,
I just wanted to tell you that your article titled "Blu-ray: Picture Gets Dimmer for Entertainment Format" has to be one of the most biased, inaccurate, and uninformed articles regarding this high-definition format war that I've read in the past 12 months. One glaring example would be your implication that Time Warner is exclusive to HD DVD, which is most definately not the case.

Thanks,
-Kody Belshe

-Kody (Hates HD DVD)

HD DVD Will Give You *Gonorrhea

*Note: There is no proof that HD DVD will give you gonorrhea. This is an unsubstantiated claim from myself, a proven Blu-Ray fanboy.

Okay people. I have HAD it! As most of you know, I have become increasingly obsessed with the HD format war. I have pertinent-to-the-subject websites open all day at work, and frequently check them for news. I guess you could say I have an addiction. Why HD media? I can't really answer that. I'm a big movie buff, and a big technology and HD geek, and it all just coalesced into being obsessed with HD optical media. The problem is, there are 2 of them, when there really only should be one. Movie studios are divided, potential customers are confused, and the whole thing is just crawling along at a snails pace.
In the past, I have stated that I just want one format to prevail regardless and stamp this thing out, and that remains true, but I am on Blu-Rays side here, and I am so fed up, I'm going to come right out and say it. I think HD DVD needs to hurry up and fucking die. I'm through pretending to be compassionate about HD in general, I'm on a side, and I want them to win. To me, Toshiba and their HD DVD flunkies are like a bug that you keep stepping on and it just wont die. You need to find something big and heavy and just smash it. Come on Blu-Ray. Lets get this done.
What prompted this rant? Toshiba, in what I look at as a last gasp of desperation to me, has started selling their low end (no 1080p support, long load times, last years model) HD DVD player at Wal-Mart for $198, with a one day fire sale today of $98. Now there is NO WAY that Toshiba is making a profit on this. You can't tell me they can manufacture this thing for less than 100 or even 200 dollars, considering it was being sold for $500 initially just months ago. I believe they have effectively cut out ANY chances that ANY other manufacturer is going to want to make players for their HD DVD brand. Not when they know Toshiba will undercut them.
Toshiba is fucking up the system. New technology costs more. It always has. It always will. When some new format is introduced, players are going to cost more than what its predecessor was. Manufacturers know this, and that is why they have all flocked behind Blu-Ray. Blu-Ray will re-vitalize their income with new technology being sold at new technology prices, also helping to fund further innovations in that technology. Toshiba knows this, and knows that most Americans are cheapskates, so they are trying now to appeal to people who don't like to spend money on cutting edge products. People with the 'walmart' mentality. Well, I have news for you Toshiba. People who walk into Wal-Mart and cream their pants over a 98 dollar HD DVD player are probably going to go into sticker shock when they see that HD DVD and Blu-Ray discs usually cost over 30 dollars. They are used to buying $5.00 DVD's for their $60 DVD player. I personally think your plan is going to backfire when most undeucated masses buy these low end HD DVD players and buy regular DVD's for them, because your name, "HD DVD" is stupid and confusing. People will think it's sole purpose is to make DVD's look HD. At least Blu-Ray clearly gets the point across that its something completely different than 'DVD'.

Now someone might say to me, "Hey Kody, if you are so upset about all this, why not just support both?"
Well, I tried that, and had a horrible experience with HD DVD. I got the XBOX 360 add on and the Matrix Trilogy for HD DVD, and the discs would not play. I don't know who is at fault there, Warner Brothers for the discs or Microsoft/Toshiba for the HD DVD drive, but it all went back to the store. After that, I decided that if I really cared about Blu-Ray winning, all I would accomplish by supporting both formats is prolonging the war. Every HD DVD disc I bought would cancel out a Blu-Ray I already owned or would purchase.
Speaking of Warner Brothers, eliminating HD DVD, or them picking Blu-Ray exclusively(which is in consideration) would make me so happy. They currently release on both formats, but they encode films to the least common denominator (HD DVD) Basically, HD DVD has 20 gigs less storage capacity, a lower audio bit-rate and a lower video bit-rate than Blu-Ray. Warner scales down and compresses the film to fit on a HD DVD, then they port it over to Blu-Ray, where it could be done to a higher quality if they really wanted to, or didnt have to worry about making it fit on an HD DVD.
I now have 34 Blu-Ray movies. I am confident that with Blu-Ray leading in sales, technical superiority, studio support, and electronics manufacturer support, they will prevail. They just need to finish eradicating the virus that is HD DVD.
Wow. I haven't bitched this much in a long time. It felt good to get that off my chest.
And remember kids, Paramount are sell-out whores, and Toshiba are filthy taints.
Have a great day, and go buy some Blu-Rays!
:)
-Kody

PS: On a positive note, after Paramount (Whoramount) took the bribe to go exclusively HD DVD, everyone was banking on HD DVD FINALLY winning a sales week over Blu-Ray when Transformers was released. Oops. Didn't happen. HAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!

Douchebag Drivers

I would like to take a moment to discuss douchebag drivers simply because I have seen 2 such specimens in the last 2 days on my way to work. Douchebag drivers are the ones who swerve in and out of traffic as quickly and recklessly as possible. The douchebag I saw this morning actually made about 10 lane changes in under a minute as they swerved in and out of traffic. The best part is, despite all their fast and furious douchebagging, you usually end up directly behind or beside them when you get to the off-ramp traffic light where you're going. Way to go douchebag. You win the race! Gold sticker! Everytime I witness a driver exhibiting their doucebaggery, I secretly wish to drive around a curve and see their car upside down and smoking or on fire with the passenger, or douchenger, ejected 100 feet from the vehicle (because you know they probably aren't wearing their seatbelt either)
Does that make me a bad person?

See ya!
Oh, and Paramount Sucks.

(P.S. Dawn, I will get those emotastic pics up, I promise)