At first glance, Warner’s Red2Blu program seems like a nice offer: users get a Blu-ray copy of their HD DVD movies and have to pay only $4.95 (plus shipping and handling).
Every user can get up to 25 movies through the program and Warner’s current exchange line-up includes 128 titles. At this point, the offer seems like a good deal for those early adopters who bet on the wrong next-gen player.
Then again, some might say that this is just another marketing scheme aimed at squeezing more money from the market. Let’s see what Warner has to say about the offer in its own Terms and Conditions:
“The replacement Blu-ray version of the Participating Title may have different special features and/or bonus material than contained on the HD DVD version of the Participating Title, including much less or no special features and/or bonus material, and/or the Blu-ray version may have a different aspect ratio (e.g., may be full screen instead of wide screen or vice versa)”
So, basically, the company admits that the replacement Blu-ray product is inferior to the original HD DVD purchase. Stripped special features and bonus content, an aspect ration depending on the user’s luck, all this add up to a different conclusion. It’s not “get your replacement” anymore, it’s more in the line of “get a watered-down Blu-ray copy”.
Taking matters to another level, one could also say that the move aims to turn HD DVD users into Blu-ray adopters. After all, the Blu-ray failed to conquer the market and is still regarded as an expensive device that has yet to justify its price.
With HD content getting to be available for download, hi-def player might soon enough turn obsolete and people should not be amazed if the Blu-ray is dropped altogether in a few years.
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