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 The High Definition DVD Studio Support Petition Campaign |
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Want to complain to your Consumer protection watchdogs? We outline the channels you can use We have been asked by supporters about how they can request that their relevant consumer protection bodies, investigate the recent rumors of a "pay off" of Fox and/or Warner by the BDA to NOT publish to the HD DVD format. So, we are dedicating this page to outlining some channels available to you to make your request. It remains to be seen how this whole thing will pan out in the coming moths, now, but for what it's worth, you can still make your voice heard. We're not experts, but have offered a draft letter for you to start with. At the bottom of this page you will find the links to send your concerns to, as well as a sample letter. It is important to note that, although discussed by various insiders on online forums, these rumours of a massive pay-off of Fox and Warner by the BDA are still just that - rumours. And I don't think the companies involved would willingly confirm these rumours. However, with so much smoke, one can ask that someone else investigate the possibility that there is indeed some fire. Let's summarise... Firstly, we have all read various rumours that Warner was paid anywhere from $500 Million to $620 Million to drop their support of HD DVD (such as here, here, here ). Many observers, even the most fanatic Bluray fans, accept that this is probably true (see also here, here, here). Another payout is also rumoured to have been promised to Fox. When asked about these rumours, it seems to me that the relevant executives have mostly avoided outright denials of these rumours. Sony's chairman is reported to have skirted the subject here. In another interview with bloggers, a Warner exec chose to laugh and downplay the suggestion that there was compensation by the BDA, but again avoided a direct denial. Although one news story claims that this same exec made a denial, it appears to be possibly the same conference call in which he was otherwise reported to have made no direct denial, and we note the absence of a direct quote of the denial in the story, despite it's title. The same executive also declined to comment on it to the NY Times in this interview. Some Bluray fans claim that this is only the same as the rumour that Paramount may have accepted incentives to go HD DVD-exclusive. Others would take great exception to that, pointing out that Microsoft and Toshiba are NOT studios, whereas Sony is not only the developer and main owner of Bluray disc, but also controls various Sony Pictures studios, and Columbia Tristar, and controls 20% of MGM. Also, the amounts rumoured to have gone to Fox and Warner are several times what was rumoured to have been offered Paramount Pictures. "But", one could ask, "has this really hurt consumer choice?" Many of you seem to feel the answer is "YES!". My main problem is with the "incentive" that it's rumoured was paid for Warner's choice. First of all, one of Warner's stated goals is to end the format war - which the industry seems to have interpreted as the blindingly obvious: "Kill HD DVD as quickly as possible". Certainly, if the rumours about over ONE BILLION DOLLARS being paid to these studios by the BDA are correct, then it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the BDA's desire in having Warner go "Blu" was to "kill HD DVD", their competitor (see some of the analysis of the intentions of Warner here, here, here, and here). It is our opinion, and we believe that many people share this opinion, that the absence of HD DVD from the market would reduce competition and consumer choice. We feel that it is obvious to most observers that the competition between the two formats have been a great benefit to consumers, having both driven down the prices of players of the two formats, and also increasing the quality and quantity of releases. Further, HD DVD was, by many accounts, going for the mass market this year, with player "entry prices" in the $100 to $200 range, for MSRP, let alone the actual selling price being even lower. However, at CES, after the Warner announcement, BDA entities announced that the cheapest Bluray player (the Chinese Funai unit) would be retailing for $300. Not only that, but Bluray BD 1.1 players announced at under $500 seem to lack the DD+ and TrueHD audio decoders which were standard on all HD DVD players. There would be little incentive for Bluray to lower their players prices if they were able to destroy HD DVD. Further, because the replication capacity and yields of the Bluray format are reported by insiders to be rather limited at this time, a switch away from HD DVD by Warner could even result in less HDM releases to consumers this year. I suspect that a lack of replication capacity would reinforce the BDA's desire to keep player prices high, so that disc demand would not outstrip supply. Anyway, here are the contact details, as well as a sample letter you could use as a starting point for your letter (Sorry! It's only in English - but you can translate to your local language before sending, if not English). We're not experts on this sort of thing, but hopefully the letter offers a start for you to work with.
Below, you will find a "quick-start" guide to asking your consumer protection entity to investigate these rumours. Listings below cover almost all countries worldwide. In section (1). You will find a list of the agencies in each country, including the USA's FTC.. (1) Here is the contact information to use for your complaint in various countries: USA: Email the DOJ - http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm#file (there are some "hard" postal addresses at the bottom of the page, also) Canada: InfoMGS@mgs.gov.on.ca - Consumer Protection Branch UK: Competition Commission - info@cc.gsi.gov.uk FR - France: Conseil de la Concurrence - communication@conseil-concurrence.fr DE - Germany: BundesKartellamt - info@bundeskartellamt.bund.de IT - Italy: Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato - antitrust@agcm.it ES- Spain: Comisión Nacional de la Competencia - informacion@cncompetencia.es You can find other EU bodies here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union_competition_law Australia: Competition and Consumer Commission New Zealand: Commerce Commission - contact@comcom.govt.nz If you have info for other markets or bodies, please feel free to pass these to us
(2) Here is a sample letter that you could send. To Whom It May Concern: I would like to make a formal request that you investigate possible anti-competition violations in a recent move by Warner Brothers to drop the HD DVD movie disc format in favour of exclusive support of it's main competitor, the Bluray disc format - which is rumoured to have been rewarded by a $500 Million incentive from the Bluray Disc Association.. The reason for my request are as follows: 1) There are rumours that Warner was given incentives of between $500 Million, $620 Million, or even higher in exchange for their decision to abandon HD DVD. Fox is also rumoured to have been rewarded. Before the move, about 50% of studio content was available on the HD DVD format. But Warner's decision reduces this greatly as they are the largest studio. 1-b) Although one report states that a Warner official denied the rumour, there is no direct quote of the denial, and other coverage of the executive's statements make note of the absence of any direct denials, including the NY Times, which noted he actually declined to deny them. Even the Sony chairman avoided a denial of the rumours of the payoff. 2) This money is rumoured to have been paid to Warner by the Bluray Disc Association, the organising body of the Bluray disc, which is the direct comeptitor to the HD DVD format which was dropped. 3) The move has been widely interpreted by the industry as an attempt to deal a "death blow" to the HD DVD format and eliminate the competitor. According to various observers it has been an attempt at a mortal blow that is designed to be the beginning of the end for the HD DVD format, if allowed to stand. 4) The move effectively means that Warner customers looking to buy Hi Definition optical media will only be able to do so on Bluray disc after May 2008. 5) The move means that almost 1 Million existing customers on HD DVD will no longer be able to get Warner or New Line movies on HD DVD after May 2008. 6) HD DVD dedicated players, drives bought for the sole purpose of playing movies, have been variously selling at entry prices of $99, $129 and $199. These have been far more affordable than Bluray players, which have sold for closer to $300 at the low-end due to the "discounting" obsolete "initial profile" players. If HD DVD is eliminated, the HD consumer may be forced to pay higher prices for up to date BD players. 7) As of late 2007, HD DVD dedicated players, bought specifically for the purpose of playing movies, had been estimated to have sold about 900,000 units (including 296,000 "add-on" dedicated players), compared to 350,000 equivalent units by Bluray. I do not include Playstation 3 game consoles, as these are said to have been mostly purchased primarily to play games, not movies. 7.b) The Same estimates put HD DVD standalones in Europe at 150,000 units, compared with 50,000 Bluray standalones. 8) It is said by insiders that the Bluray disc format has far less disc manufacturing capacity than the HD DVD disc format, which could mean that either less discs would be available to consumers if Bluray were the only format, and/or that the disc manufacturing constraints could possibly cause the Bluray companies to maintain higher pricing on Bluray players for the foreseeable future until they have installed more replication capacity. 9) The Bluray format is a proprietary disc format invented and mostly controlled (through the BDA) by Sony Corp. Sony also controls various studios under the Sony Pictures umbrella, such as Columbia Tristar, and also controls 20% of the MGM Studios company. I am concerned that if HD DVD were to be killed off by the Warner decision, Sony may have an unfair advantage. I am also concerned about these rumours as I fear it may indicate that Sony and the BDA may have exercised an unfair advantage in eliminating HD DVD from the marketplace. 10) I am a consumer who would be harmed by the event. I believe that there are almost a million buyers of HD DVD players. We may likely be forced to purchase more expensive Bluray players were HD DVD eliminated. Otherwise, we would no longer be able to get content from Warner on HD DVD - or possible any studios at all if HD DVD were to be eliminated by this action, rendering our purchase of little value. 11) I also believe that were HD DVD to be eliminated, many, many, millions of consumers may have less choice and would likely pay higher prices for HD players in the future. I ask that you investigate these rumours that Warner and Fox were paid "incentives" in consideration for their decisions against HD DVD, and for the very damaging timing of Warner's public statement on the matter 2 days before an important press conference they were to attend jointly with HD DVD. Yours sincerely,
________________ (name, date)
(3) You may also find it effective to send a letter to your local Attorney General. To get the contact details for your Attorney General, simply click this Google link here. When the Google window opens, simply add your state to the terms already listed. Here are some regular Postal Addresses, for those who would like to also send letters there: Federal Trade Commission
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