Movie studios dance on HD DVD's grave

 

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By Reuters

Posted on 21 Feb 2008 at 11:32

All six major Hollywood studios are now in the Blu-ray camp, following Toshiba's decision to desert HD DVD.

Paramount Home Entertainment quietly came onboard via a statement issued to The Hollywood Reporter: "We are pleased that the industry is moving to a single high-definition format, as we believe it is in the best interest of the consumer," the statement reads. "As we look to (begin) releasing our titles on Blu-ray, we will monitor consumer adoption and determine our release plans accordingly."

Universal, in contrast, cast its ties with Blu-ray within hours of Toshiba's announcement Tuesday morning that it was ending the format war by ceasing the development, manufacture and marketing of HD DVD players by the end of March.

Industry experts say a single format supported by all six major studios has a much better chance of success than two rival ones that each take only a chunk of Hollywood. "It's a big victory for the consumer," says Janet Murray, director of Georgia Tech's masters and PhD program in digital media.

Murray predicts "a standardisation of extras" now that everyone's releasing films on a single format rather than two, each with its own set of capabilities. "This will lead to a much richer experience for viewers," she adds.

Murray also foresees "much more content and much more breadth of content" now that Blu-ray is the only way to go. "When people have these higher-end screens at home, they take great pleasure in them, and this will push ahead the delivery (of movies) in high-definition," she says.

Universal had been exclusive with HD DVD since the format's launch in April 2006, while Paramount initially supported both HD DVD and Blu-ray. Paramount and DreamWorks switched to HD DVD-only in August, reportedly after receiving a $150 million payment from the format's supporters for "promotional consideration."

Neither studio has announced specific titles earmarked for early Blu-ray release, though both are expected to start with new theatricals coming the same day as the standard DVD, beginning in late spring or early summer.