LOS ANGELES (AP) - Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSEWA) will offer next-generation DVDs in the HD DVD format and drop support for Blu-ray, further complicating the race between the competing technologies. Monday's announcement affects the upcoming DVD release of the blockbuster 'Shrek the Third' and all movies distributed by Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films, as well as movies from DreamWorks Animation, which are distributed exclusively by Paramount Home Entertainment. Paramount previously released movies in both formats. 'Part of our vision is to aggressively extend our movies beyond the theater and deliver the quality and features that appeal to our audience,' said Brad Grey, chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA) 'I believe HD DVD is not only the affordable high-quality choice for consumers, but also the smart choice for Paramount.' The competition between Blu-ray and HD DVD has kept confused consumers from rushing to buy new DVD players until they can determine which format will dominate the market. Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive of DreamWorks Animation, said consumers seeking to switch to high-definition DVDs will be enticed by the content available for HD-DVD players. He added the lower price for the devices will appeal to the family market. 'Today Toshiba is making HD-DVD players available at $299, which is a first time that it's really been at an affordable price,' Katzenberg said. 'It's a game-changer, what they're doing, and it's why we decided to throw in with them.' Katzenberg said that, until now, the price for high-definition players was too high for most families. 'That barrier has just been broken and we believe it is going to, as I say, move down even further,' he said. Paramount and DreamWorks aren't the only ones choosing sides. 'Spider-Man 3' will only be available in the Blu-ray DVD format when it is released by Sony (NYSE:SNE) Pictures, while people with Blu-ray players won't be able to enjoy the action-thriller 'The Bourne Ultimatum,' which Universal Pictures (NYSE:GE) will release only in HD DVD. In terms of discs sold, Blu-ray has always had the lead. The format recently got a big boost as Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE:BBI) announced it would stock only Blu-ray titles when it expands its high-def DVD offerings this year. Target Inc., the nation's second-largest retailer, said it will only sell Blu-ray DVD players in its stores in the fourth quarter. With Paramount dropping Blu-ray support, Time Warner Inc.'s (NYSE:TWX) Warner Bros. remains the only major studio releasing movies in both formats. Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures, News Corp.'s (NYSE:NWS) Twentieth Century Fox, The Walt Disney Co. , and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer are releasing only in Blu-ray. Universal, owned by General Electric Co., backs HD DVD exclusively. original article The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) has long asserted that its Blu-ray (BD) format is superior to the rival HD DVD format, and BD’s "revolutionary" buzz has understandably caught the fancy of certain technologists. But CEOs should be wary, because what the BDA does not sufficiently address is what lies behind those assertions. The numbers are stark: manufacturing BD discs will require an estimated US$1.7 million cost per manufacturing line. Per line! Then, each major manufacturing facility would require the implementation of a minimum of two mastering systems, at a minimum cost of US$2 million per system. DVD, at the height of its success, resulted in an estimated 600 manufacturing lines globally. Even allowing for a decline in systems costs over time as the manufacturing base expanded, the tab for radically overhauling the media manufacturing industry would approach a billion dollars worldwide or more. Already-beleaguered CFOs will be challenged to raise—and risk—this significant amount of capital. Compare this to the estimated cost of retooling for the HD DVD format compared to BD. HD DVD is able to utilize virtually the entire existing manufacturing infrastructure. The cost of upgrading an existing DVD line is about US$150,000—less than a tenth the cost of a BD line. A DVD mastering system can be upgraded for US$145,000. Basically, HD DVD is a DVD-9—a version of DVD we have enormous manufacturing experience with already—with a denser pit structure. Once people realize the hidden costs of the Blu-ray format, they will also realize the extent to which it actually endangers their very industry. Blu-ray is the Emperor’s New Clothes—it advances the agendas of a few select companies instead of the markets and that of the consumer. No one—the studios, the disc manufacturers, the consumer electronics manufacturers—can afford a format war today. Rick Marquardt, former GM, Warner Advanced Media Operations, From Ars Technica We at Audioholics are pulling our hair out over the apparent back and forth dogma and marketing-speak coming out of both companies. Not in surprise, but because the situation is so predictable and obvious from the outside. It's going to take a proverbial miracle for these formats not to die a niche-market death and it seems that stubbornness and greed are driving both formats with the consumer caught squarely in the middle. The key underlying issue could be the less expensive manufacturing process inherent in HD DVD discs. While BD discs cost extra to manufacture, HD DVD is making more profits in the software - where the main concern lies for studios. Since studios have mostly demonstrated an inability to be forward or future-thinking, this may be a very simple short-term financial decision to try and land a format that can ultimately make them more in a short amount of time. With Christmas coming up it is likely that consumers will be heavily incentivized to purchase cheaper HD players and HD DVD is in a position to add some much needed marketing to push consumers in that direction. Blu-ray may have a wider range of support, but with added hardware and software costs this may hurt them over time. November and December will be very important months to see who inches closer to winning the niche format war.
and in response for the Blu-ray shafting... Michael Bay says no Transformers 2... http://www.betanews.com/article/Michael_Bay_No_Bluray_No_Transformers_2/1187708105 good stuff *EDIT... o and there's more... a lot more... apparently Paramount was also paid off to support HD-DVD with $150million for 18months... nice... http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/t...rss&adxnnlx=1187698143-B5wO3L/F+4r1NyAsum87vQ
How could they have "finished" testing? Isn't Bluray incomplete? I believe there are still some changes to its specification that still hasn't been made yet. Or I'm behind and they've actually gone and done that already.
This is just going to prolong the adoption rate of either format, looks like both formats are still going to be niche products. Just when it looked like everything was swinging in blu-rays favor, a good example is the film 300 70:30 sales for blu-ray
looks like hd dvd is the winner now. all those that bought ps3 thinking it's a good deal since it plays blu ray, tough luck!
still not over yet I think in the end people will just end up buying both format players, cause they cant be bothered anymore
the war is far from over between these two formats...blu-ray looks like will getting a lot more of the summer blockbusters over HD-DVD "Of the 14 summer 2007 blockbusters that have surpassed $100 million in U.S. grosses, seven will likely be available in high-def by year's end on Blu-ray only: Sony's "Spider-Man 3," New Line Cinema's "Hairspray," Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" and "Ratatouille," and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment's "Live Free or Die Hard," "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" and "The Simpsons Movie." Over on the HD-DVD side, we see five top-grossing flicks warming up for home delivery. The new Paramount/DreamWorks commitment will produce exclusive, HD-DVD high-def versions of "Shrek the Third" and "Transformers," along with three titles from Universal: "The Bourne Ultimatum," "Knocked Up" and "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Harry." The only top grossers you'll find on both Blu-ray and HD-DVD for holiday giving will be from format-agnostic Warner Home Video: "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and "Ocean's 13." " Out of all of the movies from the summer i'd say blu-ray has got all the blockbuster/winners....i really hope the find a solution for this shiet...cuz its really taking too damn long to determine a decent format
