Hollywood split as Disney backs Blu-ray
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With the Blu-ray Disc Association securing non-exclusive backing from Disney, the major Hollywood studios are split down the middle over next-generation DVD.
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Walt Disney Co. said on Wednesday it would support the Blu-ray standard for next-generation DVDs backed by Sony Corp., but kept open its options for a rival format championed by Toshiba Corp.
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Warner Bros., the only major movie studio to release titles on both of the rival high-definition video disc formats, has decided to drop HD DVD and exclusively back Blu-ray Disc, it said Friday.The move could prove decisive in determining which of the two formats becomes the de facto DVD replacement for high-definition content. Currently, both formats are battling to secure a lead, but neither has managed to obtain a meaningful market share due to consumer indifference as a consequence of the battle. As a result, the market for high-definition movies has seen its growth stunted, and companies like Warner have lost potential sales.Warner said the decision was made in part as a response to this situation.&quot;A two-format landscape has led to consumer confusion and indifference toward high definition, which has kept the technology from reaching mass adoption and becoming the important revenue stream that it can be for the industry,&quot; said Kevin Tsujihara, president of Warner&#39;s home entertainment group in a statement.The move comes on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show, which kicks off on Monday in Las Vegas, and is sure to light a fire under the HD DVD camp, which is chiefly backed by Toshiba and also includes Paramount, Universal, HBO Video, Microsoft, and Intel. The HD DVD Promotion Group has a previously scheduled news conference on Sunday, and the rival Blu-ray Disc group is scheduled to speak the following day.Companies from both sides of the format battle are expected to show their latest players and talk up their own formats during CES.Last year&#39;s CES saw the unveiling by Warner of a hybrid disc called Total HD. The disc attempted to break the format deadlock by offering one side compatible with HD DVD and the other side compatible with Blu-ray Disc. However, the disc never made it to market, and Warner gave up on the hybrid format later in 2007.
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The Walt Disney Co. will back the high-definition Blu-ray disc developed by Sony over a competing HD DVD format, setting in place a high-stakes battle between Hollywood&#39;s
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Toshiba Corp  said on Sunday its HD DVD high-definition video format is not dead despite being dealt a big setback by Warner Bros studio's decision to exclusively back Sony Corp's  rival Blu-ray technology.
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The online movie rental service's choice to go exclusively Blu-ray doesn't bode well for the embattled HD DVD format.
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LOS ANGELES Three top Hollywood studios are throwing their considerable weight behind one of two competing formats for the next generation of high-definition DV-Ds, citing in part the need to stem rampant piracy.
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With Hollywood studios still split over competing formats for high-definition DVDs, Warner Bros. will delay the launch of a dual-format disc until next year.
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November 29, 2004 - After months of momentum for Blu-ray, HD-DVD has shot back with a big gain - studio support. Toshiba Corp., which has been developing the HD-DVD format, announced it has lined up Warner Bros.
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Warner Bros. Entertainment said yesterday that it will release high-definition movie discs only in the Blu-ray format, rejecting the rival HD DVD format and creating another complication for consumers.
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In news that has shocked the already rocky state of today&#39;s DVD industry, the Walt Disney Company yesterday announced that it intends to back Sony&#39;s high-def Blu-Ray format in the upcoming war between two competing technologies.
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While clearly a blow, retailers are divided on whether the move actually amounts to a death knell to the format, which is battling Blu-ray.
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Universal Pictures is among the first Hollywood studios to announce its support for HD DVD, the high-definition optical disc format backed by a coalition of technology companies led by Toshiba.
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US film studio Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp will support the Blu-ray optical disc standard, helping the cause of Sony Corp and other members of the Blu-ray camp in a battle over the next generation of DVDs.
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Hollywood players pick sides in the competition between the HD DVD and Blu-ray standards.
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The Walt Disney Company and its home video division, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, said yesterday that they would release films in the next-generation high-definition DVD format being developed
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Toshiba Corp (6502.T) said on Sunday  its HD DVD high-definition video format is not dead despite  being dealt a big setback by Warner Bros studio's decision to  exclusively back Sony Corp's (6758.T) rival Blu-ray technology.