Jan 10, 2008 by The MovieWeb Team

Is the HD DVD / Blu-ray Format War Almost Over?

The two remaining studios backing HD DVD, Universal and Paramount, could switch sides soon, ending the high-def format war instantly.

According to Variety, it has been confirmed that Universal's commitment to backing HD DVD exclusively has ended. And Paramount has an escape clause in its HD DVD contract allowing it to release pics on Blu-ray after Warner Bros.' decision to back that format exclusively.

Neither studio is ready to throw in the towel immediately, however. Universal is committed to a series of promotions for the high-def format in coming months, and Par has said its current plans are to keep supporting HD DVD, which it backed exclusively in August.

Should Toshiba concede defeat on the format, the decision to drop HD DVD would be made for both studios. But Toshiba doesn't appear ready to do that. At the Consumer Electronics Show, the manufacturer reaffirmed its commitment to the format, noting strong sales during the fourth quarter and indicating it would continue marketing its hardware through 2008.

But retailers may force the HD DVD camp's hand: They're unlikely to keep devoting premium shelf space to a dying format, and at this point, the odds are not in HD DVD's favor. With Warners' defection, only Par and U remain in the HD DVD camp; Sony, Disney, Fox, Lionsgate remain ardent Blu-ray backers. Warner sister companies New Line and HBO are also shifting allegiance to Blu-ray.

Last summer, Blockbuster also threw its weight behind Blu-ray, though some HD DVD discs remain in stores.

And Warner will continue to release HD DVD discs for the next few months to honor its previous commitment to Toshiba, which extends through May 31. Paramount's HD DVD deal, which covers DreamWorks releases, was to run through this year.


Sources: Variety

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Comments (28)

  1. ArchAngel

    Yea sure blu-ray is sweet, but am i really gonna wanna spend so much money to not only get a blu-ray player (i hate PS3s) but also to upgrade all my movies to the high def format? idk

    4 years agoby @therealjokerFlag

  2. Gooberheadgirl

    Consumers who haven't been early adopters will be pleased when the format war ends. Those early adopters of the losing format will be unhappy campers. The movie industry will profit more once the format is down to one. As the US will end analog TV in February 2009, more US consumers will begin purchasing a digital TV or tuner. Many will purchase an HDTV. One high def format in DVD would sure sweeten the pot for those shoppers. They just might be inclined to add a player to their purchase.

    4 years agoby @gooberheadgirlFlag

  3. -comrade-

    Universal is jus making sure it can get a hold of one vine before it takes another. If they go, so does Paramount. Hopefuly in time for Iron Man to come out on BluRay

    4 years agoby @taberjohnson18Flag

  4. MaViNx

    whats this I hear blue-ray not being backward compatible with themselves?

    4 years agoby @mavinxFlag

  5. Kaya Savas

    Yeah, I heard about those price slashes. All the HD-DVD models are like 50% less now. If anyone was unfortunate enough to buy or get an HD-DVD player this holiday season they are recommending taking your receipt and getting the price difference refunded back.

    4 years agoby @kayaFlag

  6. markdchapman

    Universal has already put out a statement saying they won't be dropping HD DVD anytime soon.

    http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Universal/Industry_Trends/Universal_Re-Affirms_HD_DVD_Support/1362

    Although, I am still not sure why.

    4 years agoby @markdchapmanFlag

  7. Solid_Paul

    Zodiac does look amazing in HD, but I've put off buying any HD-DVD's at this point. It may seem silly, but I'm just trying to do my part to bring a unified format forward. Word on the street is that Universal's contract is up at the end of January 2008, so in a couple more weeks we'll likely have a clear as to what is going to happen next...more war, or end to war.

    4 years agoby @solid-paulFlag

  8. InsaneKane

    People say to wait the prices will go down...

    Pfft people are greedy prices aint gonna go down!Yeah u can get some cheap at blockbuster whatever but prices aint going down for these!

    Its stupid to charge 30$ For some HD crap, should be the same as a regular DVD! We are already paying for the HD TV and enough as it is!

    4 years agoby @insanekane87Flag

  9. markdchapman

    Choose your mode of death.

    You've selected slow and horrible.

    4 years agoby @markdchapmanFlag

  10. markdchapman

    here is an article about HD DVD slashing prices on their hardware and software:

    http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/14/hd-dvd-fires-back-slashes-hardware-and-software-prices/

    4 years agoby @markdchapmanFlag

  11. markdchapman

    All this says to me is that both studios do, in fact, have contracts with HD DVD they can't break.

    Unforunately, Paramount's contract doesn't run out until the end of 2008. So this bull sh*t is just gonna drag on, and on... but this is exactly why I have both formats.

    On a happier note, ZODIAC looks AMAZING on HD DVD! It is jaw dropping. And the commentaries, doc*mentaries and special features are top notch. There is even a full length doc*mentary with the real investigators and survivors.

    If you have an HD DVD player it's a MUST OWN.

    4 years agoby @markdchapmanFlag

  12. ekenobi

    I agree with you Solid Paul. Prices will drop just like that have for Dvds and everything else.

    4 years agoby @ekenobiFlag

  13. scabcookie

    the bit about the 360s res is true sometimes not even 720p but its not about that its about blu-ray winning when it clearly not the best format. solid paul i could pull up five different sites that some would deem credible that say just the oppisite and im not a fanboy i would rather we stay with good ole dvd.

    ps: the only time the ps3 should load slow is the first time you pop in the game because of the saving big chunks part i said before.

    pps: halo 3 isnt even 720p its only like 680p but they dont list that so they put 720p on the box

    4 years agoby @scabcookieFlag

  14. Kaya Savas

    The only game I've encountered with slow loads on a PS3 was Medal of Honor, and that game was really bad and I guess the loads on Uncharted were a tad long when you first put the game in but nothing to a point where its ridiculous. PS3 is definitely an entertainment bundle which is how its advertised, but the most important thing is that it's 1080p native whereas the XBOX 360 is 720p native thus not full HD. The 360 has to upscale games that are labeled as 1080p whereas the PS3 downscales to lesser resolutions. Another reason why PS3 is better and why the HD-DVD player is an "add-on" to the 360.

    4 years agoby @kayaFlag

  15. Solid_Paul

    Actually scabcookie, according to Nielsen/VideoScan, it shows that total sales for HDM for 2007 show blu-ray outselling HD-DVD every month by nearly a 65:35 split. But this article isn't about sales, or the PS3 trojan horse, or HD-DVD's capacity issues or whatever, it's about the format war hopefully coming to an end, with one clear winner. It seems that it's going to be Blu-ray, and while that may hurt a lot of HD-DVD fanboys, it's just showing where the market is leading. So, let's just learn to accept this, and get on to enjoying a single format with 100% studio support! - The sooner this happens the better!

    4 years agoby @solid-paulFlag

  16. scabcookie

    the reason hd-dvds have compressed audio is because of the space problems i mentioned before if this was fixed blu-ray would have nothing and it was a crafty way to move blu-ray sales the truth is the ps3 is a blu-ray player first and a game console second. the reason ps3 games are in blu-ray is because its there format. ive played ps3 games and the loading is to slow for games thats why big chunks of the game are saved on to the hard drive (alot more than normal caching) and thats why there is not a ps3 without a hard drive.

    4 years agoby @scabcookieFlag

  17. Kaya Savas

    I heard a few complaints about load times, but on my PS3 Blu-rays have zero load times. No different than a DVD on a DVD player.

    I also think that one of the best advantages of Blu over HD is uncompressed audio. The fact that HD-DVD's have compressed audio seems idiotic to me. Every Blu has uncompressed PCM audio up to 7 channels.

    Also PS3 games are manufactured on Blu-ray, which is why PS3's have a BD player. It wasn't some crafty way to get Blu-ray players out there, Sony designed PS3 to utilize the format. If Microsoft made a 360 with built in HD-DVD then that would be a crafty way to get HD-DVD out there since 360 games are not manufactured and developed on HD-DVD.

    4 years agoby @kayaFlag

  18. scabcookie

    and solid paul blu-ray did not out sell hd-dvds every week of 2007 about five months of the year hd-dvd out sold blu-ray and the only reasons blu-ray got so much steam is 1. sony owns some studios that just happen to put out alot of blockbuster movies and 2. sony even said that they estimate about 72% of blu-ray players sold where playstation 3s but i do have to say that was a smart way to get there format players out in the public (make em think there buying a game console)very smart indeed.

    4 years agoby @scabcookieFlag

  19. scabcookie

    i don't own either but hd-dvd seems to be the better format its user friendly, loads ALOT FASTER, and the picture is a tad better. the only thing blu-ray has over hd-dvd is disk space and i would rather the format go on than have a sub par format be the only choice in the future. when they faise out dvds and if the only disk format left is blu-ray i'm going with downloads my pc is hooked up to my hdtv via vga anyway so it won't be that big of a diffrence.

    4 years agoby @scabcookieFlag

  20. Solid_Paul

    It's true, so many people are ready now for one format to be chosen as the standard. If universal and paramount still decide to back HD-DVD exclusively, then the war drags on a bit longer, but I feel that most people have already lost confidence in the HD-DVD format to win. I know I'm not buying any more, and to help push to only one format, I've only been buying Blu-ray.

    If this continues to drag on too long, they'll have lost complete interest by the general consumer, and people will be more than happy to stick to regular DVD.

    Hopefully Universal and Paramount will make the right decision for the future of HD movies, and join Blu-ray.

    4 years agoby @solid-paulFlag

  21. The Kwisatz Haderach

    I like standard normal DVD's. Have never bought a HD or Blue-ray and dont plan too, until my good cheap old dvd's vanish from the shelves to the four winds like VHS. But atleast this Format War will come to an close soon, too many lives have been lost. hahaha

    4 years agoby @the-kwisatz-haderachFlag

  22. markdchapman

    Agreed. I hate Sony, but I hate this lame "format war" even more. The worst news story I heard all week wasn't Warner droping HD DVD for Blu Ray, it was the story about how Paramount was NOT immediately doing the same...which means this stupid "war" will probably continue into the summer at least.

    It would be better for both HD & Blu Ray consumers if Toshiba just threw in the towel right now, had a fire sale, and be done with it.

    Hopeful it's all said and done May 31.

    4 years agoby @markdchapmanFlag

  23. Space101

    I have to agree with you on this one Solid Paul...

    4 years agoby @space101Flag

  24. Solid_Paul

    I'm tired of hearing all these HD fanboys crying about the studios deciding the format for us...get over it. Blu-ray outsold HD-DVD in movie sales every week of 2007. It appears that you simply picked the wrong horse to bet. The majority of people who adopted early have chosen Blu-ray. It's so frustrating to hear people still complaining about this. Get over it, there was only ever going to be one winner in a format war.

    The studios are now looking at the sales stats from the inception of both formats and they realize that there's only room for one format in order to cut down consumer confusion and allow everyone a chance to purchase with confidence a format that will last.

    It has happened with many formats before this one, and it will likely happen again. The studios have listened to the majority, we want one format, and we want 100% studio support. They are now taking action to allow this to happen. I know it sucks losing money on a dying format...but it was going to happen, and as a conscience consumer, you should have accepted this before making a purchase.

    The majority has spoken, and we want it to be Blu-ray! I'm no Sony fan, in fact, I own more toshiba equipment than I do sony. I just want to be able to watch HD movies on a single format...and so does the majority of would-be consumers.

    Just relax dude, give it a bit more time and you'll see the prices drop - just as they've done for every other technical device after it has been adopted by consumers.

    4 years agoby @solid-paulFlag

  25. ekenobi

    So the studios are deciding things instead of the consumer. Se we are going to have to pay over priced movies and players now when the affordable format is getting kicked out. Also I will never go to downloading movies onto a computer. I like the cases and having my dvd collection on the shelf. I like watching movies on my TV not PC.

    4 years agoby @ekenobiFlag

  26. Zynthos

    yay

    4 years agoby @heir-of-isildur0Flag

  27. Space101

    Well it finally looks like a blue light at the end of the tunnel...

    4 years agoby @space101Flag

  28. Brian

    Best news I've heard all week.

    4 years agoby @brianFlag

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