Warner to support Blu-ray?

Written by James Delahunty @ 09 Oct 2005 2:58 User comments (5)

Warner Brothers is set to raise the stakes yet again in the DVD format battle by deciding to now throw support behind Sony's Blu-Ray Disc format instead of Toshiba's HD-DVD. Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are two formats that are battling it out to become the next standard after DVD as the demand is growing for high definition material, which requires much more capacity than DVD provides. The DVD format is worth $18bn annually in sales in the United States.

Adding support from Warner Brothers, a division of Time Warner, to the Blu-Ray backers list would be a crucial vote of confidence for Blu-Ray which already touts support from Disney and Fox. Back in November 2004, Warner, Paramount, Universal and New Line Cinema pledged support to HD-DVD. Now Warner seems set to declare "non-exclusive" support for the Blu-Ray format, meaning it will probably produce films in both formats.

However the support for Blu-Ray could mean that sometime in the future Warner will drop Toshiba's HD-DVD and release only in the Blu-Ray format. Paramount has already announced that it will release movies in both formats. HD-DVD also got a huge boost with support from Intel and Microsoft. Intel however, stated it would also put support behind Blu-Ray if it had more consumer friendly features like HD-DVD.

The next generation standard, whatever it will turn out to be is incredibly vital to Hollywood. Movie studios are witnessing drops in DVD sales lately as most consumers now own DVD players and some of the favorite movies. So Hollywood needs a format to support HD versions of the movies that can hold way more extra features to sell their movies yet again in another format.

Source:
MSNBC

Thanks to chickenR for the News Submission

<Schwarzenegger signs violent game restriction bill >Warner to embrace UMD format

5 user comments

19.10.2005 17:13

nonoitall

Send private message to this user

Senior Member

Quote:
The next generation standard, whatever it will turn out to be is incredibly vital to Hollywood. Movie studios are witnessing drops in DVD sales lately as most consumers now own DVD players and some of the favorite movies. So Hollywood needs a format to support HD versions of the movies that can hold way more extra features to sell their movies yet again in another format.

That's a good and interesting point. With the crap that Hollywood has been throwing on screens in theaters, I'm surprised anyone even goes anymore. Keeping people occupied with older 'good' stuff might be their only way of making any profit anymore. On with the rest of this story, isn't it odd that Warner switched loyalties so quickly after it was revealed that HD-DVD might not have region codes...

29.10.2005 22:47

sisph

Send private message to this user

Junior Member

It doesn't strike me as odd that they switched. After all their loyalites aren't to companies. It's to money.

39.10.2005 23:37

nonoitall

Send private message to this user

Senior Member

I know, I was being sarcastic. ;) They do love control, and the money that comes along with it.

410.10.2005 06:54

chickenR

Send private message to this user

Newbie

wahey, my news got posted. :)

511.10.2005 06:57

lxhotboy

Send private message to this user

Senior Member

Just the beginning and still too far off but if others follow Warner and support the Blue ray then what kind of effect will that have on the Xbox 360 that will not support blue ray disc??? PS3 is suppose to support the blue ray but we will have to wait and hope there are no changes in sony's plans. I think this will just hurt the 360 sales even more making even more people pass up on the 360 and wait on the PS3.

Comments have been disabled for this article.

	YouTube Premium starts showing ads to subscribers (13 Nov 2024 3:09) For years, YouTube Premium has been marketed as a way to enjoy an ad-free YouTube experience. But apparently, that is no longer the case, as Premium subscribers are now starting to see ads on the platform. 1 user comment
	Android 16 will launch sooner than expected (01 Nov 2024 6:45) Google announced that upcoming Android 16 will break the traditional once-a-year cycle of major Android launches. Next Android is poised to launch in Q2 of 2025, so Android 16 should ship before end of June, 2025.
	Winamp ends its "open source" project that wasn't really open source (20 Oct 2024 11:12) Less than a month after the legendary MP3 player Winamp made its source code public, the company has made a sudden U-turn and removed its code from distribution. 2 user comments
	Winamp released its source code - but didn't go open source (25 Sep 2024 12:38) The source code of Winamp has now been officially released. However, it hasn't become a pure open-source project, as its licensing terms prohibit the creation of new, different versions.
	Does your phone rattle? Here's why it happens (25 Aug 2024 8:30) When you shake your phone and hear a light rattle, clatter, or jingle, it's likely not broken. The culprit is probably the optical image stabilization (OIS) system in your phone's camera, meaning everything is functioning as it should. 2 user comments

	GUIDE: Wi-Fi speeds are slow? Here are some tips Having problems with Wi-Fi speed and stability at home? Here are some tips to follow to alleviate the issues. 1 user comment
	Guide: Is Your Wi-Fi Sluggish or Slow? Here's How to Fix Do you have problems with you Wi-Fi? Slow connection or is it cutting off constantly? This guide aims to remedy these problems. 1 user comment
	Guide: Phone battery drains quickly - how to fix (iPhone / Android) In this guide, we go through the most typical reasons for rapid battery drain with phones, and look at potential reasons or solutions.
	What happens if you don't update Android? Sometimes it can be tempting to avoid updating to a new Android version. What happens if you decide to delay major updates to the OS?
	What IP rating for dust and water resistance means An IP classification (such as IP68) is given to mobile phones, Bluetooth speakers, and other devices, but what do these classifications mean? 1 user comment

Warner to support Blu-ray?

5 user comments

Latest news

Reviews

Guides

News archive

Subscribe

Sections:

Follow us:

	Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra review - obstacle avoidance doesn't work as it should, otherwise almost perfect robot vacuum We put the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra through a very, very long review process. The $1800 mopping robot vacuum is almost perfect, but its obstacle avoidance was surprisingly bad, considering the price - and compared to its competitors.
	Sharge x OnePlus Pouch review: Beautiful power bank that supports SuperVOOC charging In our review, we take a look at Sharge's power bank that supports OnePlus SuperVOOC quick charging technology as well as standard USB PD charging. It has small design flaws, but despite those, the Pouch is very nice product. 1 user comment
	Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets Roomba Combo j7+ is the very first Roomba model to combine robot vacuum with mopping features. And Roomba Combo j7+ does all that with a very clever trick, which tackles the problem with mopping and carpets. But is it any good? We found out.