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Washington, D.C. (January 4, 2008) -- Warner Bros. today said it will endorse Blu-ray exclusively in the high-def format war against HD DVD. (See commentary below.) The move, which was predicted last month by this web site, now gives Blu-ray the exclusive backing of five major studios while HD DVD has just two. Worse news for HD DVD: Warner releases have been among the format's top sellers. However, the studio said that it will stop releasing films in HD DVD this May. Until now, Warner released movies in both formats. (Until May, Warner says it will release HD DVD titles...

In response to consumer demand, Warner Bros. Entertainment will release its high-definition DVD titles exclusively in the Blu-ray disc format beginning later this year, it was announced today by Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros. and Kevin Tsujihara, President, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group. "Warner Bros.' move to exclusively release in the Blu-ray disc format is a strategic decision focused on the long term and the most direct way to give consumers what they want," said Meyer. "The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger. We believe that exclusively distributing in...

BOOST FOR BLU-RAY! Warner Bros Will Release High-Def Titles Exclusively In That Format This is a huge development in the Blu-ray versus HD-DVD format war currently raging on. Warner Bros, which had been producing its high-def DVD titles in both formats, will start the Blu-ray exclusive later this year. The decision was made in response to stroing consumer preference for the Blu-Ray format, according to WB's announcement. I'd been hearing rumors for months that Warner Bros had been offered in the neighborhood of $250 million to go exclusively with HD-DVD. Less lavish but still big payments already had been offered...

The root of the problem is that Blu-ray did not have a finished specification when devices went into production. Instead, there were two or three "profiles," outlined in the chart above. After November 1, any Blu-ray player had to meet 1.1, sometimes called "final standard profile." Panasonic planned a mid-November launch of its 1.1 player, and a production delay caused Samsung to update its player to the spec. Denon always planned to ship its first Blu-ray player in December, so it planned for 1.1 all along. Meanwhile, Sony, Pioneer and others introduced Blu-ray players in the fall that shipped just...

Washington, D.C. (November 9, 2007) -- Sony CEO Howard Stringer says the high-def disc format between Blu-ray and HD DVD has become a "stalemate." That's according to an article by the Associated Press. Sony is the leading supporter of the Blu-ray format while HD DVD's backers include Toshiba and Microsoft. However, both high-def disc formats have struggled due partially to consumer confusion over the Blu-ray-HD DVD war. The two formats are not compatible with each other, meaning one disc won't play on the other's machine. While Blu-ray supporters have often declared victory in the war due to a 2-1 lead...

[Wal-Mart] Wednesday said it would start its Black Friday and holiday pricing early on some items, in a move to drive sales during the increasingly competitive holiday shopping season. Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, said it will offer Black-Friday prices three weeks early by unveiling "secret" in-store specials. The company said it will offer discounts on five popular gift items. Wal-Mart plans to reveal discounts on its Web site on Thursday. The items will be available in stores beginning Friday morning, Nov. 2 as it officially opens its special Christmas shops. The day after Thanksgiving is one of the biggest...

Washington, D.C. (October 18, 2007) -- An HD DVD player could be available for the new low price of $199 this holiday season. Internet message boards are buzzing with the possibility after a Wal-Mart employee posted an upcoming store notice about a $199 Toshiba HD DVD player. The price has not been confirmed by Wal-Mart or Toshiba, but the drop would not be surprising. Toshiba's entry-level player is now $299, but industry analysts have forecast that a sub-$200 player is likely for the holidays. Additionally, Blu-ray manufacturers are expected to lower the price on its players. Sony's Blu-ray player is...

The NPD Group recently made a report about consumers' knowledge of HD formats and what were decisive factors. First, only 52% of all HDTV owners knew about either HD DVD or Blu-ray. This means that both formats really need to pull themselves together to create product awareness. 29% knew about HD DVD and 20% about Blu-ray. Of interesting note, 62% of those who knew about HD formats said they were waiting for the price to come down, showing that price is key in getting HD sales up. The cheapest* HD DVD player this fall will be SRP $199 and the...

Warner Bros. Weighing HD DVD Offer? The Los Angeles Times says so, quoting "Hollywood insiders." By Swanni Washington, D.C. (September 10, 2007) -- Warner Bros is considering a "lucrative offer" to back HD DVD exclusively in the high-def disc format war. That's according to an article in today's Los Angeles Times. Warner Bros. is now releasing titles in both Blu-ray and HD DVD and the studio has preached that the two-format approach has led to increased sales of such titles as The Departed. But the surprise departure last month of Steve Nickerson, Warner Home Video's senior vice president for High-Definition,...

1000GB = 20 times the size of a dual-layer Blu-ray disc Blu-ray and HD DVD have pushed the limits of optical storage further than anyone thought possible. But a new technology has emerged which makes Blu-ray's 50GB capacity look tiny. Mempile in Israel says it's able to fit an incredible 1TB of data onto one "TeraDisc" which is the same size as CDs and DVDs. That's 20 times the capacity of a maxed-out dual-layer Blu-ray disc. The incredible capacity achieved using this new technology is made possible by employing 200 5GB layers, each one only five microns apart. The discs...

Mitsubishi may launch a Blu-ray player early next year that can convert 2D movies into 3D images. That's according to an article at CNET.com. The web site reports that Mitsubishi recently hosted a technology exhibit for the media at the Westchester County Club in New York, the site of this weekend's Barclay PGA Golf Tournament. During the exhibit, the company handed reporters a pair of 3D goggles and displayed several images on screen that showcased the special effect. "Most of us were pretty impressed by the demo, which included clips from movies, commercials, and sporting events. There was real depth...

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 14 -- Sony Pictures HomeEntertainment (SPHE) today announced anincrease in total Blu-ray Disc(TM) (BD) salesacross six emerging markets including Hong Kong,Singapore, Taiwan, Eastern Europe, South Africaand the Middle East -- illuminating the positivereception from retailers and consumers for thenew high-definition format since its launch justfour months ago in April 2007. Since April, Blu-ray Disc sales have accountedfor 10% of SPHE's business in the regions.The company saw a 21% increase in BDorders across the month of June alone."It is extremely positive to see an increase involume of BD software sales in these marketswhere piracy has previously ravaged the...

In another blow to HD DVD, the giant Blockbuster video rental chain has thrown its weight behind Blu-ray in the fight to see which format is the high definition successor to the humble DVD. After renting Blu-ray and HD DVD titles in 250 stores since late last year, Blockbuster has decide to stock only Blu-ray in its other 1250 US stores. Customers were choosing Blu-ray titles more than 70 percent of the time, reports Associated Press via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The release of Sony's Blu-ray-enabled PlayStation 3 games console was also a factor in the decision, said Blockbuster senior...

PlayStation 3 gives Blu-ray disc sales a boost Impact of new console in market "significant" by Amy-Mae Elliott Print | Email | Save | PDF Tags ps3 261 news, 20 reviews Blu-ray 64 news, 3 reviews sony 257 news, 84 reviews >> More tags 23 May 2007 - News from the Blu-ray Disc Association suggests that the impact of PlayStation 3 on sales of Blu-ray Disc movies in North America and Japan after the launch of the console last November has been "significant". Early market data sourced by the association indicates that a similar trend is developing in Western Europe....

Excerpt - The folks at Digg.com have let the social news genie out of the bottle, and now they can't control it. Since the HD-DVD encryption code was discovered and published, readers at Digg have been repeatedly submitting stories with the 16 digit hex code in the titles and bodies. Just as quickly as these posts crawl up the Digg charts, admins seem to be deleting them. Just search Google for 09 F9 and you'll find the key. Will AACS send a Cease and Desist to InfoWorld because I posted the text "09 F9"? If so, we might as well...

Blu-ray burning its high-def DVD rival Blu-ray accounts for three of every four high-def discs sold Thomas K. Arnold April 23, 2007 (Reuters) -- Of the high-definition discs bought by consumers in the first quarter, 70% were in the Blu-ray Disc format, and 30% were HD-DVD, according to sales figures provided by trade publication Home Media Magazine. Blu-ray took the lead in February, and its percentage of total sales accelerated to the point where it accounted for nearly three out of every four high-definition discs sold in March. What's more, when given the choice, consumers are going with Blu-ray....

As the tirade of HD back scratching continues unabated, with the Blu-ray and HD-DVD formats vying for market and consumer dominance, supporters in both camps claim superiority at every turn despite the pendulum motion attributed to sales of software and hardware across separate regions of the world. With Sony’s recently released PlayStation 3 making a significant impact on the attraction of the Japanese giant’s Blu-ray high-definition format thanks to the videogames console’s sub-$500 USD price tag (which will soon shift to $599 USD following the production abandonment of the cheaper $499 20GB HDD model) sales of Blu-ray discs and hardware...

HANOVER, Germany (Reuters) - The Blu-ray disc association said on Thursday it aimed to replace the DVD storage format within three years. "Within three years it will just be Blu-ray," Frank Simonis, the Blu-ray Disc Association's European chairman, said at the CeBIT technology trade show. Blu-ray, which offers five times more storage capacity than DVDs for storing high definition films and other content, will first have to beat the rival HD-DVD format which offers somewhat lower storage capacity but claims cheaper production of players, burners and discs. Measured in the number of players, Blu-ray is already well ahead of HD...

NEW YORK -- Sony Corp. said Monday it is bringing out a cheaper player for Blu-ray discs early this summer, a crucial step in its battle to make the high-definition format the replacement for DVDs.The BDP-S300 will cost $599, yet will have the same capabilities as the $999 BDP-S1 Sony is currently selling, said Randy Waynick, senior vice president of the home products division of Sony Electronics.Sony and Samsung Corp., which also makes a Blu-ray player, have been undersold by Toshiba Corp.'s players for the rival HD DVD format. Toshiba has a model on the market for $499. However, sales...

There's a new twist in the ongoing battle between the next-generation, high-definition DVD standards: Hackers have cracked the antipiracy software on several movies published in the HD DVD format. Perhaps ironically, hackers chose to break the copy-protection system in Universal's "Serenity," a 2005 science fiction film about a renegade crew of space outlaws. An informal, global alliance of hackers also deciphered the antipiracy protection on "12 Monkeys" and Peter Jackson's "King Kong." The hackers are distributing copies of the films using BitTorrent, a once-controversial file-sharing tool that is working to clean up its reputation by forging partnerships with TV and...