Posted on February 11th, 2008 at 3:49 pm by Editor
Netflix has announed that they will carry high-def DVDs only in Blu-ray format. Citing the decision by four of the six major movie studios to publish high-def DVD titles only in the Sony-developed Blu-ray format, Netflix said that as of now it will purchase only Blu-ray discs and will phase out by roughly year’s end the alternative high-def format, HD DVD, developed by Toshiba.
When Warner Home Video announced last month that by the end of this year it will release high-def titles exclusively in the Blu-ray format, it joined fellow majors Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and Buena Vista Home Entertainment in endorsing Blu-ray. Currently, the two remaining majors, Paramount Home Entertainment and Universal Studios Home Entertainment, publish in the HD DVD format.
Since the first high-definition DVDs came on the market in early 2006, Netflix has stocked both formats. But the company said that in recent months the industry has stated its clear preference for Blu-ray and that it now makes sense for the company to initiate the transition to a single format. This is an interesting new development. This past December, prior to Warner Brothers going exclusively Blu Ray, Netflix reported that HD DVD and Blu Ray rentals were just about even. So in just three months Blu Ray rentals increased and HD DVD rentals decreased by a large enough margin to discontinue renting HD DVDs?
“The prolonged period of competition between two formats has prevented clear communication to the consumer regarding the richness of the high-def experience versus standard definition,” said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix.
This is the biggest load of garbage I have ever heard about HD. The communication was crystal clear and consumers were making their choices. Now NetFlix wants to make the choice for you.
Sarandos continues “We’re now at the point where the industry can pursue the migration to a single format, bring clarity to the consumer and accelerate the adoption of high-def. Going forward, we expect that all of the studios will publish in the Blu-ray format and that the price points of high-def DVD players will come down significantly. These factors could well lead to another decade of disc-based movie watching as the consumer’s preferred means.”
HD DVD player prices were affordable. It was the Blu Ray players that were over priced. This announcement makes me think that Sony paid them off to drop HD DVD as they did with Warner Brothers.
So what do you think about NetFlix’s announcement? I feel pretty offended that NetFlix is making a consumer choice for me. They rent DVDs, they should support DVD, Blu Ray and HD DVD - then let the consumers decide .
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