In the improperly named Format War we have two sides. HD DVD and BluRay. I thought I would remind you people in case you have been living under a rock. Like John.
See its not a Format War. Back in the Format Wars we had VHS and Beta. Many people debated over which would last and well in the end they BOTH DIED! And yes, I am old enough to vividly remember the video stores divided into two sections offering movies on both formats. If you were lucky, the one you wanted to rent was in. If you were really lucky (and rich) your parents had both machines and it didn’t matter.
So here we are in the middle of another Format War, however not all movies are available on both. In fact, very few are. People are picking sides. So for the last time (yet I will inevitably repeat it on another day) this shall be forever dubbed the Civil War of Next Generation DVD Formats™ And some major players have sided with HD DVD. No, not porn. (but for the record, they did pick HD DVD)
The companies each said that the decision to distribute exclusively in the HD DVD format resulted from an extensive evaluation of current market offerings, which confirmed the clear benefits of HD DVD, particularly its market-ready technology and lower manufacturing costs. Paramount Home Entertainment will launch its exclusive HD DVD program with the release of the blockbuster comedy hit Blades of Glory on August 28th and follow with two of the biggest grossing movies of the year Transformers and Shrek the Third. These three titles alone represent more than $1.5 billion in box office ticket sales worldwide.
Interestingly enough, arguably the biggest movie rental chain in North America has thrown its hat in with BluRay. Which means when Transformers and Shrek the Third are released on HD, they won’t be around for rental on the shelves at Blockbuster.
It appears that Blockbuster made up its mind to go Blu when their numbers came back indicating that majority of next gen format dvd rentals were from the BluRay camp. With such rental giants like Pirates and Spiderman on that roster, I am not surprised. It looks as though the MOVIES dictated the format, not the format itself.
People are not statistically choosing BluRay over HD DVD because they feel its “better”, but rather choosing the movies they like are only available on BluRay. Paramount and Dreamworks are doing the homework and siding with the technology that they feel is better based on a number of considerations.
Sadly this is how this Civil War of Next Generation DVD Formats™ will be won. Content. The side to sign exclusivity deals with the studios that put out the biggest and best selling movies will tip the war.
Do Dreamworks and Paramount have the power to change the tide?
Will Blockbuster waver on their deal now that people will want to rent HD Transformers more than the latest lackluster Disney effort?
