JohnPhi
Stunt Coordinator
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2003
- Messages
- 195
Well if you all are tired of the format war, I am sure this will only help to make you feel better........not From the NY post
By LOU LUMENICK
March 8, 2007 -- 'THE Departed" recently premiered on two new - and utterly incompatible - video for mats in addition to standard DVD.
Now the war between those formats, which has been almost as brutal as the clashes in Martin Scorsese's movie, seems to be coming to a head.
For the first time, in the first two months of 2007 total sales of Blu-ray discs passed those of HD DVD, according to the most recent figures from Nielsen VideoScan.
And propelled by the introduction of Sony's PlayStation 3 - which can play Blu-ray technology - sales of Blu-ray discs have exploded to nearly three times those of HD DVD discs since Christmas.
It's the first clear sign that consumers are choosing sides in the nastiest video format war since VHS emerged victorious over Sony's Betamax machines in the 1980s.
"The format war is in its final phase," crows Steve Feldstein of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, which, like Sony and Disney, is releasing titles exclusively on Blu-ray. "It's never been a question of if Blu-ray will pass HD DVD, but a matter of when."
Not so fast, says Ken Graffeo of Universal Studios Home Entertainment, the only major studio exclusively supporting the embattled HD DVD format, which was developed by Toshiba. (Warner Home Video and Paramount Home Video are producing titles in both formats for now.)
Graffeo blames the recent surge for Blu-ray on the paucity of new titles on HD DVD - about half the number of titles released by Blu-ray since the beginning of the year - and argues Blu-ray sales are actually much lower than you would expect, given the huge number of PS3s out there.
"You can't determine a trend over a couple of months," says Graffeo, who notes that total sales for both formats are roughly equal since their introductions last year.
But some experts are ready to play taps for the HD DVD format - and are saying it's safe to buy Blu-ray players without fear they'll end up being sold as relics on eBay.
Alison Casey, who analyzes consumer trends for London-based Understanding & Solutions, predicts that retailers will pull the plug on HD DVD sometime next year.
By LOU LUMENICK
March 8, 2007 -- 'THE Departed" recently premiered on two new - and utterly incompatible - video for mats in addition to standard DVD.
Now the war between those formats, which has been almost as brutal as the clashes in Martin Scorsese's movie, seems to be coming to a head.
For the first time, in the first two months of 2007 total sales of Blu-ray discs passed those of HD DVD, according to the most recent figures from Nielsen VideoScan.
And propelled by the introduction of Sony's PlayStation 3 - which can play Blu-ray technology - sales of Blu-ray discs have exploded to nearly three times those of HD DVD discs since Christmas.
It's the first clear sign that consumers are choosing sides in the nastiest video format war since VHS emerged victorious over Sony's Betamax machines in the 1980s.
"The format war is in its final phase," crows Steve Feldstein of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, which, like Sony and Disney, is releasing titles exclusively on Blu-ray. "It's never been a question of if Blu-ray will pass HD DVD, but a matter of when."
Not so fast, says Ken Graffeo of Universal Studios Home Entertainment, the only major studio exclusively supporting the embattled HD DVD format, which was developed by Toshiba. (Warner Home Video and Paramount Home Video are producing titles in both formats for now.)
Graffeo blames the recent surge for Blu-ray on the paucity of new titles on HD DVD - about half the number of titles released by Blu-ray since the beginning of the year - and argues Blu-ray sales are actually much lower than you would expect, given the huge number of PS3s out there.
"You can't determine a trend over a couple of months," says Graffeo, who notes that total sales for both formats are roughly equal since their introductions last year.
But some experts are ready to play taps for the HD DVD format - and are saying it's safe to buy Blu-ray players without fear they'll end up being sold as relics on eBay.
Alison Casey, who analyzes consumer trends for London-based Understanding & Solutions, predicts that retailers will pull the plug on HD DVD sometime next year.