Re: Paramount switches to Blu-Ray

And when they agree on a unified standard, having a machine that only plays HD-DVD or Blu-Ray will be a major problem. Will MS and Sony release upgraded machines that play both standards? Will people want to buy that as an upgrade?

Andy

Jonathan GREENWOOD wrote: 
Whatever

The sooner these guys agree on a standard the better. DVD will be fine for the moment anyhow.

"Blig Merk" <blig_murk@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:1128368266.564812.5230@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

That leaves only Universal and Warner still backing HD-DVD as the
primary format, although Warner is starting to back-pedal HD-DVD
support. The article doesn't say Paramount has dropped HD-DVD but it
sure sounds like it has gone to No. 2 priority. The studios aren't
stupid, the prospect of several million Blu-Ray players in place in a
few months is not being lost on them. Of course, for the clueless xflop
fanfairies, this still doesn't register.

http://news.com.com/Paramount+looks+to+Blu-ray/2100-1041_3-5887387.html?tag=nefd.top

Paramount looks to Blu-ray
Published: October 2, 2005, 9:52 PM PDT
By Reuters
In the latest twist of a heated battle over next-generation DVD
technology, Paramount Home Entertainment said it would release
high-definition movies in the Blu-ray format backed by a group led by
Sony.

Paramount, a film studio owned by Viacom, had previously said it would
release titles in a competing DVD format called HD DVD that is endorsed
by a consortium of electronics makers including Toshiba.

In a statement released late Sunday in the United States, Paramount
threw its weight strongly behind the Blu-ray camp but did not mention
HD DVD. That means Paramount could still sell movies in both standards.

"After more detailed assessment and new data on cost, manufacturability
and copy protection solutions, we have now made the decision to move
ahead with the Blu-ray format," Thomas Lesinski, president of Paramount
Pictures, said in the release.

Lesinski said the fact that Sony's next-generation PlayStation 3 game
console would come equipped with a Blu-ray DVD player was a key factor
behind its support. PlayStation 3 is due to be launched next spring.

Sony's PlayStation 2 console, which can play conventional discs, was a
key driver of current-generation DVD sales.

Paramount's support is a welcome vote of confidence for the Blu-ray
camp following news last week that Microsoft and Intel, the world's top
software maker and largest chipmaker, were throwing their weight behind
HD DVD.

Next-generation DVD discs, designed to store movies and other content
with much more detail and clarity, have sparked a three-year battle
between Toshiba and Sony, over what is expected to be a
multibillion-dollar market for next-generation DVD players, PC drives
and optical discs.

Paramount joins Sony Pictures Entertainment, The Walt Disney Co. and
News Corp. unit Twentieth Century Fox in backing Blu-ray, although like
Paramount, Disney and Fox have not ruled out the possibility of also
releasing movies for HD DVD.

Universal Studios, a unit of General Electric's NBC Universal, and
Warner Bros. Studios have endorsed HD DVD.

The first HD DVD-compatible players and recorders are expected to start
appearing on store shelves as early as the end of this year in Japan,
and new products for both formats are scheduled for wider release in
2006.

Earlier this year, Sony and Toshiba briefly held talks over unifying
their formats and avoiding an all-out standards war similar to the one
between the VHS and Betamax videocassette formats, but those
discussions fizzled.

At the core of both formats are blue lasers, which have a shorter
wavelength than the red lasers used in current DVD equipment, allowing
discs to store data at the higher densities needed for high-definition
movies and television.




.

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