Stan Beer
Sunday, 17 September 2006 09:28
Your IT -
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In what could be a telling moment in the high definition format war, a high level executive from a major movie studio has publicly come out in favour of the HD DVD format, developed by Toshiba and backed by Microsoft.
Comments supporting HD DVD last week by Craig
Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment, at the
electronics design show CEDIA EXPO 2006, have dealt a serious a blow to
the Blue-ray camp, led by Sony.
“The reviews are in and HD DVD is hands down the leader in picture
quality, audio experiences and interactive capabilities that have never
been seen before,” said Kornblau.
“Look at the blogs, look at the reviews by the early adopters and even
look at the mainstream media – HD DVD has maintained its
first-to-market advantage and delivered on the promises of providing
the best high definition image and sound quality at the best value for
consumers today. Take today’s announcement of new players from Toshiba,
new PC hardware from Niveus and new titles like ‘The Fast and the
Furious: Tokyo Drift,’ and add the hardware and movies that are coming
this Fall and you can see why HD DVD is poised for a strong holiday.”
According to the the North American HD DVD Promotion Group, with more
than 60 of the latest titles available from major studios, HD DVD
offers the most titles of any high definition format, with nearly 150
titles expected by the end of 2006.
Originally, nearly all the major studios lined up behind the Blu-ray format.
However, HD DVD now has the backing of Universal Studios Home
Entertainment, Warner Home Video, Paramount Pictures Home
Entertainment, HBO, New Line Home Entertainment and The Weinstein
Company.
Meanwhile, the higher priced Blu-ray format, which was later to market,
received a serious set-back two weeks ago. Sony announced that the
production of its PlayStation 3 games console, which will offer a way
for consumers to get a lower priced Blu-ray player, has been delayed by
four months.