Warner Bros. to support Blu-ray format
Warner Bros. has announced that it will be releasing its films in both the HD DVD and Blu-ray formats.
Blu-ray Disc (BD) is the next-generation optical disc format being developed for high-definition video and high-capacity software applications, holding up to 50 gigabytes of data.
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Warner Bros.’ announcement lends support to predictions that the Sony-backed Blu-ray format will emerge as the eventual winner of the next-generation DVD format war. Of the six major movie studios, only NBC Universal is now supporting the HD DVD format exclusively.
Paramount has also recently announced support for Blu-ray, citing the Sony PS3 as the main reason for their decision.
“We have been intrigued by the broad support of Blu-ray, especially the key advantage of including Blu-ray in PlayStation 3,”
said Thomas Lesinski, president of Paramount’s Worldwide Home Entertainment.
DVD vs BD: Blu-ray uses a blue laser, higher density pits and thinner surface coating.
Disney and Twentieth Century Fox welcomed Warner Bros.’ support for the Blu-ray format, with Bob Chapek, president of Buena Vista Home Entertainment, stating that,
“The continued dramatic momentum toward Blu-ray makes us more optimistic than ever that a format war can be avoided.”
However, the Blu-ray Disc Association may need to relax the format’s strict copy protection scheme and include support for iHD in order to retain the support of one of its strongest allies, Hewlett-Packard.
HP has formally appealed to the Blu-ray Disc Association to have the mandatory managed copy feature and iHD support included in the Blu-ray format.
The mandatory managed copy feature and iHD support are already included in the Toshiba/Microsoft-backed HD DVD format.
Maureen Weber, general manager of personal storage in Hewlett-Packard’s personal systems group, has made it clear that HP’s continued support of the Blu-ray format may hinge on the inclusion of these two features, saying,
“We’re still supporting Blu-ray but we’re very serious that we want these technologies.
If in the end, they’re supported in one and then not the other, we’ll have to make a choice.”
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