Tweet

HD-DVD Gets Boost from Paramount, DreamWorks

Format Backed by Toshiba, Microsoft Gets Boost Over Sony-Backed Blu-ray

By Glen Dickson -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/21/2007 7:13:00 AM

Movie studios Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG decided to release high-definition movies exclusively in the HD-DVD optical-disk format backed by Toshiba and Microsoft, giving HD-DVD a boost in its ongoing format war with Sony's Blu-ray format.

The agreement covers all movies distributed by Viacom's Paramount Home Entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Animation SKG, DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films.

The first HD-DVD title will be hit comedy Blades of Glory, followed by Transformers and Shrek the Third.

Paramount's decision to back HD-DVD exclusively is a major win for that format's camp, both because Paramount had previously said it would support both formats and because Blu-ray seemed to be gaining momentum in the format war.

In June, Blu-ray scored a major win when rental giant Blockbuster said it would only offer new titles in Blu-ray going forward. Blu-ray also garnered the support of most major studios; NBC Universal had previously been the only studio to back HD-DVD exclusively, based mainly on its backward-compatibility with standard-definition DVD.

Both Paramount chairman and CEO Brad Grey and DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg cited HD-DVD's affordability -- players are currently available for $300, compared with Blu-ray's $500 -- as a factor in their decision.

"We decided to release Shrek the Third and other DreamWorks Animation titles exclusively on HD-DVD because we believe it is the best format to bring high-quality home entertainment to a key segment of our audience -- families," said Katzenberg in a statement. "We believe the combination of this year's low-priced HD-DVD players and the commitment to release a significant number of hit titles in the fall makes HD-DVD the best way to view movies at home."

Tweet

Talkback

We would love your feedback!

Post a comment

» View All Talkback Threads

Related Content

• Topics
• Author
• Most Popular Pages

No related content found.

Also by this author

• Telecast Makes 3D Push

• IBC Eyes 3D, IP Delivery

• ESPN Drives Interactive Tennis for DirecTV

• ActiveVideo to Unveil 3D Interface at IBC

• 3Ality Digital, Chyron Power NFL 3D

Also by Glen Dickson

Most Popular Pages

No Top Articles

• Resource Center
• Browse Categories
• Browse Companies

Featured Company

• Vorsis

  

  Vorsis is a division of Wheatstone Corporation.

---

Most Recent Resources

• The New Normal for Promoting Tune-in
• Infrastructure Design for High Volume Video Workflows
• Mobile Media Strategies That Work
• Multi Format Encoding for Efficient Content Repurposing
• The CIOs Guide to Videoconferencing Security Keeping Pace with th..