Paramount goes HD DVD-exclusive

By Brendan Sinclair on 21 August 2007

Transformers studio and fellow Viacom brands drop most support for Blu-ray format; only Spielberg-directed films remain platform agnostic.

Sony's Blu-ray high-definition disc format had scored a number of solid blows in its ongoing battle with Toshiba's HD DVD in recent months. In February, retailer JB Hi-Fi committed to offering only Blu-ray high-definition discs in its stores, predicting that "content will be the king" for the format. In the US last week, Home Media Research analysts said that Blu-ray Disc sales doubled those of HD DVD for the first half of the year.

However, today the HD DVD camp gets to tout a major victory, as Paramount announced that it is now exclusive to Toshiba's chosen format, taking its DreamWorks Animation SKG, DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies, and MTV Films brands with it. There are a handful of exceptions to this exclusivity, such as films directed by Steven Spielberg, which won't be exclusive to either platform.

Films that are executive produced by Spielberg can still be HD DVD-exclusive, as Paramount said it is kicking off its platform monogamy with HD DVD releases of Transformers, Shrek the Third, and Blades of Glory. Set to go on sale in the US next Tuesday, Blades of Glory had originally been announced as a release for Blu-ray Disc as well as HD-DVD. Local Paramount representatives were unavailable for comment.

"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," said DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg in a statement.

Supporters of Toshiba's format include Universal Pictures, as well as Microsoft, which recently dropped the US price of its Xbox 360 HD DVD player to $179. The local price remains AU$249.95.

Topics: blu-ray, hd dvd, xbox 360, playstation 3

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Comments (3)

  • bk73 commented on 22/08/2007 01:01

    The whole HDDVD and Blu Ray debate seems quite tiresome. I've been buying blu ray disks since I invested in a PS3. But the price of the disks (Blu-Ray or HDDVD) are way over priced. Now I'm only able to buy some movies on one format over the other. It's made the whole situation even more tedious. My next purchase will be a region free upscaling dvd player which can output 1080p, that way I can enjoy even my regular dvds on the new tele without getting screwed by the HD format war.

  • D commented on 21/08/2007 13:38

    Same could be said for all those who signed on for Blu-Ray. Paramount decided HD-DVD is the best format for their movies, nothing evil about that.

  • Cameron commented on 21/08/2007 12:00

    Paramount are evil.

    Format wars hurt the industry.

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