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oO DARKSAINT Oo
02-11-2008, 06:30 PM
Blu-ray Disc The popular online video rental service Netflix has announced that they have decided to support Blu-ray exclusively for high definition movie rentals. Pointing to the Warner Brothers exclusivity announcement as the main reason for the shift, Netflix will no longer purchase movies in the rival HD DVD format, and once the life cycle for those discs has ended, they will no longer stock the format for rent.

Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix commented, "The prolonged period of competition between two formats has prevented clear communication to the consumer regarding the richness of the high-def experience versus standard definition. We are now at the point where the industry can pursue the migration to a single format, bring clarity to the consumer and accelerate the adoption of high-def. Going forward, we expect that all of the studios will publish in the Blu-ray format and that the price points of high-def DVD players will come down significantly."

While only a small percentage of Netflix users rent high definition movies, the majority of those who do take advantage of the services are renting Blu-ray. They expect that the shift to a single format will ultimately allow Netflix to provide a better service to those high definition customers.

loki87
02-13-2008, 09:59 PM
Not in any way unexpected. Personally, I'm fine with the demise of HD-DVD. While the format war was good for prices, the longer it went on, the longer we would have to wait to see all out favorite movies in high-def.

While it does mean I have to sell my small HD-DVD collection, I've already started a BD collection and should have a PS3 in a week or so. :)

In related "news," it seems that Microsoft might be getting Netflix movies (http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/11/netflix-coming-to-xbox-360-and-ps3/) downloaded straight to the 360 sometime in the future. While I know some MS employees have discussed this idea at internal meetings in the past, I didn't realize it had come this far. Would be a very welcome service!

oO DARKSAINT Oo
02-13-2008, 11:33 PM
I was going to buy the HD-DVD because of the price drop. Now, I guess I'll wait to see the what the next round brings. I hope if they go BR, it'll be a external drive, I don't like sharing drives.