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Victory for Blu-ray "inevitable"


Neuro

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"Blu-ray's emergence as the format of choice is now inevitable," said Steve Beeks, president of Lionsgate, a film studio backing Blu-ray. "This year will be the watershed for Blu-ray acceptance."

Speaking at the CES in Las Vegas, the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) said demand for its products meant that it would be the preferred choice for next-generation home entertainment, rather than the competing HD-DVD format. High-definition DVDs have more storage capacity than normal DVDs, giving better sound and picture quality. However, the two formats are incompatible, meaning that Blu-ray DVDs cannot be played on HD-DVD machines and vice-versa (...most HD-DVD and Blu-ray players will play standard DVDs).

HD-DVD and Blu-ray have been battling for supremacy in a tussle that recalls the fight between VHS and Betamax video in the 1980s. HD-DVD has the backing of Toshiba and Microsoft, and support from film studios Universal and Paramount, while Blu-ray is championed by Sony, and backed by Fox and Disney. Last week, Warner Bros signed a deal to release its films exclusively on Blu-ray. The BDA said Blu-ray sales accounted for almost two thirds of all high-definition discs sold, and it expects the market to undergo "explosive growth" this year.

However, industry analyst Michael Gartenberg sounded a note of caution. "Warner going Blu-ray exclusive is big news, and a blow to HD-DVD, but doesn't mean that either format will win consumers' hearts and minds," he said. "If it had happened a year ago, it would have been a knock-out punch, but there's a chance that consumers will ignore both formats."

Sources:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtm...09/cnblu109.xml

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/busi...icle2300109.ece

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Yes, been following this battle for a while and working in IT and Multimedia everyone in the office been giving their pro's and con's of this.

I personally backed Blu-ray and went for the Sony PS3 because I do not think the console will be a flump. Sales were v.slow to kick off with, but that's because it is so technologically advanced. Even at the £425 entry mark, Sony lose money on every console sold. The price drop seems to have worked and slowly the PS3 is coming back.

Microsoft backing HD was interesting... Their marketing power, you would think would drive it, and, I think they probably would've made HD-DVD win if they actually shipped their XBoxs with the drive as opposed to making the user buy a seperate drive for £100. Even then, it's not integrated and doesn't look as nice.

XBOX 360 is a great console (especially for the number of games and online gaming) and a lot of people in work rant on about theirs. I think it's just a matter of time now to let game developers release some awesome games for the ps3, sort it's online gaming out and it will be a bigger success than the PS2...

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Excellent news!

Bought a PS3 on release and have been really pleased with it. The quality of BluRay is outstanding on a HD TV.

Now Warner has changed to Blu Ray exclusivity, I really don't see it being long before Paramount changes it's stance again.

This will be the year of PS3.

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Sir Moonman! That seems a trifle rude...

I too am pleased with Blu-ray. It always sounded better and the name is cooler, plus as people have said it was shipped with the PS3 which was a smart, smart move.

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