I’ve been trying to keep up with the HD DVD and Blu-ray battle, mainly because I think the competition is good and I want to see how far they are willing to go. Today I read that Microsoft was going to back the HD DVD format even more by adding its trademarked HDi™ logo to the brand. The HDi logo means that Microsoft’s Interactive TV feature will be supported by the players and movie releases.

 

Microsoft has cut a deal with Toshiba, Paramount, and Universal to include the HDi logo on the HD DVD players and discs. So now when you’re watching the new Warner Bros. HD DVD release, “Blood Diamond” you might be able to go online and do things like download new trailers, buy ring tones or merchandise, and share your favorite scenes with other HDi HD DVD users.

 

Jodi Sally, the vice president of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products, has said “With Microsoft’s HDi technology, Toshiba is able to offer consumers a consistent movie-watching experience in a way that simply isn’t possible with today’s DVDs or available with any other format right now. Advanced navigation using Microsoft’s HDi technology has been offered on all of Toshiba’s HD DVD players — from the models introduced last spring to our third generation of models that are shipping today.”

 

“For studios to truly enhance and change the way people watch movies, HD DVD provides the features and the flexibility we need to offer a personalized experience,” said Ken Graffeo, executive vice president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment and co-president of the North American HD DVD Promotional Group. He also added that “web-enabled network features made possible through HDi are particularly compelling because they bridge the gap between physical media and the Web-based world of the MySpace generation.”

 

But we can’t forget about blu-ray. I’m sure their engineering team is working on a strategic plan to deal with the HDi feature.  Honestly, that’s what makes this so interesting. It’s safe to say that soon, watching movies at home will not be the same.

Apparently HD DVD will not go away without a fight and recently two heavy weight Hollywood Studios, Paramount and DreamWorks Animation, have issued a press release stating that they will back HD DVD exclusively.  This means that major holiday offerings like Shrek the Third, which grossed over USD $300,000,000 theatrically in North America will be offered only in the HD DVD format.  This is a major boost for HD DVD which had lost ground to Blu-ray with the announcement that Blockbuster would only stock Blu-ray titles and retailers like Target would only stock Blu-ray players in their stores.

So what caused this major shift toward HD DVD for Paramount, which previously offered titles in both Blu-ray and HD DVD, and DreamWorks Animation, which had yet to release a title in either format?  According to the corporate spin, the official comment is that HD DVD players are cheaper and better price positioned for the consumer.  But many feel there’s an ulterior motive working here that may be rooted in a financial gain for the two Hollywood Studios.

As reported in the New York Time, (published 8/21/07), according to two Viacom executives (parent company of Paramount) under the condition of anonymity, “Paramount and DreamWorks Animation together will receive about $150 million in financial incentives for their commitment to HD DVD”.  These incentives apparently will be cash payments and promotional guarantees like using the HD DVD release of Shrek the Third in HD DVD player marketing campaigns.  Although none of the entities involved confirmed this transaction took place or played any part in their decision, it’s entirely possible that HD DVD is throwing out all the stops in a last ditch effort to make a huge impact during the lucrative holiday season.

Time will tell whether this gamble pays out, but it looks like the HD DVD contingency has already put their money where their mouth is and will not back down without a fight, but will Blu-ray take the beating or will the consumer ultimately pay the price?  I guess time will tell but one thing is for sure, Money TALKS!

The format war battles on between HD-DVD and Blu-ray while each postures that they are the format of choice.  On one hand, Blu-ray seems to have the upper hand in content and availability whereas HD-DVD still holds the advantage in price.

Recently two major retail giants have announced that they will only carry the Blu-ray Disc players in their stores in the lead up to the Christmas rush.  The major retail conglomerates Target in the USA and Woolworths in the UK have agreed to carry only the BD players while not publicly siding with either format.  In fact Target will continue to offer the HD-DVD add-on for the Microsoft X-Box console and continue offering HD-DVD players on their online stores.  In addition, they plan to still offer HD-DVD software and content in their retail stores.  While Woolworths admitted the sales for either format is still slow, the release and sales of the Sony Playstation 3 (PS3) has given the Blu-ray format an edge.  In both cases, this gives the Blu-ray format a considerable edge in visibility and perceived superiority through greater presence.

However, the HD-DVD camp remains un-phased and still touts their lower price as an advantage over BD players.  At an average price of $200 ~ $400 lower than the BD players, the HD-DVD camp is banking that the consumer will be swayed by price over visibility.  With advances and greater confidence in online shopping, consumers are savvier bargain hunters for the products they want.

Another major force in the format war is the adult video (Porn) industry.  The porn industry is widely credited with helping the VHS format defeat the Sony Beta format in the early 80’s and they look to be a major player once again.  However, both sides are quietly garnering support in the industry as the topic of porn is still a social stigmatism in the general public consciousness.  However, within North America, HD-DVD appears to be the format of choice for the porn industry while Blu-ray has gained favor with the producers of porn in Japan.

So just as in tennis, HD-DVD and Blu-ray are hitting the ball in their opponents court waiting to see who will falter and who will eventually come out on top.  This holiday season should provide a lot of answers, but the consumer seems to be a bit timid to make the wrong decision and be stuck with the loosing format in the end.  Just as the consumer will ultimately decide the winner of the format war, the more they hesitate, the more likely a third choice will evolve leaving both HD-DVD and Blu-ray on the sidelines.

Sony certainly has fresh in their memory their failure with the Beta Max player against the VHS format in the early 80’s. During the VHS vs. Beta competition, the adult film industry (Porn), was credited with turning the tide in favor of VHS. Sony is embattled in another format war and they most definitely do not want a repeat outcome in the Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD format. Once again, the adult industry looks to play a major role in the outcome.

Sony decided to focus on family programming and an alliance with the Disney Corporation over the adult industry. Disney will not allow any replication company they work with to do business with any porn content, thus protecting their family friendly image and preventing any accidental packaging of pornographic content with their family themed productions. Sony also has an anti-porn policy when it comes to replication at its facilities. So with that and the apparent lack of support for the adult filmmakers in filming and editing in the Blu-ray format, HD-DVD has become the format of choice amongst the adult industry.

HD-DVD replication is easier to convert from the standard DVD line, so it’s easier for the adult industry to find replication facilities willing to mass produce their titles. At the same time, the adult industry has received help from Microsoft and Toshiba (strong backers of the HD-DVD format) in production of films in the HD-DVD format. That has all lead to HD-DVD having a strong foothold in the adult market.

In Japan, the BD format is preferred over HD-DVD which was helped by the inclusion of a BD player in the PS3 gaming consoles. Because of this, the Japanese porn industry is leaning toward the BD format. Since Sony DADC, Sony’s disc replicating subsidiary, is not allowed to replicate porn, the Japanese adult industry may have been forced to use HD-DVD just like their American counterparts.

Sony, most likely trying not to make the same mistake twice, has found a loop hole in their moral stance against replicating pornographic material by allowing a Taiwanese company access to the BD replication equipment. The Taiwanese company, not constrained by rules of the BD replication plants in North America and Japan, is able to take orders for adult films to be produced on BD discs. In addition, Sony has also made technical assistance available to the Japanese adult video makers stating that they are happy to provide assistance to all film makers.

So despite any previous public stance against adult video, Sony seems to be condoning the production porn on BD discs which may help them greatly in the current format war. Since the American adult industry has not produced as many HD-DVD titles as once promised, it looks as though the door in open there as well for the BD format to step in and take over the market. With so much to gain and also so much to loose, both formats are finding that they have to play on both sides of the moral fence if they want to succeed in this business. In the end, the adult industry proved that if you want to succeed in the home video format, you’ll have to get in bed with them eventually.

In an effort to ensure fair trade in Europe, the European Commission (EC) has launched a general inquiry into the business practices of the Blu-ray and HD DVD formats as it pertains to alliances with Hollywood studios.  The EC is requesting documents from all major Hollywood studios for all documentation and correspondence between the studios and the Blu-ray and HD DVD camps.  This is the initial steps in a possible larger inquiry into anti-trust and anti-competitive practices that lead the various studios to announce loyalty to one format or another.  This is not a full investigation at this point, merely a fact finding process to determine if there were any unfair actions taken by either the Blu-ray or HD DVD camps in persuading the studios to back their format over the other.

I can’t say what the outcome will be of this inquiry and it may turn into nothing, but it comes during a critical time for the formats as they battle for supremacy.  If the EC determines that either format did not compete fairly when dealing with the studios, it could have repercussions throughout the industry.  Then again, it could turn in to a fishing expedition with no results.  Only time will tell and we’ll bring it to you when we know more.

In an effort to be fair and show impartiality in the battle between HD-DVD and Blu-ray, this article shows how HD-DVD is excelling in the corporate market. Recently, most of my postings have skewed toward how the consumer market is leaning toward the Blu-ray format, but HD-DVD has been establishing their presence in the corporate and enterprise market.

The corporate market, (such as the banking/financial, medical, fortune 500, etc.), need better ways of archiving data then standard DVD can provide. Even though the Blu-ray format holds more data, (25GB vs. 15GB for single layer or 50GB vs. 30GB for double layer), HD-DVD holds an advantage in that its components and discs are cheaper. In a time when the bottom line is everything, the enterprise market can be quite price sensitive, but in the end, performance means everything. So we’ll see how this all pans out.