Paramount to Drop Blu-Ray for HD-DVD

JM78 writes to tell us The New York Times is reporting that Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation will be dropping support for Blu-ray Disc and going solely with HD-DVD for their next gen DVDs. "Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation, said consumers seeking to switch to high-definition DVDs will be enticed by the movies available for HD-DVD players. He added the lower price for the Toshiba devices will appeal to the family market. 'It's a game-changer, what they're doing, and it's why we decided to throw in with them,' Katzenberg said."

Comments

The End of this Format War?

[the eric conspiracy]

I sure hope so. I've been holding off buying into one of these technologies until the format war ends. This sounds like it could be the beginning of the end.

Did what they need

[SuperKendall]

Seems to me they'd be better off just coming out with a version of the XB360 with an integrated HD-DVD.

Are you kidding? That is exactly what they must NOT do. That would mean you could buy an HD-DVD disc in a store or rent one online, instead of paying Microsoft $10 per movie that you can't even get off the 360.

That's what I was saying was part of the plan. Make sure people have NEITHER a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player, so that they'll really only download media.

Finally, how about getting the studios to stop charging a premium for those combo format HD-DVD/DVD discs?

Total agreement; if I want an HD disc I'll buy an HD disc, if I want a DVD I'll buy a DVD.