Blu-ray takes lead at Warner Bros.
Blu-ray takes lead at Warner Bros.01/07/2008BY SHINICHI MARUISHI, THE ASAHI SHIMBUNNEW YORK--Sony Corp. tightened its grip around rival Toshiba Corp. in its bid for high-definition DVD supremacy after Warner Bros. Entertainment announced Friday it would only release discs in Sony's Blu-ray format. Warner Bros.' decision to drop the HD DVD format has dealt a heavy blow to Toshiba, which developed the technology and will be forced to revise its strategy. A spokesperson with Toshiba commented on Friday that Warner Bros.' decision surprised the company, as the two companies had worked together for some time. Toshiba has installed the HD DVD hardware in its personal computers, which sell more units than DVD recorders. But if most titles are released exclusively on Blu-ray in the future, the spokesperson acknowledged that the company would need to review that strategy because "the hardware can only exist with the software." Next-generation DVDs in Blu-ray and HD DVD formats have a larger storage capacity than the current products, allowing them to record data-rich digital terrestrial broadcasting. But the formats are not compatible with each other. Blu-ray discs also have more storage space. Now that Warner Bros. has chosen to ditch HD DVD releases, Sony will have four of the six leading film studios in Hollywood in its camp, a decisive advantage over Toshiba. Along with Sony Pictures Entertainment, the Blu-ray camp now has Warner Bros., Walt Disney and 20th Century Fox. Toshiba has Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures on its side. Warner Bros. is the only leading film studio that has released its titles in both formats. But after the end of May, it will switch to the Blu-ray format exclusively. Barry Meyer, Warner Bros.' chairman and chief executive, said in a statement, "We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray (format) will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers and most importantly, consumers." Two camps of home electronics makers have been squabbling over which of the two formats should prevail in the next-generation DVD technology. Due to the incompatibility, the format film studios and other companies choose is seen as key to predicting the outcome of the ongoing high-definition DVD format war. With the Warner Bros. decision to go with Blu-ray, Sony appears to have taken the decisive lead. In the Japanese market, Blu-ray already accounts for more than 90 percent of the next-generation DVD recorders. Toshiba has fared better in the U.S. and European markets by launching lower-priced HD DVD players.(IHT/Asahi: January 7,2008
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