James Delahunty
31 May 2007 19:00
Universal Studios will stand by the HD DVD disc format according to Ken Graffeo, Executive Vice President, Marketing, Universal Studios Home Entertainment (USHE). Graffeo said Universal is committed to supporting the HD DVD format exclusively, being the only studio to do so. He said that he believes the format war between HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc is ultimately good for consumers in the long run.
"A little over a year ago, the least expensive HD-DVD player was $799. Now, with Toshiba's current rebate promotion, you can get an HD-DVD player for as little as $299....On the Blu-Ray side, the players started at $1,000 to $1,800 at the end of (2006) and this summer will be down to $599 with new models from Sony and Panasonic. It's the format war that's driving pricing down at such a dramatic, accelerated rate," Graffeo told the Philadelphia Daily News.
Many Industry officials and retailers would not agree with his views. They believe that the format war is confusing for consumers and is keeping the sales of players and HD films lower than they should be. Graffeo said that Universal supports HD DVD because it offers the, "better set of mandatory specifications", and every HD DVD player comes with an Ethernet port and has the software to support interactive features.
"In Blu-Ray, the interactive specs are still just an option. The only Blu-Ray player now sold with an Ethernet port is the PlayStation 3," he said. He also added that lower production costs associated with HD DVD means that players can continue to stay lower priced than Blu-ray.
"When you can get below $300 for hardware, you open up the mass market. Now people are willing to jump in and buy a player," Graffeo said. "I can't imagine Blu-Ray getting even close to a $300 player this year. I expect their lead dog, PlayStation 3 (now $599) to drop $100, but that's it." When asked why Blu-ray has outsold HD DVD this year, Graffeo said the group didn't release many films at all in the first quarter compared to Blu-ray, which had some big releases, like Casino Royale. "The fourth quarter will be telling. Our releases will be stronger," he said.
Source:
TVPredictions.com