February 11, 2008

Netflix dumps HD DVD, opts for Blu-ray

Netflix says the industry has already picked Blu-ray as the winner in the battle of next-generation DVD superiority

Stating that the industry has already picked a winner in the battle of next-generation DVD superiority, Netflix announced Monday that it will stock only Blu-ray discs and drop the HD DVD format. Since the first high-definition DVDs came on the market in early 2006, Netflix has offered both formats.

"We're now at the point where the industry can pursue the migration to a single format, bring clarity to the consumer and accelerate the adoption of high-def," Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix, said in a statement. According to the statement, the company cited the decision by four of the six major studios to use only the Sony-developed format.

Netflix's move comes about a month after Warner Brothers announced its shift to Blu-ray, joining three other major studios. Only two major studios, Paramount Home Entertainment and Universal Studios Home Entertainment, publish in the HD DVD format.

Netflix subscribers can still rent the remaining HD DVD titles until the discs' natural life cycles take them out of circulation. The company plans to fully abandon HD DVD by the end of the year.

Netflix offers more than 90,000 DVD titles, over 400 of them are Blu-ray.

 

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