Hollywood Bows To Blu-ray February 22, 2008

Read more Blu-ray , Entertainment , Gizmodo UK , HD , HD DVD , Home Cinema , Home Entertainment , Movies

All of the major Hollywood movie studios have seen the light, and that light is Blu.

Just after Toshiba threw in the towel by pulling the plug on the HD DVD format, Paramount and Universal finally – but unsurprisingly – announced their fealty to the Blu-ray format.

The two former HD DVD stalwarts now join Warner Bros, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment – the Big Six.

While Paramount waited a full day for the HD DVD corpse to cool before deserting, Universal was climbing into the Blu-ray bed within hours. Universal Studios Home Entertainment President Craig Kornblau said:

“The path for widespread adoption of the next-generation platform has finally become clear. Universal will continue its aggressive efforts to broaden awareness for hi-def’s unparalleled offerings in interactivity and connectivity, at an increasingly affordable price.

The emergence of a single, high-definition format is cause for consumers, as well as the entire entertainment industry, to celebrate. While Universal values the close partnership we have shared with Toshiba, it is time to turn our focus to releasing new and catalogue titles on Blu-ray.”

With the uncertainty over rival formats lifted, not only are the number of movies released in HD about to jump dramatically but we should also start getting a lot more specialist and TV material too. That’s the hope anyway.-Martin Lynch

blu-ray HD DVD movies