Going Format-Agnostic, The Cool Way to Fence Sit in the BluRay vs HD-DvD Fight
Going Format-Agnostic, The Cool Way to Fence Sit in the Blu-Ray vs HD-DvD Fight
Month Date, 2007: High Definition media storage has prompted a host of companies to go Format-Agnostic and produce titles for both High Definition DvD (HD DvD) and BluRay.
Format warfare is very similar to two children fighting over who gets to kick off in a game of soccer, if they had of done the sensible thing and agreed on a compromise from the beginning then they could be playing already. Much like in the schoolyard, both sides in the HD DvD and Blu-Ray fight are uninterested in compromise and want to keep on fighting for supremacy.
What does this mean for the companies who actually produce the media that will be stored on those little disks? A major nuisance and lately, a push to go ‘format-agnostic’ and produce titles for both formats depending on demand.
According to analysts at UK’s Screen Digest, Hollywood studios that opt to support a single format only could be missing out on significant revenues, potentially eschewing over $270m of consumer spending in 2008 alone.
Previously there had been a strong push to have companies sign exclusive deals to produce content for either Blu-Ray or HD DvD. This was seen as a way to win the war by signing up the largest distribution companies such as Apple, TDK, Dell, Hewlett Packard, The Walt Disney Company, Fox Studios and MGM who all went to the Blu-Ray camp.
HD DvD wasn’t to be outdone as it signed on its own host of supporting companies such as Toshiba, Microsoft, NEC, Sanyo, Dreamworks and Paramount. The two formats also have supporting associations, such as the Blu-Ray association which has 250 supporters, contributors and members of the association. HD DvD has the “DvD Forum” which was initially founded for the DvD format and now supports new developments for HD DvD and has over 250 members of its own.
“Christmas 2007 is going to be critical for the hi-def video business. Both formats will be seeking to secure consumer buy-in to their proposition during the critical holiday season but with so much at stake on both sides we think it is highly unlikely that one format will emerge as the 'winner'” said Richard Cooper, Screen Digest Video Analyst.
With such incredibly high bankrolls on both sides, this format war is showing no signs of giving up the ghost, as such companies are turning to the format agnostic choice in ever increasing numbers. For smaller niche distribution companies like First Look, who distribute indie films in the US, picking a side is just going to hurt their sales as they are selling to a much smaller crowd then the big dogs. First Look have been the latest company to go format-agnostic in a trend that most companies are likely to adopt, no matter how sweet the tempters offered by either of the format camps may be.