Paramount backs HD DVD

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Hollywood movie and TV producer Paramount, and animation studio DreamWorks Animation SKG have announced they will be releasing future next-generation DVD content only on the HD DVD platform, dropping support for the Sony-backed Blu-ray format.

The announcement is the biggest endorsement for HD DVD outside of the adult entertainment industry and will prolong the battle for supremacy in the marketplace between the two formats, a battle that affects both the home entertainment market and the data storage, archiving and backup communities.

Paramount has thus far released next-generation content, including high-definition versions of movies and TV shows, on both HD DVD and Blu-Ray discs, but settled exclusively on HD DVD after deciding it offered better quality, lower-priced players and lower manufacturing costs, Kelley Avery, president of Paramount Home Entertainment, said.

"This has been the biggest summer on record for movies," Avery said. "At the same time, we have HD DVD players that are truly affordable."

In the famous format market battle between the VHS and Betamax video tape formats, VHS eventually achieved market superiority over the Betamax format (also a Sony-backed platform) for may of the reasons cited by Avery for its HD DVD decision.

So far, most of the major Hollywood studios have backed the more expensive to produce Blu-ray format, largely due to the use of Blu-ray drives in Sony's PlayStation 3 games console, which can also play Blu-ray video content. Thus far, Blu-Ray titles, have outsold HD DVD by two to one in the US.

"The decision seems oddly timed given Blu-ray's tremendous momentum," said Blu-Ray's US promotions chairman, Andy Parsons, in a statement.

But some HD DVD supporters hope to broaden their appeal to consumers based on cost. The lowest-priced, stand-alone HD DVD player sells for $299 (£150), compared with $499 (£250) for the lowest-cost Blu-Ray option. There is similar price disparity between the two formats when buying PC-based drives.

DreamWorks Animation, maker of the Shrek animated movie franchise and Flushed Away, had not previously committed to either high-definition format but was swayed to HD DVD by the lower-cost player, DreamWorks Animation chief executive Jeffrey Katzenberg said.

"This seems to us to be the right product at the right price at the right time," Katzenberg said. He added that sales for high-definition discs were much too small to declare either format dominant.

DreamWorks Animation titles are distributed by Paramount.

HD DVD was developed by Toshiba and backed by Microsoft. It is supported by studios including Warner Bros, Universal Studios, New Line Cinema, HBO and the Weinstein Co.

Blu-Ray discs use Sony-backed technology and are supported by most of the major US movie studios.

An estimated 3.7 million high-definition discs have been sold, overall, including 2.2 million in Blu-Ray and 1.5 million in HD DVD through July, according to Home Media Research. Recent research suggests that HD DVD has been out-selling Blu-ray in Europe.

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