AfterDawn: News

European studios lean toward HD DVD

While Blu-ray seems to have the upper hand right now in the United States, European studios appear to favor the HD DVD format for high-definition video content for now. The main reason for picking the HD DVD format is saving money. "An HD DVD replication line costs about €800,000 and you can make 40,000 discs a day on it. A Blu-Ray replication line costs €1.7m or €1.8m and you can make 10,000 to 15,000 discs a day." French replication company Qol CEO Laurent Villaume told the Financial Times.

The launch of the PlayStation 3 (PS3) console in the U.S. led to a surge in Blu-ray movie sales which has continued ever since. Of all Blu-ray playing equipment sold in the U.S., Adams Media Research reports that 94% are players "built into consoles". Sony's four month delay for the European launch of the PS3 also played a big part in HD DVD's early support in the territory.



European studios are not solely committed to either format however, as it is far too early to tell which format will "win". "All the work we are doing on high definition will be useful for making Blu-Ray discs if the Blu-Ray standard wins. It will be easy to change position," Studio Canal's Rodolphe Buet said. The figures also mean very little for now, as the vast majority of the general public is in no hurry to settle for either format - many aren't even really aware of them.

Source:
Ars Technica

Written by: James Delahunty @ 9 Apr 2007 17:45

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• 3 comments

• BurningAs

  1.7m Euros? holy molly!

  9.4.2007 18:17 #1

• Pop_Smith

  Yeah €1.7 million (Euro) is crazy, thats equal to ~$2.28 million (USD) or £1.16 million (Pounds). :p
  
  Save €1 million and produce ~2.5-4 times as many disks? Sounds like a no-brainer.

  9.4.2007 19:04 #2

• georgeluv

  ...and putting 2 hours of high def content on a normal dvd 9 can be done just buy authoring it the right way and it can be done for both blu ray and HD-DVD.
  
  but no, you must pay copywrite holders just to make something compatable with their technology and you HAVE to use the official disks or theyll throw a hissy fit like little girls. this my freinds, is why i download.

  10.4.2007 07:04 #3