Universal was the only studio to be HD DVD exclusive from the launch of the format until its death. Since HD DVD went defunct and Universal turned Blu, we’ve been waiting to hear what their BD release plans would be. Today they finally dropped a press release detailing their initial BD plans, and it looks like they’re jumping in with both feet. They’ve got a number of blockbuster titles lined up for Blu-ray in 2008, and beyond, beginning with Heroes: Season Two.
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Now that Toshiba has pulled the plug on HD DVD and all, the only studio to have been 100% HD DVD throughout the format war, Universal, made the obvious announcement - they’re going to start releasing films on Blu-ray. Home Media Magazine had this:

“While Universal values the close partnership we have shared with Toshiba, it is time to turn our focus to releasing new and catalog titles on Blu-ray,” said Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

“The path for widespread adoption of the next-generation platform has finally become clear. Universal will continue its aggressive efforts to broaden awareness for high-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.”

I’m actually a bit surprised. Not that Universal is supporting Blu-ray, that was obviously coming, but that they made the announcement before Paramount - who still hasn’t done so, from what I can tell. Since Paramount, and DreamWorks Animation, were formerly format neutral, releasing both Blu-ray and HD DVD, I kind of expected them to be the first to jump on the news. Paramount probably still has warehouses full of Blades of Glory Blu-ray discs, and other titles they’d already pressed for release on BD before their sudden shift to HD DVD exclusivity. They could start by give those discs a new street date. I’m sure they’ll announce their plans soon.

Via Blu-ray.com.

Gizmodo has an interesting post on the Blu-ray / HD DVD format war, and, in their words, the ‘demise of HD DVD’.

They repeat a rumor I’ve seen reported elsewhere, that Fox has been considering switching to HD DVD, and if they did Warner was going to go HD DVD exclusive as well. The studios want the format war to end, and Warner knew that without one of the BD studios defecting to HD DVD that the format wouldn’t have the critical mass to win. The rumor is that Fox was ready to make the jump with Warner, to end the war, but at the last minute the BD camp, likely Sony, paid Fox $120 million to stay with BD. When Fox backed out, Warner recognized that the only option to end the war would be for them to go Blu as well. There are rumors that Warner was paid $400-$500 million to go Blu, but Warner has denied a payoff, saying there was no ‘bidding war’. They point out that the market at stake is worth billions, so any payoff would be a drop in the bucket.

Gizmodo says that, from their contacts, the feeling within the HD DVD camp is that HD DVD is done for. They report that the rumors of Universal’s HD DVD exclusivity contract being expired are false and that it runs into 2009. And that Universal would only be able to release Blu-ray if HD DVD is declared no longer viable, so Universal is hanging on Toshiba’s word. Microsoft has also deferred to Toshiba on the fate of HD DVD. And everyone seems to be watching Paramount & DreamWorks Animation. If they begin releasing Blu-ray again, that could be the final tipping point for Toshiba to throw in the towel.

Gizmodo goes into some of the behind the scenes drama involved with Warner’s pre-CES announcement. One source told Gizmodo that the surprise announcement caused Bill Gates to drop a segment of his CES keynote which was to focus on HD DVD, pledging continued support. And we already know the HD DVD Promotional Group canceled their press release at CES. In fact, HD DVD had almost no presence at CES after Warner’s announcement. Toshiba and the studios pulled all of their planned HD DVD announcements.

Taking a cynical view, the current Toshiba price cuts on players could be a way to clear out existing stock before making any kind of announcement. If the HD DVD camp throws in the towel Toshiba and the studios would be left with a lot of stock. And waiting until the return windows close on holiday sales could avoid a rash of product returns from those with buyers remorse. There have already been reports from users returning their HD DVD gear due to the Warner announcement.

In a column for Home Media Magazine, Thomas Arnold calls upon Toshiba, Universal, and Paramount to ‘knock it off’ and cede the format war to Blu-ray to unify the market.

With Warner Home Video dumping HD DVD, the format has the support of just two of the six major studios. It cannot win. At best, it can be a spoiler, but I’m hoping Toshiba, Universal and Paramount will take the high road and, for the good of the entire industry, bow out. Universal and Paramount, in particular, need to jump on the Blu-ray Disc bandwagon so we can go into the new year with a unified front and a unified mission: To educate consumers about the advantages of high-definition media and convince them the time to transition from standard DVD to Blu-ray is the day they bring that HDTV into their home.

I agree completely. At this point HD DVD cannot win. The only choice is between a prolonged war and a unified market that can move forward as one. Toshiba has done some good work on HD DVD hardware, work they could just as readily apply to Blu-ray and produce some top notch players. Their HD DVD player platform could very readily be converted to Blu-ray.

A unified HD format market would reduce consumer confusion and hesitation and help speed adoption. It would also encourage investment in production infrastructure, which has lagged as companies are worried about investing in plants for the wrong format. It is time to put the war behind us and work on improving the product offerings. At this point continuing the fragment the market is just sour grapes and being sore losers.

If Toshiba, Universal, and Paramount won’t do the right thing, the Best Buys and Wal*Marts of the world could end the war too. Someone, step up and stick a fork in HD DVD. Put it out if its, and our, misery.

Via Blu-ray.com.

With Warner’s switch to Blu, Universal is the largest studio releasing HD DVD, so there are a lot of eyes watching their every move. And there have been mixed reports over the past day.

First up, Variety is reporting that Universal’s exclusivity contract with HD DVD has expired. This leaves them open to releasing on Blu-ray. They’re committed to some HD DVD promotional efforts in the coming months, so they may not announce a change until after fulfilling those commitments. Via EngadgetHD.

Universal has stated: “Universal’s current plan is to continue to support the HD DVD format.” Sure, that’s their ‘current’ plan, and I believe that. Note that a couple of weeks before making their Blu-ray exclusivity announcement Warner denied that a change was in the works. How was that worded? “We have made no decision to change our present policy which is to produce in both HD DVD and Blu-ray.” Present policy, current policy… same thing. Universal will release Blu-ray, count on it. But it may be a few months off yet before they announce anything.

High-Def Digest contacted Paramount and reports that Paramount is continuing to support HD DVD, which is good news for that camp. However, any new HD DVD announcements they might have planned for CES are off. They will not be making any title announcements at CES. That’s not so good.

But then, the Financial Times, a very respected source, has something different to say:

Paramount is poised to drop its support of HD-DVD following Warner Brothers’ recent backing of Sony’s Blu-ray technology, in a move that could sound the death knell of HD-DVD and bring the home entertainment format war to a definitive end.

They claim that Paramount has an escape clause in their HD DVD exclusivity contract which would allow them to resume releasing Blu-ray Discs should Warner go Blu-ray exclusive - which, of course, they have. Even if Paramount were to only return to neutrality, and not dump HD DVD completely, it would be another hard blow to HD DVD as it would leave Universal the only HD DVD exclusive studio.

And that’s if Universal remains in the HD DVD camp - they’ve declined to comment on their future plans since the Warner announcement, not even to confirm a commitment to HD DVD.

FT news picked up from EngadgetHD.