Netflix picks Blu-ray, rattles HD DVD

If Warner Bros.' decision to go exclusively with Blu-ray Disc was an industry-rattling earthquake, Monday's news that Netflix would begin to phase out HD DVD rentals is an inevitable aftershock: much smaller impact, potentially damaging, and still leaves everyone feeling unsettled.

By the end of the year Netflix will no longer offer HD DVD movies to customers, opting to exclusively stock Blu-ray Discs in its online rental service. In the company's announcement, Netflix said it made the decision based on Blu-ray's recent momentum--Universal and Paramount are the only remaining major Hollywood studios with agreements to release titles exclusively on HD DVD.

For HD DVD backers like Toshiba, Microsoft, and the studios, Netflix is probably yet another sad loss, but it won't have the demoralizing repercussions the Warner decision did.

But for the average consumer, in reality, not much changes. That's because the overwhelming majority of DVD renters don't rent high-definition discs. In fact, most of Netflix's own customers don't rent high-def discs. But those who did were renting Blu-ray more than HD DVD, hence Netflix's decision.

Sure, Netflix is one less place to rent HD DVD, but finding copies of the beleaguered disc format is not impossible--Blockbuster stores don't offer HD DVDs to rent, but its online rental service still stocks both formats.

In all, the announcement doesn't do much to make the muddled format picture any less murky for consumers right now. High-definition video players and discs are still too pricey for most buyers, and the quality improvement over DVD isn't as apparent to anyone but the hardcore videophile crowd. Plus, standard DVD players that can convert discs to high-def resolution get the job done reasonably well. Until any of that changes, high-definition video will be stuck in neutral no matter which studio or rental service makes an offer of exclusivity.

Update: The HD DVD Promotional Group's response: "We have long held the belief that HD DVD is the best format for consumers based on quality and value, and with more than 1 million HD DVD players on the market, it's unfortunate to see Netflix make the decision to only stock Blu-ray titles going forward."

For further discussion, hear the guys at CNET's The 404 talk about it on Monday's podcast.

[CmdrRickHunter]

Misinformation

"Plus, standard DVD players that can convert discs to high-def resolution get the job done reasonably well."

When you have a disc with a certain resolution, thats it. You can't "convert" it to a higher resolution. The best you can do is scale up the data to try to pretend you had a higher resolution.

just because your screen is a 1080p screen and you're feeding it with an older DVD player doesn't mean your DVD player is outputting 1080p. Its outputting the normal (I think 720i) resolution, and your TV is trying its best to make it look like it had more information.

Its like saying your 100Gb harddrive can store 150Gb of data "reasonably well" because you can compress that data, when comparing to buying the new 200Gb harddrive.

Other than that, a pretty solid review of the entire battle.

[justdenny]

misinformation

actually, NTSC standard DVD is 720X480, with 480 being the operative measurement, not 720i, but your basic point is correct.

[jimmyhoops]

Great!

I hope HD DVD dies a quick death so that we can get on with it.
Personally, I bought a Blu-Ray player solely because my local
blockbuster rent's movies for it. The choice was simple since I
don't buy movies and rarely, if ever, have watched one more then
once.

Die HD DVD, Die!

[jrm125]

Blu-ray the winner!

Nail in the coffin. Again.

Go ahead, flame me. It won't change things.

[NewsReader_]

I hope both die soon

A usual, this is all about money.

From a techincal perspective, there is little difference between Bluray and HD-DVD besides capacity. I have seen both and I do not buy any of the arguments that either has a visual or audible advantage over the other. Bluray discs are currently more difficult to copy than HD-DVD.

Given the fact that HD-DVDs are cheaper to produce than Bluray and HD DVD players are cheaper leads me to believe that the Bluray camp (Sony) is paying off movie studios, hardware vendors, and retailers to adopt the format rather than giving the consumer a chance to make a choice.

I hope that the internet soon kills the video 'disc' all together the same way that it is killing the CD. I also hope there is a thorough investigation into this 'format war'

Then the content providers will not have to pick a physical medium based on the relative difficulty in pirating it; which is the main goal for both formats. HD content is a distant 2nd goal.

[trey.hutcheson]

Where's the journalism?

Where does the line between journalism and an electronic diary? I understand this is a blog, but I would expect more from a journalist than such banal statements as the following:

"...the quality improvement over DVD isn't as apparent to anyone but the hardcore videophile crowd. Plus, standard DVD players that can convert discs to high-def resolution get the job done reasonably well."

The first part of the quote is particularly inflammatory. If you're going to make such an assertion, back it up with credible references.

While I will admit that there exists large numbers of people that don't perceive an advantage with high-def media(HDM), my personal experience has been quite the opposite. The majority of people I know personally have an interest in HDM, and can plainly see the leaps in visual quality. I would hardly call my step-father(60 years old), my wife, or any of my coworkers' wives' "harcore videophiles."