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Netflix Goes Blu-ray Exclusive
Mon Feb 11, 2008 at 12:30 PM ETTags: Netflix, High-Def Disc Rentals (all tags)
Online rentailer Netflix has announced it will drop support of the HD DVD format, and will exclusively stock Blu-ray discs.
Citing the decision by four of the six major movie studios to publish high-def DVD titles only in the Sony-developed Blu-ray format, Netflix said that it would cease purchasing new HD DVD stock immediately, and that it would phase out existing HD DVD stock by year's end.
As we've previously reported, Netflix was the first major rentailer to support both high-def disc format, stocking HD DVD beginning in April of 2006, and Blu-ray in June of that same year.
"The prolonged period of competition between two formats has prevented clear communication to the consumer regarding the richness of the high-def experience versus standard definition," said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix. "From the Netflix perspective, focusing on one format will enable us to create the best experience for subscribers who want high- definition to be an important part of how they enjoy our service."
The company says that although only a portion of Netflix subscribers have elected to receive high-def discs, a majority of those subscribers have chosen Blu-ray over HD DVD.
(Thanks to all who sent in tips related to this story)
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- Netflix, Citing a Clear Signal From the Industry, Will Carry High-Def DVDs Only in Blu-ray Format [Press Release]
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- Netflix Adds Blu-ray to Rental Menu (May 15, 2006)
- Netflix Adds HD DVD Rentals (Mar 13, 2006)
Report: Netflix Users Favor HD DVD
Thu Oct 04, 2007 at 01:11 PM ETTags: Netflix, High-Def Disc Rentals (all tags)
A new report indicates that although only a tiny percentage of Netflix users are high-def early adopters, among them HD DVD appears to be favored over Blu-ray by a factor of more than two-to-one.
According to data released by web metrics site Compete.com (see chart below), out of an average 14 million monthly visitors to Netflix from June-August of 2007, only 48,000 (0.3%) viewed the site's genre pages for either HD DVD or Blu-ray.
Curiously, although those who looked at Blu-ray titles outnumbered those looking at HD-DVD by a factor of 1.8 to 1, among those who set an high-def format as their preferred disc format, HD-DVD was chosen over Blu-ray by a factor of 2.4 to 1.
Based on these numbers, Compete says those who looked at the HD-DVD genre were 4.4 times more likely than Blu-ray browsers to actually set this as their preferred format.
The numbers would appear to contradict recent statements made by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, who said in a late August interview that customer demand for both formats at Netflix was "pretty evenly split."
Compete.com estimates US web traffic using a sample group of two million web users.
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See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD: Does anyone care? [Compete.com Blog]
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- Netflix: Demand for Blu-ray and HD DVD Evenly Split, But Tiny (Aug 24, 2007)
Retailers Report Missed Street Dates for HD DVD, Blu-ray Discs
Mon Apr 09, 2007 at 01:02 AM ETTags: High-Def Retailing, High-Def Disc Rentals, Industry Trends (all tags)
While we've seen plenty of reports of high-def discs hitting shelves days (and even weeks) ahead of time, apparently the opposite is also true, with some retailers and video rental stores reporting delayed shipments for HD DVD and Blu-ray discs.
According to home entertainment trade paper Video Business, a good number of smaller outlets are receiving high-def versions of day-and-date releases later than the titles' standard-definition versions, resulting in added costs in overnight shipping and/or missed street dates.
A rep from Scarecrow Video told Video Business that the video rental chain hadn't received its copies of 'Children of Men' on HD DVD until six days after its release date. Similarly, the Blu-ray edition of 'Happy Feet' was also reported to have arrived at some stores after its March 27 street date.
So why the delays? The problem appears to stem from the replication process, where already slim capacities are being further stymied by increasingly familiar "production quality problems," such as those recently reported for 'Children of Men.'
Lyne Fisher, spokeswoman at disc authoring company Cinram confirmed as much to Video Business, saying "standard-definition has been around since 1997, so we have a lot of practice and the process is seamless... it's only natural that when there is a new process, it can take more time."
Fisher went on to say that Cinram is improving its production capabilities for both next-gen formats, and projects 60% more capacity for both HD DVD and Blu-ray by year's end.
Meanwhile, aside from the inconvenience of having to ship and stock the high-def discs separately from their standard-def counterparts, retailers don't seem super bothered -- "we’ve absolutely seen brief delays on high-def, but it’s nothing past a week,” Mark Steiner of Scarecrow Video told Video Business. "It would have been nice getting in 'Children of Men,' though. This is the first HD title that I think our customers are really going to care about."
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- High-Def Titles Late on Delivery [Video Business]
- Discs mentioned in this article: (Click for specs and reviews)
- Children of Men (HD DVD)
- Happy Feet (Blu-ray)
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- 'Children of Men' HD DVD Hits Xbox 360 Playback Snag?
Rumor Mill: Blockbuster to Stock HD DVD, Blu-ray? (Updated)
Wed Nov 01, 2006 at 05:03 PM ETTags: Blockbuster, High-Def Disc Rentals (all tags)
Struggling video rentailer Blockbuster may be testing the high-def waters this holiday season with a rumored expansion to HD DVD and Blu-ray in some of its most high-volume stores.
At least that's what one poster on AVS Forum says a New York-based Blockbuster store manager told him.
According to the poster's account, beginning on November 7th, select Blockbuster outlets will participate in what's being termed an "experiment" -- stocking 40 titles on both HD DVD and Blu-ray, and adding 4-6 titles each month. The high-def titles will rent at the same rate as standard def discs.
If true, this wouldn't be Blockbuster's first foray with the high-def formats. Like Netflix, the company has been renting high-def discs via itsonline rental service Blockbuster.com since the formats both launched earlier this year.
But given the limited shelf-space of their bricks and mortar outlets, such an experiment would nonetheless be notable, and might serve to encourage other bricks and mortar video rental stores to follow suit.
We'll let you know when (and if) this story is confirmed, and if you see high-def discs for rent at *your* local Blockbuster, please drop us a line (and send us a photo) via our tips and submission form.
UPDATE: (9:00pm ET, 11/1/06) A couple updates on this one -- first, readers in Florida and California wrote in tell us that they too have been told that Blockbuster will begin carrying high-def discs in select stores in their area. And second, Murilo from Brazil sent along this photo from a Brazilian Blockbuster that is apparently already carrying high-def discs. Thanks to all for the tips.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- Select Blockbuster stores will carry BR & HD disks starting Nov 7th [AVS Forum]
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- Blockbuster Adds High-Def to Online Rental Queue (Apr 13, 2006)
Netflix CEO Urges Studios to Support Both HD-DVD, Blu-Ray
Tue Apr 25, 2006 at 02:21 PM ETTags: High-Def Disc Rentals, Netflix (all tags)
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is reaching out to all of the major Hollywood studios
in an effort to
bring an end to the high-def DVD format war.Video Business reports that during the company's first-quarter earnings conference call Monday, Hastings encouraged the studios to release their movie libraries on both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray to make consumers feel comfortable enough to upgrade from standard DVD, or risk leaving both next-gen formats dead in the water.
"Protracted competition will hurt the adoption of high-definition DVD," Hastings reportedly said. "If all studios were to embrace both formats agnostically, consumers would be more comfortable making a format decision based on hardware pricing and features."
He also urged the studios to follow the example set by Warner Home Video and Paramount Home Entertainment, who are supporting both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, which Hastings called a "practical solution" to the high-def DVD stand-off.
Hastings comments come one month after Netflix announced they would offer their customers the option of renting both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray titles. The service added HD-DVD rentals concurrent with the format's launch last week, and is planning to add Blu-Ray titles when its first disc titles are expected to arrive next month from Sony.
- Related links:
- Hastings Urges End to High-Def War [Video Business]
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- Netflix Adds HD-DVD Rentals (Mar 13, 2006)
Blockbuster Adds HD-DVD to Online Rental Queue
Thu Apr 13, 2006 at 01:38 PM ETTags: Blockbuster, High-Def Disc Rentals (all tags)
Coming a month after Netflix announced it would begin offering high-def DVD rentals to its subscribers, rival Blockbuster announced today it is also jumping into the next-gen DVD rental game.
Home Media Retailing reports that beginning April 18, the online rental service will give its customers the ability to add four initial HD-DVD offerings from Warner and Universal to their online rental queues.
Blockbuster will offer Warner's HD-DVD disc releases 'Million Dollar Baby,' 'Last Samurai,' 'Phantom of the Opera' and Universal's 'Serenity' this coming Tuesday; Uni's 'Apollo 13' and 'Doom' will follow a week later on April 25.
Blockbuster said it conducted a market survey of a select number of its subscribers, which found that 47 percent were "somewhat interested" in renting high-def DVDs. Another 33 percent also indicated an interest in purchasing high-def DVD hardware, "predicated on price, emergence of a standard HD format and availability of titles."
"'The Matrix' and 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' topped the list of specific movies subscribers said they'd first like to see in high-definition," Blockbuster Online senior vp Shane Evangelist told HMR. adding that the top-rated genres among likely high-def DVD renters were action, sci-fi, family, and music performance titles.
Blockbuster has not yet announced pricing for its HD-DVD rentals, though it is expected they will be the same or competitive with its standard DVD offerings.
- Related links:
- Blockbuster Queuing Up HD DVD Titles [Home Media Retailing]
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- Netflix Adds HD-DVD Rentals (Mar 13, 2006)
Netflix Adds HD-DVD Rentals
Mon Mar 13, 2006 at 01:49 PM ETTags: Netflix, High-Def Disc Rentals (all tags)
With little fanfare, Netflix has added the ability for its customers
to set
up their accounts to rent HD-DVD discs. The company had announced earlier this year that it was planning to rent both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray discs this year. As the weblog Hacking Netflix describes in detail, customers can access the setup option from the "Your Account" page, and after adjusting the preferred default format to DVD or HD-DVD, a new column called "Format" appears in their queue.
This news comes on the same day that Warner announced probable delays in its first HD-DVD disc releases, which were originally expected March 28. So while it's great for high-def DVD enthusiasts to have an HD-DVD rental option at Netflix, it will be even greater once there are actually a few titles available to rent. Here's hoping that's soon.
- Related links:
- Netflix Adds HD DVD Rentals [Hacking Netflix]
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- Netflix to Rent High-Def DVDs (Feb 24, 2006)
- HD-DVD Outlook Not Good as Warner Cancels Online Orders, Says Delays Likely (Mar 13, 2006)
Netflix to Rent High-Def DVDs
Fri Feb 24, 2006 at 01:02 PM ETTags: Netflix, High-Def Disc Rentals (all tags)
This morning, Netflix, the nation's leading
online DVD rental service, announced they intend to offer HD-DVD discs
to their customers beginning in March. The company also plays to support
the upcoming Blu-Ray format when it is expected to launch sometime later
in 2006.The Netflix announcement is good news for early adopters of either format. Both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray discs are expected to sell at a premium at launch, so a strong rental option will no doubt be a boon for those who want to enjoy their hot new high-def players but not have to pay $40 to own 'Mission: Impossible 2.'
- Related links:
- Netflix Prepares to offer HD-DVD, Blu-Ray Rentals Online [TG Daily]
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