Wal-Mart Picks Blu-ray Over HD DVD
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has picked Blu-ray over HD DVD in the market battle for the format of high-definition video.
The nation's largest retailer said Friday it has decided to sell only Blu-ray DVDs and hardware in its 4,000 U.S. stores and no longer carry rival HD DVD offerings.
The announcement comes five days after Netflix Inc. said it will stop carrying rentals in Toshiba Corp.'s HD DVD format and instead go exclusively with the rival Sony Corp. technology favored by five major movie studios.
Toshiba and Sony have been vying to set the standard for high-definition DVDs and players. The stakes are high because the winner will also get a boost in sales of DVD players needed to read the new format.
Several large retailers have come down on Blu-ray's side, including Target Corp. and Blockbuster Inc.
"We've listened to our customers, who are showing a clear preference toward Blu-ray products and movies with their purchases," Gary Severson, head of home entertainment for Wal-Mart's U.S. stores, said in a statement.
Wal-Mart said it will phase out all HD DVD offerings by June. Wal-Mart stores and Sam's Clubs membership warehouses will continue to sell standard definition movies and DVD players as well as converter technology.
Sony has taken a considerable lead in the format rivalry in recent months, gaining the endorsement of The Walt Disney Co., Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures, News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. Entertainment.
Viacom's Paramount Pictures, which also owns DreamWorks SKG, and Universal Pictures, a unit of General Electric, have opted to release films only in HD DVD.
Still, many consumers have held off on buying a high-definition DVD player until the dominant format is decided.
© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The nation's largest retailer said Friday it has decided to sell only Blu-ray DVDs and hardware in its 4,000 U.S. stores and no longer carry rival HD DVD offerings.
The announcement comes five days after Netflix Inc. said it will stop carrying rentals in Toshiba Corp.'s HD DVD format and instead go exclusively with the rival Sony Corp. technology favored by five major movie studios.
Toshiba and Sony have been vying to set the standard for high-definition DVDs and players. The stakes are high because the winner will also get a boost in sales of DVD players needed to read the new format.
Several large retailers have come down on Blu-ray's side, including Target Corp. and Blockbuster Inc.
"We've listened to our customers, who are showing a clear preference toward Blu-ray products and movies with their purchases," Gary Severson, head of home entertainment for Wal-Mart's U.S. stores, said in a statement.
Wal-Mart said it will phase out all HD DVD offerings by June. Wal-Mart stores and Sam's Clubs membership warehouses will continue to sell standard definition movies and DVD players as well as converter technology.
Sony has taken a considerable lead in the format rivalry in recent months, gaining the endorsement of The Walt Disney Co., Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures, News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. Entertainment.
Viacom's Paramount Pictures, which also owns DreamWorks SKG, and Universal Pictures, a unit of General Electric, have opted to release films only in HD DVD.
Still, many consumers have held off on buying a high-definition DVD player until the dominant format is decided.
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Unlike the beta fiasco, it looks like Sony is going to win this one.
Don''t know the title, Love the plot.
Go to IMDB and search on "Island of Terror" with Peter Cushing. It''s from 1966. I think that may be what you''re looking for.
and they still function just fine, thank you very much.
Posted by veteran71 at 06:25 PM : Feb 16, 2008
Hey, I have been looking for the title of on old scifi movie from the 50s. A doctor/scientist was trying to create a cure for bone cancer, and created a greyish blob creature with a central eyestalk, that dissolved and fed on human bones. Any idea of the title?
I remember buying an $800 Sony Betamax when they first came out and they were the answer to all our video needs at the time, so I think I will chill on this format for a while....
HD DVD was finished a long time ago when most of the major movie studios decided to go with Blu-Ray.
Posted by watcher269 at 06:49 AM : Feb 16, 2008
This is the exact same thing, everthing man makes, becomes worthless after a while. In the mean time, buy blu-ray stock for the short haul.
Nah!