Wal-Mart Picks Blu-ray Over HD DVD

Retailer Will Only Sell Blu-Ray In Stores

(AP)  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.

[brianp55]

My compliments to Nadeau for knowing the title of that obscure movie. Yes, it is indeed "Island of Terror" with Peter Cushing and Edward Judd. You can get DVD-R copies from ebay and purchase region 2 factory copies from ebay UK.

Unlike the beta fiasco, it looks like Sony is going to win this one.

[marcpcbs]

Klingon69

Don''t know the title, Love the plot.

[nadeau4201]

To Klingon69:

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.

[klingon69]

I still have hundreds of old VHS movies of 50''''s and 60''''s sci-fi greats and other classics,
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?

[reel-crazy]

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....

[shanev137]

This is a non-event and not news.

HD DVD was finished a long time ago when most of the major movie studios decided to go with Blu-Ray.

[fibonacci_]

Uh, I totally support high def formats. We just need to choose one. Let us choose blu-ray and get this cra p over with

[hypnotoad72]

Higher quality is nice... but today''s manufactured media, and so-called "reality" television are so devoid of ideas or creativity that I wouldn''t care if its resolution was double that of blu-ray and HD_DVD combined.

Old movies can go only so far; thanks to being on 35mm or better film, they can look rather good, but in the store aisles I see only the new garbage.

Besides, a standard def dvd player and proper brand HDTV set will automatically upconvert and clean the incoming signal. It''s not true HD, but it''s very easy on the eyes.

[cyberus-2009]

Must be Wal-borg has negotiated a better deal with China to produce Blu-Ray products.

[toolmangler-2009]

Anyone remember VHS and BETA? Sounds like the same thing.
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.

[cbs_oliver]

Walmart?

Nah!

[vcapo]

Rootkits won''t matter if you only watch DVD''s on a DVD player!

[sevenveils]

How much has the Blu-Ray consortium pay Netflicks and Kmart for this exclusive contract? And how much more will the consumer have to pay because of these additional costs?

It is the consumer that should make the ultimate decision, not corporate entities.

[klingon69]

What''s really funny is that not too long from now, all DVDs will be obsolete. New format will be on memory cards. This is already available in Japan. Blockbuster is experimenting in the US with movie rentals on these media. The main thing that is/will hold this back in the US is that the player has NO moving parts (much like a card reader for the computer). With no moving parts, less breakdowns, less maintenance, less people having to buy another one.

[jerkeedoodle]

Anybody remember DVD?Some of us are not going to be silly and hop on the old "Let''s obsolete everything every 4-5 years" bandwagon.I wonder why they''re doing this?Could it be because of game console fumbducks that are foolish enough to run out and buy the new system that obsoletes,and has nothing that is compatible with,the one they bought two years ago?Way to go,Morons! Don''t know why I''m complaining.I don''t shop at Walmart anyway,since doing so is essentially undermining myself.They want foreigners to supply all of the ccrap they sell,they can find some phuckin'' foreigner to buy it,as far as this kid''s concerned.

[watcher269-2009]

Anyone remember VHS and BETA? Sounds like the same thing.

[ivandrago]

Blu-ray is actually the superior format, but has the toughest learning curve interface-wise. It simply has the superior storage capacity, and superior hardware.

[brianbwb-2009]

So Sony wins the battle of the standards this time, (remember vhs vs. beta?) the difference being that this time they don''t have an obviously better format, just more aggressive marketing.

I do expect the new format to be riddled with rootkits, spyware, and other violations of privacy. Google "Mark Russinovitch Sony DRM rootkit", if you are not yet aware of what I am referring to.

Be warned...

[Wookiee-1138]

Take that xbots!