The popular online video rental service Netflix has announced that they have decided to support Blu-ray exclusively for high definition movie rentals. Pointing to the Warner Brothers exclusivity announcement as the main reason for the shift, Netflix will no longer purchase movies in the rival HD DVD format, and once the life cycle for those discs has ended, they will no longer stock the format for rent.
Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix commented, "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. We are now at the point where the industry can pursue the migration to a single format, bring clarity to the consumer and accelerate the adoption of high-def. Going forward, we expect that all of the studios will publish in the Blu-ray format and that the price points of high-def DVD players will come down significantly."
While only a small percentage of Netflix users rent high definition movies, the majority of those who do take advantage of the services are renting Blu-ray. They expect that the shift to a single format will ultimately allow Netflix to provide a better service to those high definition customers.
As long as they don't go forward and raise monthly prices for people who choose Blu Ray, I'm good. Considering that all the Dudheads who were pissed at blockbuster switched to netflix, this is a particularly good sign.
Dang, didn't think they would do that but makes since. Better rent up the HD DVD exlusives before they run out i.e. Matrix Trilogy. Actually, any word on that coming to blu ray?
Why can't Toshiba just give up and join Sony in producing Blu-ray players? All they are doing is making their financial situation worse..they are already dead and just don't wont to admit it.
paramount will be next, the last to leave hd-dvd will be Universal, all i can say is Parawho? and Uniwhat? better start planning to join blu ray with avc and lossless audio if they want any blu ray business
Two things. First, I am a little surprised. There has been much written about how Netflix has always
been leaning a little Red.
Second, I wonder if this is why they recently changed their EULA. I got a eMail over the weekend
stating I should re-read the License Agreement because changes had been made. Unfortunately, it
is 12 pages long and written by a room full of Lawyers.
Anyway, now that retailers such as Blockbuster, FYE, and now Netflix have gone Blu the question
remains for HD DVD supports; Universal and Paramount can release their entire library of films on
the faltering format, but if there are no retailers that carry it how are you going to get it?
Hey! Lets all go over to High Def Digest and see how red the HD DVD supporters are, and how they
are spinning this in a positive way.
Maybe now Paramount will excute their excape clause in their HD-DUD contract. When they relize that nobody at Net-Flix will be buying there CRAPPY movies!!!
WELCOME to Monday Morning! Sweet! I was happy to hear about all the foreign publishers moving to Blu-Only but this is a great way to start the week! BTW - there is an official posting on the NetFlix.com website at http://netflix.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=265
Big News, hddud has lost its foothold in nearly the entire rental market. hahahah
Must say, it couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of people. hehe
This is a nice quote: While only a small percentage of Netflix users rent high definition movies, the majority of those who do take advantage of the services are renting Blu-ray. They expect that the shift to a single format will ultimately allow Netflix to provide a better service to those high definition customers.
and another: "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. We are now at the point where the industry can pursue the migration to a single format, bring clarity to the consumer and accelerate the adoption of high-def.
This really is big news, and I really hope that now Netflix will start ordering more copies so there aren't any more "very long wait" on the rental queue. I think this was the most painful blow to hd-dvd since Warner. It's also great because we are closer to only ONE format, it is rightfully blu.
F*cking aye!!!!! that's awesome... Paramount/Universal/Toshiba must be sh*tting bricks right now!!! whooooooooo hoooooo! I just let go of netflix last month too... blu-ray waiting list was way too long... hopefully they'll step it up with their blu-ray library and i'll consider getting back with'em.
biggest news since the warner defection! This is a huge blow for the HDDVD camp, hopefully Blockbuster "Online" makes a similar statement soon. They always replicated everything Netflix did, and even though both companies are doing pretty bad, it always seemed that Netflix had the upper hand, while Blockbuster online always followed suit with everything Netflix did. So if that happens, then about the only store you can get HDDVD's would be Hollywood Video...Enough said right there.
Now we really need to get our profile 2.0 players to market ASAP. It could look bad for Blu if the less tech savy masses hearing all the Blu exclusive news run out and buy the cheapest Blu player they can find (anyone who works in retail knows joe six-pack always goes for the cheapest) and it will be a profile 1.0 and they'll have problems. HDD says some guy Is sueing Samsung for not backing their playback issue plagued 1200 player. After working so hard to bring HD awareness to the people we don't need to piss them off with $400-$500 obsolete players. And Joe six-pack is not going to buy a video game system to watch movies on.
Think about explaining to a soccer mom who wants to play Ratatouille for her 5yr old why a $400 video game system is what she should buy. All I can say is get ready for the deer in headlights look.
This argument has been had over and over again. The fact is, the players are currently selling very well at their $400-500 prices. There would be absolutely no incentive to lower the price currently. Rest assured, we will see sub-$300 players (probably 1.1) by the end of this calendar year.
Just make sure that people do not buy the Samsung 1200 player
Netflix too huh?
I can't wait until Paramount and Universal announce Blu-Ray support.
I think we'll see it by the end of the year for sure...at least once all the 30-90 day return window policy passes at all local retailers.
Just long enough for the poor confused consumer that bought a player during the holiday shopping season, or used their money right after the holidays to buy one.
I USED to be format neutral...until I dealt with Toshiba's customer service to repair my unit...
let me tell you...they suck.
So now that the two major movie rental providers
NetFlix and Blockbuster are only going to provide Blu-Ray, that's IT for me!!!
I sold all my HD-DVD's and my player last week in my OWN fire sale.
Goodbye, little Toshiba!
As I've said before I had no specific devotions to a format...only to film.
But now after I've seen how the HD-DVD camp treats it's customers....
and now that I've seen just how little they value honest
business practices and tactics (Selling the players for $150 and advertising
HD-DVD as the future at 25% market share...meanwhile companies
dump them left and right? I mean come on!)
I'm just waiting for a lawsuit so that I can take part in the legal action. :-)
I've been waiting to say this for a long time, and Netflix gave me the courage... :-)
my heart now only bleeds Blu.
Wow this is big, HD-DVD has almost lost their entire rental market. I feel bad for Toshiba... no I am not, they have lost the war and couldn't face the facts and keep making ways to delay the Hi-def media adoption.
What are they going to do now? Start their own online HD-DVD rental business like they did with the hardware I imagine.
I'm looking forward to this....some blu-ray titles have taken forever to be available through netflix. I'm hoping this means they will expand their stock.
@Doobiewah--
I hope you are right. I was thinking the same thing. Right now Netflix has to buy 5 copies of X title on
each format. Hopefully, this now means they will be buying 10 copies on Blu-ray.
I am sure Netflix could care less who is winning. They are looking at this from a business stand point.
Now they have to buy two formats (standard and Blu-ray) as opposed to buying three.
Look for Blockbuster to go completely Blu (both retail and online) inside 90 days.
That's it: Game over! The way the dominos keep falling in favor of Blu, I think Universal and Paramount will go at least format-neutral very quickly now, much sooner than I originally thought. Netflix and Blockbuster are the two major rental companies, and with both of them now having gone Blu, all remaining support for the "other format" will crumble very, very soon. Thank you, Netflix!
I think you misunerstood me a little. I wasn't saying the prices wouldn't go down. I'm saying that someone new to HD and doesn't understand the whole profile 1.0, 1.1, 2.0 stuff like us who've been here from the beginning will just buy the cheapest Blu player he/she can find it will likley be a 1.0 or 1.1 then when the Jones' next door get a 2.0 player for Christmas later this year Joe might think "damn, I just bought my player a few months ago and my player can't do that WTF?"
That's my concern. Now that's it's just about over for HD-DVD let's make things as easy as possible for the new BLU adopters by having a final spec player on the market. That way the only question will be how fancy do you want it?
I started out purple buying both a PS3 and a 360 add-on. Initially planning to rent both formats
on Netflix and just watch any movie available in high definition. The more I learned about the 2
formats the more I finally began to see that BD seemed to have the most positives. So I dumped
my 360 add-on on my brother in-law for $50 a week before they slashed the the prices on them.
Luckily having purchased only one HD-DVD. It was a combo disk (fast and Furious Tokoyo Drift)
so I feel like the luckiest man out there for not buying into HD-DVD too heavily for it seems now
their format is truely dead and I got out just in the nick of time! Hahahahahahaha. Completely
Blu now. Let the releases begin! I am ready to spend some money.
Fuck yea; it's about time! I'm hoping they increase their Blu-ray inventory as well! Give it up HD DVD! Universal, Paramount, and Weinstein, time to follow suit; get your ass in gear. The future is Blu!
Man this game is has been so over this is just somebody making more fools out of themselves (Toshiba, Paramount & Universal). They will be hated by the rest of the industry and they will not forget these bonehead moves they made with almost killing HDM.
I'm Canadian so netflix doesn't apply to me, but I see this as a pretty big announcement. Way to go netflix.
hopefully for all you netflixers, all the would be hd-dud purchases for them will turn into extra blu purchases so you can get your stuff even quicker.
This is great. Call the fat lady, tell her to sing, hammer that nail with the hundred or so other ones cos that online rental service will cause Toshy, M$, Para and The "U" to hold their breath until they turn purple...then blu (well not M$, they'll go into downloads for holding their breath too long and get brain damage), aha ha ha!
Pravin from HDDVD.com is probably now pissing off his pants hearing this news. From one of his past posts, he is a big Netflix costumer who rents HD DUD flicks. HAHA! I wonder where he goes from here. I don't see him posting it yet on his DUD site as he has to find alternative online site that will rent HD DUDs (which I think is close to none).
HD DUD flicks has only one place to go....99c Store, along the trash bag section aisle. LOL!
I am glad the war is ending as I have been Blu since my first PS3 christmas 2006. Now since the BOGOS seem to be gone I just wish the format would really catch fire and we can again get some movie deals. I have some must have titles coming up for release but short of Amazon's discount nothing in the way of real specials.
Great news! It could, however; cause a slight temporary rise in HD-DuD sales as the option to rent is now diminished. That being said, I see no major releases this week or next so I foresee a 85:15 or better week coming.
Yeah, hopefully this means that Netflix will actually start STOCKING the Blu-Rays better. They always seem to be checked out. Of course...maybe it's because they can't keep up with the demand! :-)
I suppose if HD DVD doesn't go begging the BDA for a payout soon to giveup then they will get nothing! as all retailers will give up on HD Super DUD themselves.
I always thought Blu-ray would be the best choice for rental due to one fact, and one fact alone... Scratch Resistance! HD DVD seems a more prone to scratches when compared to DVD.
But Netflix needs to get their act together and stock more Blu.. until that moment comes, I won't be coming going back to them anytime soon... I hate waiting a month or more just for a new release :-/
Nice HD-Dud guys have no where to go, best buy is turning there backs on HD-dud along with other retailers and now Netflick. What can they say now? How can Hd-dud guys spin this story? they can't it's over and they need to realize it.
As many other recent news, this one is going to hurt. More than others I think. Bad day for HD-DVD camp hehe Netflix and Best Buy favors blu on the same day.....oh la la!
And Netflix will categorize their Blu-ray library into three sections: Short Wait, Long Wait, and Very Long Wait. Sorry, you have to be a Netflix customer to appreciate the humor (pain).
Poor HD-DUD owners. They will now have drive many miles to find a store that sells HD-DVD movies when you can walk to a corner blockbuster store and rent Blu-ray. Awww.
So...does this mean I will continue to see "Very long wait" under every new release I put into my Queue or will they increase their selection, therefore less wait time?
The popular online video rental service Netflix has announced that they have decided to support Blu-ray exclusively for high definition movie rentals. Pointing to the Warner Brothers exclusivity announcement as the main reason for the shift, Netflix will no longer purchase movies in the rival HD DVD format, and once the life cycle for those discs has ended, they will no longer stock the format for rent.
