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Paramount goes HD DVD-exclusive

Transformers studio and fellow Viacom brands drop most support for Blu-ray format; only Spielberg-directed films remain platform agnostic.

Sony's Blu-ray high-definition disc format had scored a number of solid blows in its ongoing battle with Toshiba's HD DVD in recent months. In June, movie rental chain Blockbuster committed to offering only Blu-ray high-definition discs in its stores, citing the integration of the format into the PlayStation 3 among its reasons. Last week, Home Media Research analysts said that Blu-ray Disc sales doubled those of HD DVD for the first half of the year.

However, today the HD DVD camp gets to tout a major victory, as Paramount announced that it is now exclusive to Toshiba's chosen format, taking its DreamWorks Animation SKG, DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies, and MTV Films brands with it. There are a handful of exceptions to this exclusivity, such as films directed by Steven Spielberg, which won't be exclusive to either platform.

Films that are executive produced by Spielberg can still be HD DVD-exclusive, as Paramount said it is kicking off its platform monogamy with HD DVD releases of Transformers, Shrek the Third, and Blades of Glory. Set to go on sale next Tuesday, Blades of Glory had originally been announced as a release for Blu-ray Disc as well as HD-DVD.

"We believe the combination of this year's low-priced HD DVD players and the commitment to release a significant number of hit titles in the fall makes HD DVD the best way to view movies at home," said DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg in a statement.

Supporters of Toshiba's format include Universal Pictures, as well as Microsoft, which recently dropped the price of its Xbox 360 HD DVD player to $179.

670 Comments

  • funkybar88

    Posted Oct 19, 2007 6:20 pm GMT

    I don't care much for either format $25-30 for a movie is crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I remember when games cost that much.

  • seandaly

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 2:53 am GMT

    I work for my dad's movie rental store. We carry many ps3 and x360 titles.. we are located in Crowley, La... Our blu-rays rent out regularly while i have maybe gotten 2-4 requests for hd-dvds ever, while another manager claims to have never heard a customer request it. but to be fair, our 360 games are renting out much better then ps3..

    also, 360 games continue to be brought back scratched like xbox and ps2 (but we have a $1500 machine that gets any and all scratches out of games and dvds) while i , nor any worker has seen one blu-ray/ps3 returned with a single scratch on it

  • seanmcgee87

    Posted Oct 2, 2007 9:20 pm GMT

    Regardless of all the fanboy comments, Both look the same (quality wise), Both discs have more then enough storage capacity, and both play 1080p content. The only difference is that HD-DVD is way cheaper. And id rather support toshiba and microsoft than sony ( which is loosing the console way to nintendo 1st, and microsoft 2nd.) also if we wanted to go down that road, I still have no intent to spend 600 bucks on a PS3 that has 1 game id want to buy. especially with games like halo 3, forza 2, bioshock etc.. on 360. Plus the whole exclusive download content for gta4 among others. The 360 is an amazing gaming machine. couple it with a 199.99 HD -DVD player (IF YOU CHOOSE,* cough* sony blu ray *cough*) and you got one sick multimedia center!

  • Cloud737

    Posted Sep 20, 2007 11:24 am GMT

    My God, KnightwingX7, I don`t think anyone could have posted a bigger pile of cr@p than you (sorry for the language, but I wanted to point it out more).

    First of all, you say all people are erroneously commenting here, yet you are the one getting almost all the points wrong.

    Second, Blu-ray and HD are using VC1 and other newer compression methods. You should document more often before opening that mouth so easily.

    Yes, HD-DVD may have more space on 2 layers than BD on one, but since BD will be available in 2 layers quite soon, that argument is quite pointless.

    Don`t kid me about HD-DVD on 3 layers. It basically has no room for the third. On the other hand, BD has support for 4 layers, with the prototype BD to (magically) have up to 200GB.

    BD easier to scratch? Maybe you haven`t tried it yet, but the only method to render BD unreadable is to use a butcher`s knife. Unless people start using them more frequently around their discs, I can`t really see how BD is easier to scratch.

    If you compare both versions of a film, you`d actually see that both look the same, and not that HD-DVD looks better. They can use the same newer compression, after all.

    Sony`s lies? Last time I heard, it wasn`t just Sony in the run. While Sony may have lied, I can`t really see any of their so-called lies right now in your post.

    The rest of what you said are either true or don`t know much about, so I`d say you deserve the benefit of the doubt. Doubt that you are right, that is! Just joking! I meant that you could be right.

    Thanks for the complete fanboyish post. You earned the "worst fanboy" medal of this news page. Now go home and document yourself more!

  • Thejugglingbum

    Posted Sep 19, 2007 8:20 pm GMT

    Bluray is better.

  • KnightwingX7

    Posted Sep 10, 2007 10:39 pm GMT

    Why have most people commented ERRONEOUSLY that BluRay is a superior format? It is not. The only thing BluRay has going for it is the proclaimed 50 GB disc, that as of Sept. 07 is VAPORWARE. Hate to tell you BluRay is only 25 GB per layer, and they are only available in 1 layer currently. And the bigger space is there for a reason. They are using a compression technology that is 10 YEARS old (MPEG-2) ! BluRay does ONLY one thing that HD-DVD doesn't...Hold 50 GB.

    The features HD-DVD does: (that Bluray DOESNT!)

    All player must have an ethernet connection for online content
    Backed by the authority of the DVD consortium
    Uses Next Gen VC1 compression
    MANDATORY playback of Higher Next Gen Audio such as DTS HD Master
    Has LESS Anitpiracy software (BluRay has 2 forms of redundancy)
    Can contain the ORIGINAL DVD on the other side so you can have both DVD and HD-DVD on the same disc! (This is good because if your format fails your disc isn't worthless like BluRay)

    Is 15 GB per layer meaning current HD-DVD is 30 GB (2 layer) and current bluray is only 25 GB making HD-DVD the ACTUAL LARGER FORMAT!!!

    If the BluRay 50 GBs ever do come it- That's awhile off, it won't matter because HD-DVD is capable of triple layers meaning it will deliver 45 GB per layer.

    BluRay discs are easier to scratch, because the content is not contained in the center of the disc (Like HD-DVD), but right on the outer edge, with only a thin layer protecting it.

    Compare the same movie on an HD-DVD to a BluRay on a quality HDTV, you will see that the HD-DVD looks better because it uses a newer compression. Do some research and find out why educated video and audiophiles believe HD-DVD is superior in EVERY way, hands down! Stop believing Sony's lies are start to open your capable eyes.

    Oh and one more thing...Look at the Special Features options in stores of the discs on both formats. If there is a difference in the versions, the HD-DVD always has better special features content than the BluRay. Including Picture in Picture Movie/Commentary overlapping.

  • DoubleAxe

    Posted Sep 10, 2007 5:12 pm GMT

    yay

  • bigjsd

    Posted Aug 22, 2007 4:43 pm GMT

    My last comment on a days old thread.........150 million to Paramount to promote HD-DVD compared to a 2 billion dollar loss for Sony on the PS3 to get Blu-Ray in homes around the world. Who is the bigger prostitute? C'mon Sony fanboys let's hear your ridiculous defense of your big brother Sony, I can hardly wait for the excuses. And to Dante DePasquale......you mention Paramount having only two big hits (Shrek and Transformers) compared to mutiple hits being released for Blu-Ray such as Spiderman and....................you said multiple but stopped at one????? Are you still looking for the other hits???? If Paramount could have two hits a year with the revenue that Shrek3 and Transformers brought in, I'm sure they would be overjoyed. Personally I think calling Spiderman 3 a hit is a bit of a stretch, especially if your a fan of the comic but it did gross some dollars so fair enough. The question is...when totalling sales of all DVD's and HD-DVD's of Transformers how many more dollars will it bring in than Spiderman 3 on DVD and Blu-Ray? I would bet Transformers crushes the spidey. This war is far from over and this X-MAS when peopl who own HDTV's are looking for a HD player and they see HD-DVD players for $200 to $250 merchandised next to a HD-DVD exclusive Transformer movie, Sony is gonna start to get real nervous watching sales of HD-DVD players dramatically rise. This is only the first of a few tricks HD-DVD has up their sleeve for Sony in the next few months.......Bill Gates hasn't even pitched in his two cents YET but it's coming.

  • JTH_22

    Posted Aug 22, 2007 10:07 am GMT

    @yenvinorion And there goes another $ony fan (see it fits just as well in their name) acting as if all theses companies supporting Blu-Ray got nothing from $ony in return. They're both mega corporations and they both cut backroom deals to get things done, that's the way it is if you think Sony didn't offer anything up to lockdown their exclusives you're just a blind fanboy.

  • DanteDiPasquale

    Posted Aug 22, 2007 9:44 am GMT

    Pamount did this because they had a terrible year in the box office -- only two major titles of which only one did well (Transformers). The 150mil buyout came at a perfect time for them.

    The only two exclusives that will matter are Transformers and Shrek the Third. nothing major will come from this as bigger titles such as Spiderman (Sony) are still on Blu ray. All this really did was drag the format war on for another year as it was slated to end by next year.

    Many people are finding themselves confused about this news but once you actually find out the reasoning behind it it is nothing big.

    Gellax my friends and have some popcorn.

  • DarkBlueSleeper

    Posted Aug 22, 2007 7:47 am GMT

    oh well.i'll just watch transformers on DVD in 720p on the ps3.paramount are IDIOTS.

  • Spindoc_SEI

    Posted Aug 22, 2007 7:15 am GMT

    I've watched The Last Samurai and 300 on both formats; King Kong, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Syriana, and Cinderella Man on HD-DVD; Silent Hill, Saw III, Casino Royale, Kingdom of Heaven, Deja Vu, Ghost Rider, Mission: Impossible III, and Swordfish on Blu-Ray. 300 didn't look too good on either format because it looked like the encoders were lazy and just increased the bitrate on the DVD source encoded from the original. There are a lot of visual artifacts in the video.

    Also, some Blu-Ray discs include other audio formats in addition to PCM and standard Dolby 5.1. The ones I can think of off the top of my head are Saw III and Silent Hill which use DTS HD 7.1. There are also others that include the Dolby Digital TrueHD codec as well. DTS has always sounded the best in my opinion.

    And just to clarify, I'm a Nintendo and PC fan. I'm not partial to any game console. Besides, this isn't a console discussion anyway.

  • Yuck_Too

    Posted Aug 22, 2007 7:10 am GMT

    Michael Bay Reconsiders Hastily Adopted Position in Format Wars

    ยท Michael Bay now officially prefers Paramount's HD-DVD Kool-Aid (how exactly one drinks it "hook line and sinker" is still a mystery) to that served by Blu-Ray enthusiasts:

    "Last night at dinner I was having dinner with three Blu-Ray owners, they were pissed about no Transformers Blu-Ray and I drank the kool aid hook line and sinker. So at 1:30 in the morning I posted - nothing good ever comes out of early am posts mind you

    - I over reacted. I heard where Paramount is coming from and the future of HD and players that will be close to the $200 mark which is the magic number.

  • Reetesh

    Posted Aug 22, 2007 6:34 am GMT

    I wanted to see Transformers in HD so much.. and now its not possible

  • Rect_Pola

    Posted Aug 22, 2007 6:12 am GMT

    I heard $200 million.
    I also hear Michael Bay isn't happy because he prefers Blu-ray. Pity he doesn't have Speilberg's power. They put his stuff on beta if he told them to.

  • yevinorion

    Posted Aug 22, 2007 6:08 am GMT

    Meh...there M$ goes again, trying to buy support. I hope it backfires in their face and HD-DVD gets wiped out by Blu-Ray.

  • -Squirrel-

    Posted Aug 22, 2007 4:57 am GMT

    Awesome. I prefer HD-dvd, but thought it was losing the race. But this is such a huge victory that it seems they might actually win out. When hi-def fans need a HD-dvd player to watch Transformers and Shrek this fall, then we will see who has the higher sells.

  • marcusboonis

    Posted Aug 22, 2007 4:20 am GMT

    Meh hd-dvd dropped $150 mil for an 18 month exclusivity. big deal

  • dross555

    Posted Aug 22, 2007 12:00 am GMT

    Hey Gungriffin it is really great to hear someone else finally mention about the far superior sound qualities of HD-DVD because your spot on right. I always here people say that blu-ray is better but when i ask them why they say because sony says it is "Well if Sony says so then it must be true they are always honest and only make products to make people happy"(sarcasim) Then someone with enough knowlegde just to be dangerous pipes up but they have 50gb space WOW really i am yet to see a dual layer 50gig BD they are only 25gb and HD are 30gb so HD-DVD with 5 gb more space and far far superior codec tech allows for those extra sounds you are hearing in Black Hawk Down.
    Now this is going to sound very pompus and arrogant but it seems to me that people who have got a new HD Panal for their PS3 are certianly getting a great picture but i do not think they are understanding about the sound because they are using cheap plastic toy lifestyle sound systems from ie Sony ,Pioneer, Panasonic LG ,Samsung ect go and listen to the same movie on HD-DVD and Blu-Ray on a new Marantz , Yamaha , Denon or Onkyo running some miller & kriesil or B&W speakers then you will understand why i am seriously underwelmed by the supposed superior blu-ray and selling more does not make it a better product it just means sony has fooled more people or run better marketing
    I only want the best movie experience possiable at home could not care about which company or format delivers this but currently my eyes ears and senses tell me that HD-DVD versions are just plain better in my home

  • vanhalendlrband

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 10:37 pm GMT

    Has anyone been able to notice a noticeable difference yet? I used to hear blu-rays were a bit fuzzy or blurry.

  • cjnwo4life

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 10:11 pm GMT

    Transformers was a good movie period! Don't hate!

  • Bug420

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 8:52 pm GMT

    Michael Bay is a crappy director. Hopefully Transformers 2 is better without him. Addition by subtraction. Unfortunately for me, it looks like I'll have to wait 18 monthes or so until I can watch the first Transformers on Blu-ray. I am not investing in HD-DVD unless I am sure it will be the dominant format, and I have a feeling digital storage will be the format to overtake regular DVDs.

  • bigjsd

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 8:38 pm GMT

    Paramount Studios competes with Sony Studios and knowing that Sony will have to respond to this by increasing demand of the Blu-Ray the most likely response by Sony is to lower cost of the BD players before the 4th quarter. If Sony has to take a loss in order to reach the all too important $200 sweet spot of cusumers on top of the losses they are taking on the PS3 they will be depleted of resources very quickly. A business can only bleed red ink for so long. This was a very calculated move by Paramount you can bet. As for all the crys of being paid off for exclusive support, don't think for one minute Sony isn't paying it's exclusive supporters as well. Knowing that Disney was one of the original architects for HD-DVD and only switched alliance for political reasons, many tech insiders have a gut feeling that Disney may once again jump ship back to HD-DVD after realizing that Paramount made some valid points about cost of production and more universal formatting. BetaMax, Universal Media Disc, Mini-Disk, Professional Disk for Data, HiFD, Music Clip and Super Audio CD ....all Sony superior technology......all Sony FAILURES!!!!!! Most failed due to the higher production costs when compared to its inferior yet cheaper rival formats. Will Blu-Ray disc soon join the pile of Sony's high tech storage format failures? Didn't look like it a month ago but Sony has to be just a tad bit nervous now. If I were a betting man, given Sony's past track record, I would bet the farm against them.

  • iliyun

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 8:03 pm GMT

    paramount /dreamworks being bribed into joining hd-dvd only delays the inevitable of blue-ray dominating.

  • playstation_wii

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 7:13 pm GMT

    Why don't they just join the winning team?

  • rass_atom

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 7:06 pm GMT

    pretty bold move on paramounts part, if not slightly bizarre given that bluray is already in twice as many homes across the world than HD-DVD and the bigger capacity disc.
    I also read that they were paid $150 million to go exclusive. So i dont swallow their statement, overall remember, money talks.
    although the deal is only for 18 months, so it seems they're not quite ready to put all thier eggs in one basket quite yet.
    In my eyes, sony played a good game and won the battle, tho ultimately i can still see them loosing the war via tactics like this.
    the Hi Def war rages on....

  • Jedilink109

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 7:05 pm GMT

    How about this....make ONE format and let me watch THE ONE instead of fighting and being stupid over two fighting ones? I mean...I kinda like HD-DVD because it has HD-DVD on one side and regular DVD on the other. Blu-Ray isn't doing that. Regardless...I don't want to spend a lot of money...just because I'm cheap, so there.

  • Zeke129

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 4:48 pm GMT

    Heh. Yeah, lets drop the popular format. Nice move, Paramount. Looks like I won't be watching any of your or Universal's movies now.

  • dr-venkman

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 4:19 pm GMT

    I choose what Spielberg chooses. (Raiders is my fav film)

    "It was important to Steven that if any of his films were to be released [first] on high-definition, that it would be a classic," said Levy. "Steven is big supporter of Blu-ray, and chose 'Close Encounters' to be the first of his films on either format."

    http://www.digitalbits.com/#mytwocents

    I have a feeling his friend Mr. Lucas will feel the same way.

  • JTH_22

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 3:39 pm GMT

    I love how you Sony fanboys continue to act like Sony didn't offer up any big time incentives to get their exclusivity deals. Please. None of these companies did this out of the kindness of their heart.

  • bigjsd

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 3:27 pm GMT

    This is beginning to look alot like the SACD vs. DVD-Audio war and I don't need to remind anyone how well that has turned out. If the remaining major studios who are still producing both formats decide to go exclusive with HD-DVD it is going to get really interesting. This is a blow to PS3 owners as well because there $600.00 investment isn't compatible with some top movies. I've said it many times, Microsoft made a brilliant decision to leave the HD-DVD as an option. 360 owners can play great games and not be locked in to a movie playback format that may or may not become the standard. Ahhh for those of us old enough to remember the Beta vs. VHS format war, things are looking eerily similar. Beta was the far superior format that was beat out by the inferior and cheaper VHS format. History often repeats itself and so often Sony is on the losing end with the better technology.

  • Maverick82102

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 3:25 pm GMT

    haha.................... uh maybe not.

  • brucies_bubbles

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 3:24 pm GMT

    Good way of halfing your profit

  • dmish82

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 2:48 pm GMT

    HAHHAA....Michael Bay has just announced that he will NOT be directing a Transformers 2 because:

    Bay said: "I want people to see my movies in the best formats possible. For them to deny people who have Blu-ray sucks! They were progressive by having two formats. No Transformers 2 for me!"

    Me thinks maybe Paramount should reconsider their deal here eh? I'm sure a lot of other directors will be pissed about this.

  • XAF1

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 2:42 pm GMT

    To be honest if both formats were being used for games it wouldn't matter one way or another. Game companies use different formats or have in the past. In the case of money both of these formats are too up in the air to invest a great deal to buy movies that can't be played later unless you own both players or a Hybrid player. Until this issue is resolved there will be a great number of consumers still sitting on the fence buying DVDs, and no one wants to drop DVD production while it's still making money. I own the HD-DVD add-on but have yet to find myself willing to spend money on movies till I see some stability one way or the other. I bought it out of curiosity, so as far as I'm concern I didn't lose anything from a techi perspective. But buying movies is a different thing.

  • softymcsoft

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 2:29 pm GMT

    Hmmm wonder how long they will stay exclusive if Transformers suffer they same poor sales 300 did on HD-DVD compared to Blu-Ray.

  • dmish82

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 2:17 pm GMT

    Ha! We'll see how long this actually lasts.

  • SalarianChemist

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 2:15 pm GMT

    This article is a little bit incorrect in terms of Blockbuster Video.

    Blockbuster Video still rents HD-DVD movies in all of the stores that it originally started renting HD-DVD and Blu-ray movies.

    And Blockbuster Video certainly does NOT rent Blu-ray movies in all of its stores. In fact, the only thing that Blockbuster Video announced was that a new batch of stores would start renting Blu-ray movies. The bad thing is that this "new batch" averages out to only about 34 Blockbuster Video stores in each state...but obviously, there are going to be plenty of states where they don't include any new stores at all.

    The most important factor BY FAR is that Blockbuster Video still rents HD-DVD through their Mail program and Online program.

  • Shinedown220

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 1:51 pm GMT

    Have fun not getting my money! Dumb!

  • dmastor

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 1:40 pm GMT

    @ Pablo620 The only reason mr. bay cares is because he loss money with only on format duh!

  • ShadoweaverCode

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 1:40 pm GMT

    awesome news. hd-dvd FTW

  • dmastor

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 1:37 pm GMT

    blockbuster so stupid lol, so no family night at blockbuster kids.

  • reactionsok

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 1:31 pm GMT

    dross555 thanks for responding to my initial comments.

    I'll agree that most people don't download or use on-demand services NOR do the mass public have hi def dvds. honestly i believe a blueray hd-dvd player must be under $150 then add to that all the dvds must be below $20 and easily rentable.

    as much as i enjoy watching films i don't feel like something that costs $20+ is worth it at all. I'm done buying dvds, i'm done investing in new formats. DONE!

    wouldn't someone in my shoes choose free' over shelling out $20+ for a dvd/hd-dvd?

    How many of us hardly ever dig into our dvd collection? how many of us have our dvds just collecting dust? How many of us are tired of the movie industries abusing our pocket book when we take a loved one to the movie theater? or to to the store to pay for a dvd? It's rape - consumer rape - a price of a movie ticket is $9.50 and they expect us to pay for a movie that is $20+?? This is madness!!

    I haven't purchased a dvd in years. YEARS!!!! i'm still taking it all back from the movie studios who ravaged my money.

    so you guys go on and discuss what format is better and shell out your hard earned money - because they all win at the end - they steal your hard earned cash. I will most likely be at a bar or lounge drinking it up.

    TAKE THAT~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • packernation31

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 1:27 pm GMT

    forget it don't need high-def movies

  • Ali_G1986

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 1:09 pm GMT

    Lol okay some people dont think Transformers is that good but hey it was a succes...watched it on cinema....same with 300...the surround system and screen make it excellent.....BTW them 2 are better the Pirates of the Carribean 3 which was totall BS! and Spiderman 3 was meh...other excellent movies are Shrek 3, Blood diamond, The Simpsons was betterr though...Rush Hour 3 is still funny so good year for movies

  • Yuck_Too

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 12:54 pm GMT

    Transformers was not exactly an "excellent" movie...

    http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_the_movie/

    As for a part 2...meh...most sequels are worse then the originals and that wasn't so hot to start with.

  • LordelX

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 12:52 pm GMT

    Are you fricken serious....now movies are exclusive to a certain format. Whatever. I'll just buy the DVDs until everyone sorts out this mess. Next we'll have 3 new music formats with exclusive "bands". This is getting ridiculous. Next generation...such a rip-off.

  • weldingpackage

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 12:37 pm GMT

    This whole format war is hurting the consumers. My bet is the ones that will win are the ones that make dual format players for a reasonable price.

  • Ali_G1986

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 12:33 pm GMT

    Transformers 2 isn't dead....Micheal Bay isn't the only Director over in Paramount...Steven Spielberg and Dream works did alot as well...without them Transformers would be okay film instead of excellent

  • Pablo620

    Posted Aug 21, 2007 12:21 pm GMT

    Wow someone up there is getting fired. They just killed Transformers 2. Michael Bay knows they are backing the wrong format, thats why he is pissed

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