PS3 Fanboy

Are you using your PS3 for Blu-ray movies? A new study shows that yes, in fact, you are. Blu-ray usage is on the rise amongst PS3 owners, according to Warner Home Video's research. It seems that between the last quarter of 2007 and the end of February saw a usage increase of the PS3 as a Blu-ray player from 53% to 80%. In addition to this, after Sony's ad campaign pushing Blu-ray, disc sales rose from 10% to 15% between October and December of 2007. Take it as you will, but the PS3 is definitely paving the road for Blu-ray and we hope you get more out of your system than merely playing games!

Having announced that they have gone Blu-ray exclusive less than a week ago, Warner Bros. has told High-Def Digest that they will soon be releasing profile 1.1 compatible movies. Warner have been slow to release movies on Blu-ray in comparison to HD-DVD because they have been waiting for picture-in-picture commentaries and other such features which have only recently been made available to Blu-ray players via profile 1.1.

While no dates have been given for any upcoming releases, Batman Begins and The Matrix were both mentioned as being prepped for Blu-ray release. We can't wait for profile 1.1 movies to start hitting the shelves and if one of the first is going to the The Matrix, we're doubly excited. The format war may be fun to discuss, but we shouldn't forget what it means: more disc releases on Blu-Ray. Bring them on.

Warner Brothers' surprise announcement of Blu-ray exclusivity may have effectively ended the format war. At least, that's what analysts are thinking. Richard Greenfield, the media analyst with Pali Research, wrote a pretty sharp comment about the state of the format wars. It's over. "We expect HD DVD to 'die' a quick death," he said.

According to Greenfield, NBC Universal did not commit to backing HD DVD exclusively, which means their catalog of products can move to Blu-ray in the future. Fans of Heroes and Battlestar Galactica, among other series, can breathe a sigh of relief. Paramount and Dreamworks, on the other hand, do have an exclusivity agreement, but may have a potential "escape clause" to abandon their support of the format.

Toshiba and Microsoft are the big backers of HD DVD in this format war, and it appears that WB's announcement caught the electronics manufacturer off-guard. According to GameDaily, the company released a statement: "Toshiba is quite surprised by Warner Bros.' decision to abandon HD DVD in favor of Blu-ray, despite the fact that there are various contracts in place between our companies concerning the support of HD DVD ... We were particularly disappointed that this decision was made in spite of the significant momentum HD DVD has gained in the US market as well as other regions in 2007."

The next steps are unclear at the moment. Will Toshiba and Microsoft raise the white flag, or will they bust out the moneybags to continue the battle? "We will assess the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies and evaluate potential next steps. We remain firm in our belief that HD DVD is the format best suited to the wants and needs of the consumer."

[Sources: GameDaily, The NY Times]

We were right. Our very first prediction for 2008 has come true a few days after we proclaimed it. Warner Bros. has gone Blu-ray exclusive. According to Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, this decision was made to bring a quick end to this tiresome format war. "The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger," he noted. We have to agree.

Warner Bros. will continue supporting HD DVD until May 2008. However, after that time, the studio will be exclusively Blu.

[Via Engadget HD]