U.S. online DVD rental service Netflix on Monday drove another nail into the coffin of HD DVD by opting to go with the rival Blu-ray format only.
Netflix, which allows customers to rent DVDs on the internet and have them delivered to their door by post for a monthly subscription fee, said it would only buy Blu-ray discs from now on and phase out HD DVD stock by the end of the year.
The Sony Corp.-backed Blu-ray and Toshiba Corp.-supported HD DVD rival high-definition formats had been locked in a battle for consumers since they launched in 2006, recalling the VHS-Betamax fight over videocassette formats in the early 1980s.
Netflix said Hollywood has sent a clear message that it favours Blu-ray, given that five of the seven major studios have picked the Sony format.
"From the Netflix perspective, focusing on one format will enable us to create the best experience for subscribers," the company said in a statement.
Netflix reported 8.8 million subscribers as of the end of 2006 and projects more than 20 million within the next four to six years. The company does not operate in Canada, which is instead served by Ottawa-based Zip.ca. Zip currently offers DVDs in both high-definition formats.
Zip.ca to continue offering both formats
Rick Anderson, president of Zip.ca, last month told CBCNews.ca the site was sticking with HD DVD as consumers had not yet chosen a preferred format although the film studios obviously had. The two similar but incompatible formats were neck and neck in total rentals on Zip.ca, he said in January.
Anderson could not be reached for comment on Monday.
HD DVD was dealt a decisive blow in June last year when Blockbuster, the largest movie rental chain in North America, announced it was going Blu-ray only. The battle was all but settled just before this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, when Warner Bros. announced it was dropping its support of HD DVD. Warner Bros. joined Disney, Sony, 20th Century Fox and MGM in backing Blu-ray, leaving only Paramount and Universal still supporting HD DVD.
Toshiba has lowered prices on its HD DVD players since Warner's announcement. Microsoft Corp. also lowered the price on the HD DVD add-on player for its Xbox 360 video game console.
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- Everest victim's husband says family not seeking government help
- The husband of a Toronto woman who died trying to climb Mt. Everest on Saturday says his family is not seeking government help to cover the cost of bringing his wife's body home. more »
- B.C. premier unhappy with disgraced Mountie's transfer
- B.C. Premier Christy Clark says she is not happy with the RCMP decision to transfer a disgraced Alberta Mountie to the West Coast. more »
- Henrique's OT goal sends Devils into Stanley Cup final
- The New Jersey Devils will vie for a potential fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history after defeating the New York Rangers in six games in the Eastern final, courtesy of rookie Adam Henrique's goal early in overtime. more »
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped
- The federal government is scrapping two review boards used by people appealing decisions made about their employment insurance. more »
Latest Technology & Science News Headlines
- Unloading of docked SpaceX capsule to start Saturday
- The privately bankrolled SpaceX Dragon capsule made a historic arrival at the International Space Station on Friday, and astronauts will begin unloading some of the 544 kilograms of food, water, clothing and other supplies its carrying starting Saturday. more »
- South Africa, Australia to share world's largest telescope
- South Africa and Australia will jointly host the Square Kilometre Array, which promises to be the world's largest telescope, the international consortium in charge of the project said Friday. more »
- Bonavista, N.L., 'coyote' was really wolf, tests confirm
- Wolves have not been seen in Newfoundland since around 1930 and were believed to have been hunted to extinction on the island, but genetic tests have confirmed that an 82-pound animal shot on the Bonavista Peninsula in March was, in fact, a wolf. more »
- Once-rare argus butterfly thriving thanks to climate change
- Global warming is threatening the existence of many species, such as the giant polar bear, but in the case of Britain's brown argus butterfly, it took a species in trouble and made it thrive. more »
- Yahoo scraps digital magazine designed for iPad
- Yahoo has killed Livestand, a tablet magazine, just six months after its debut on the iPad. more »
Bob McDonald's Blog
Government to shut down unique fresh water research area May. 25, 2012 12:31 PM The Experimental Lakes Area research facility in Northern Ontario is being closed down after 44 years of providing invaluable data to scientists in Canada and internationally, a decision that has stunned researchers and environmental groups.
Quirks & Quarks
- May 26: Before the Lights Go Out May. 25, 2012 4:15 PM A new book, "Before the Lights Go Out: Conquering the Energy Crisis Before It Conquers Us", suggests that the unpredictable, unplanned, ad-hoc way our energy use developed in the past will shape our energy future.
Latest Features
- Aylmer triple stabbing leads to first-degree murder charges
- Everest victim's husband says family not seeking government help
- B.C. premier unhappy with disgraced Mountie's transfer
- Third B.C. salmon farm quarantined
- What a Greek euro exit could mean for Canada
- RCMP officer charged in fatal crash
- Canada ending 'Buffalo shuffle' for visas, closing consulate
- Reclaiming the dead on Mt. Everest
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped
