High-def DVD battle heats up
Warner might soon choose a side
By Thomas K. Arnold
Oct 31, 2007

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment worldwide president and Blu-ray Disc proponent Bob Chapek on Tuesday blasted the rival HD DVD camp for prolonging the format war when it is clear that Blu-ray is the odds-on favorite.

"Blu-ray's competition's attempts to sell less than the best will inevitably be trumped by what we stated from the very beginning: That the Blu-ray technology is not a half-step format that will sell consumers short, but rather it is a revolutionary technology that will change the way we view movies for the long term," Chapek said near the conclusion of a two-day Blu-ray Festival in Hollywood.

"And we firmly believe that revolutionary technology, my friends, is indisputably, undeniably and inevitably Blu-ray." Chapek's fierce rhetoric, coming during a gala Disney launch party for Blu-ray editions of "Cars" and "Ratatouille," underscores the enmity in Hollywood between the studios supporting Blu-ray and those behind next-generation rival HD DVD.

Disney, along with Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Lionsgate, are exclusively in the Blu-ray camp. Universal Studios and Paramount/DreamWorks only support HD DVD, while Warner Home Video, at least for now, releases titles in both formats.

The Hollywood Reporter
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