Netflix to Support High Resolution DVDs at Launch

[Audioholics]

Netflix announced today that it will carry the first movies available in HD DVD when the new high-definition format launches in late March, according to plans recently outlined by several major movie studios, and said it will similarly offer titles in the Blu-ray format when that product launches, expected to be later this year. Netflix said it will make the high-def DVD titles available at launch as a way of supporting the next-generation DVD format and signaling its belief that while initial adoption may be limited the market will eventually migrate to high-definition.

[Read More]

 

[HookedOnSound]

If you think about it, Netflix is in a perfect situation to offer both formats as opposed to traditional movie rental franchises.

They won't have to invest a whole lot more in their inventory since the business model they use should easily identify trends and adjust accordingly.

 

[Audioholics]

The smart people do seem to be hedging their bets... although my guess/bet would have to be on Bill Gates and Intel's ViiV technology taking over the living room... There's no format war when you get content fed to a PC from the Internet or cable service.

Who knows...

 

[mtrycrafts]

If you think about it, Netflix is in a perfect situation to offer both formats as opposed to traditional movie rental franchises.

They won't have to invest a whole lot more in their inventory since the business model they use should easily identify trends and adjust accordingly.

Invest? The only thing they need to do is buy the discs, store it on the shelves or however they store them, add it to their listing and off they go.

Wonder what the costs will be?

 

[Duffinator]

That's great news

I checked the Netflix site but couldn't find anything on pricing, although initially they may not charge a premium. It's in Netflix best interest to promote anything DVD including HD/BD DVD formats. There's no need for them to chose sides. I'll be waiting for a while but if the down converted images (480P) look noticeably better than current DVD I might buy a player very early. My five year old HDTV doesn't have a digital input so I'm screwed there for watching a 1080i picture.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

Thats just awesome.

But if they allow you to choose between DVD, HDDVD and BRD for the same low price on the standard plan? That will be double awesome!

 

[Audioholics]

It will be interesting to see if Blockbuster follows suit - my guess is 'no' since they are traditionally very late to adopt new technology. Plus they have such shortages already I can't image what they'd do with HD formats - they would probably stock a couple copies of the new releases and let people wait 2 months for them to become available.

But I'm not bitter.

 

[Duffinator]

It will be interesting to see if Blockbuster follows suit - my guess is 'no' since they are traditionally very late to adopt new technology. Plus they have such shortages already I can't image what they'd do with HD formats - they would probably stock a couple copies of the new releases and let people wait 2 months for them to become available.

But I'm not bitter.

That reminds me of a few years ago when Blockbuster said Netflix was a niche market and they weren't worried about them and had no intention of doing online rentals. This is what I think of Blockbuster...

 

[BMXTRIX]

5 million PS3s plus 7 copies of Spiderman 3 = a lot of very unhappy people.

May be time for me to switch to Netflix.

 

[gellor]

Thats just awesome.

But if they allow you to choose between DVD, HDDVD and BRD for the same low price on the standard plan? That will be double awesome!

From http://thomashawk.com/2006/01/netflix-continues-online-dvd-dominance.html

In their conference call Netflix CEO Reed Hastings went on to add, "We will offer all HDTV titles the day they launch at no extra cost." When pressed for more details about the costs of HDTV DVDs during the Q&A session, Hastings commented that as far as the short term costs go, "we don't see any, it will be the same content cost as we're planning to spend so there is no impact in this year and probably for several years out."​

 

[Naves74]

Does anyone know a figure of how many HD-DVD or Blueray titles there will be around launch. And do the major studios plan on releasing some new titles each week in HD?

 

[Grubert]

Does anyone know a figure of how many HD-DVD or Blueray titles there will be around launch. And do the major studios plan on releasing some new titles each week in HD?

I put up a color-coded list of launch titles on another forum. Bear in mind that, as the two launches are not expected to be simultaneous, this list doesn't mean everything listed will be available at a given time. But going from the studios' press releases, it is really the best we can do at the time.


40-Year-Old Virgin (U)
Aeon Flux (P)
Apollo 13 (U)
Armageddon (D)
Batman Begins (0328) (W)
Behind Enemy Lines (F)
Blazing Saddles (0509) (W)
Bourne Supremacy (U)
Bram Stoker's Dracula (S)
Brothers Grimm (D)
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory (0516) (W)
Chronicles of Riddick (U)
Cinderella Man (0328) (U)
Constantine (0328) (W)
Dark Water (USA remake) (D)
Desperado (S)
Devil's Rejects (L)
Dinosaur (D)
Doom (U)
Dukes of Hazzard (0509) (W)
Dune (mini-series) (L)
Everest (D)
Fantastic Four (F)
Fifth Element (S)
For a Few Dollars More (S)
Four Brothers (P)
Full Metal Jacket (0509) (W)
Goodfellas (0425) (W)
Great Raid (D)
Green Mile (0516) (W)
Guns of Navarone (S)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (0411) (W)
Hero (D)
Hitch (S)
House of Flying Daggers (S)
Ice Age (F)
Italian Job (P)
Jarhead (U)
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (D)
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (D)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (0425) (W)
Kiss of the Dragon (F)
Knight's Tale (S)
Kung Fu Hustle (S)
Ladder 49 (D)
Last Samurai (0411) (W)
Last Waltz (S)
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (F)
Legends of the Fall (S)
Lethal Weapon (0411) (W)
Lord of War (L)
Manchurian Candidate (remake) (P)
Matrix (0425) (W)
Million Dollar Baby (0328) (W)
Oceans 12 (0516) (W)
Phantom of the Opera (0328) (W)
Punisher (L)
Rambo: First Blood (L)
Reservoir Dogs (L)
Resident Evil Apocalypse (S)
Robocop (S)
Rumor Has It (0509) (W)
Sahara (P)
Saw (L)
See No Evil (L)
Sense and Sensibility (S)
Serenity (U)
Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow (P)
Sleepy Hollow (P)
Species (S)
Stealth (S)
SWAT (S)
Swordfish (0425) (W)
Syriana (0425) (W)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (L)
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (0509) (W)
Tomb Raider (P)
Total Recall (L)
Training Day (0411) (W)
Troy (0516) (W)
Twister (0328) (W)
U2: Rattle and Hum (P)
U-571 (U)
Unforgiven (0411) (W)
Van Helsing (U)
We Were Soldiers (P)
XXX (S)


Blue: launch in Blu-ray only
Red: launch in HD DVD only
Green: launch in both Blu-ray and HD DVD