Hi-Def News: Netflix to stop carrying HD-DVD, Best Buy to spotlight Blu-Ray

And the hits to HD-DVD keep on comin' ...

Yesterday, two major announcements with major implications for the ongoing format war came within hours of one another. The first was by Netflix, the world's leading provider of online movie rentals, saying that they were immediately ceasing all stock orders of HD-DVD and will phase out HD-DVD rentals by year's end in favor of stocking Blu-Ray. Here's some text from their press release:

Citing the decision by four of the six major movie studios to publish high-def DVD titles only in the Sony-developed Blu-ray format, Netflix said that as of now it will purchase only Blu-ray discs and will phase out by roughly year's end the alternative high-def format, HD DVD, developed by Toshiba.

Since the first high-definition DVDs came on the market in early 2006, Netflix has stocked both formats. But the company said that in recent months the industry has stated its clear preference for Blu-ray and that it now makes sense for the company to initiate the transition to a single format.

It is important to note for the sake of clarity and perspective that only a small portion of Netflix subscribers rent High Definition media in any format. Hardly surprising, since before this holiday season the majority of consumers were adopting the "wait-and-see" approach before doling out the money on a system. But now that Netflix is committing solely to Blu-Ray, I would imagine that small percentage of subscribers to increase dramatically by year's end.

The second major announcement came from Best Buy. Though they will continue to stock HD-DVD players and movies, no doubt to honor their longstanding business relationship with Toshiba, starting in early March Best Buy stores and employees will spotlight Blu-Ray as the recommended choice for viewing high-definition movies and media. Here's some of what Best Buy had to say in public comments about the change:

“Consumers have told us that they want us to help lead the way. We've listened to our customers, and we are responding. Best Buy will recommend Blu-ray as the preferred format,” said Brian Dunn, Best Buy's president and chief operating officer. “Our decision to shine a spotlight on Blu-ray Disc players and other Blu-ray products is a strong signal to our customers that we believe Blu-ray is the right format choice for them."

Dunn continued, “Best Buy has always believed that the customer will benefit from a widely-accepted single format that would offer advantages such as product compatibility and expanded content choices. Because we believe that Blu-ray is fast emerging as that single format, we have decided to focus on Blu-ray products."

“With the explosion of HDTVs, customers are hungry for quality, high definition content. We believe our move to feature Blu-ray should help consumers feel confident in their hi-def content choices,” said Mike Vitelli, Best Buy's senior vice president, Home Solutions. “Best Buy is excited by the next generation of digital products and we know our customers are too. We are excited about helping customers find the right mix of products and services to make the next generation of high definition entertainment technology come alive for them. We believe that Blu-ray is the right solution for consumers."

It will be interesting to see if Circuit City, Best Buy's closest competitor, and other home electronics retailers follow suit in the coming weeks.

Now you gotta love the folks over at the HD-DVD Group. You'd think they're taking their "fight to the end" inspiration from Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign. This statement was issued this morning by the HD-DVD Group:

"We have long held the belief that HD DVD is the best format for consumers based on quality and value, and with more than 1 million HD DVD players on the market, it's unfortunate to see Netflix make the decision to only stock Blu-ray titles going forward. While the Best Buy announcement says they will recommend Blu-ray, at least they will continue to carry HD DVD and offer consumers a choice at retail."

And how about Toshiba, responding to the news a few weeks ago that Woolworth's, the UK's number one electronics retailer, would be switching to Blu-Ray exclusivity:

“While we’re disappointed by Woolworths’ decision, it is extremely early to spot which format will eventually win. As the figures I mention show – where consumers have a choice, they choose HD-DVD.

"We’re confident that HD-DVD’s affordability, fantastic choice of movies, great consumer experience and upcoming promotions will help it continue to strengthen its share of the market.”

Wow.

Does anyone remember back when the war in Iraq began, and there was that one Saddam functionary, his press secretary, who kept making daily announcements to the world on radio and television that the Coalition forces were being routed at every turn, that their bodies were being flung from the walls of Iraqi cities, while at the same time CNN was showing American tanks meeting virtually NO resistance and hundreds of Iraqi soldiers surrendering? I see statements like this from Toshiba and HD-DVD, and I can't help but think of that guy, screaming into a microphone to anyone still listening about impending triumph while outside his window it looks like the last sight Custer ever saw at Little Big Horn.

I'm just waiting for Paramount to announce they're going back to being format-neutral, and releasing films in both formats. That would be within the letter of their previous statements saying they would continue to support HD-DVD while allowing them to cash in on the consumer trend that's obvious to all at this point. When that announcement comes, it's REALLY over for HD-DVD.