Netflix Will Support High-Def DVD at Launch

[Sean Mota]

Netflix Will Support High-Def DVD at Launch
Tuesday January 24, 8:00 am ET Online DVD Rental Leader Embraces 'Next Wave of Consumer Excitement'
LOS GATOS, Calif., Jan. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq, the world's largest online movie rental service, today announced 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.

"High-definition DVD is the next wave of excitement in home entertainment and we'll be there at its inception," said Netflix Chairman and CEO Reed Hastings. "With far sharper images, better sound and more features, we expect high-def will greatly enhance DVD's consumer appeal and extend its popularity over the next decade or more."
With Toshiba's new high-def DVD player now available to be ordered for March delivery at several leading online and big-box retailers, a number of Hollywood studios have announced plans to launch both new and catalog titles on HD DVD beginning late that month. Warner Home Video said at the recent Consumer Electronics Show that it will introduce 24 titles in HD DVD on March 28. Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment and The Weinstein Company made similar announcements.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Lionsgate and Paramount also said at the Consumer Electronics Show that they have each selected between 10 and 20 titles to launch concurrent with the debut of Blu-ray hardware 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. "For those subscribers who have an immediate interest in renting movies in high-def, we're committed to making the full range

 

[way2rude4u]

This is great news, looks like I need to get a Netflix account. And if HD lite continues I will have plenty of money left over each month to pay for the Netflix, when I drop my channels.

 

[Sean Mota]

Now this will be worth having and paying for. If Netflix can get a decent library of High Definition DVDs, I may buy it sooner than later but I will still wait to see how big this library can grow and how fast the studios can make High Def DVDs.

 

[xccell]

This is good stuff guys! I can't wait to put them on my Que.

 

[teamerickson]

Yee Haa!

 

[sampatterson]

For those out there with media networks and storage. From what I have read, rental copies of HD-DVD (like from NetFlix) disks will have Managed Copy disabled (no copies allowed bits set). This means you can't load the content onto a media network, it will be view-only from the HD-DVD. Purchased copies of HD-DVD movies will allow you to copy them onto your media network and authorize up to 3 machines on the same network to view them from your media storage.

Blu-Ray doesn't allow "managed copy" at all in it's initial release and they haven't announced that they will ever add it, so you always have to have the blu-ray disc in the drive to watch material. A very restrictive format for home media networks.

 

[BFG]

Excellent, these DVDs may start my renting!

 

[Jamey K]

Excellent news! Now if I can just decide what format......