DREAMWORKS - UNIVERSAL SAYS IT WILL SWITCH TO BLU-RAY; PARAMOUNT SILENT

UNIVERSAL SAYS IT WILL SWITCH TO BLU-RAY; PARAMOUNT SILENT

Only hours after Toshiba tossed in the towel in its battle with Sony over consumer high-definition video systems, Universal announced that it will begin releasing both new and catalog titles in the Blu-ray format. Universal and Paramount/DreamWorks had been the last-ditch holdouts in the format war, having committed themselves to Toshiba's HD DVD technology. "The path for widespread adoption of the next-generation platform has finally become clear," Universal said in a statement. "While Universal values the close partnership we have shared with Toshiba, it is time to turn our focus to releasing new and catalog titles on Blu-ray." The decision apparently clears the way for both hold-out studios to begin releasing films by Steven Spielberg, who has insisted that they be released only in the Blu-ray format. Paramount has yet to issue a statement regarding Toshiba's decision.

20/02/2008