Netflix to support HD DVD and Blu-ray

We're not entirely sure why Netflix sent out a release today saying they're planning on supporting both HD DVD and Blu-ray when titles hit the market -- something we more or less anticipated -- but we found it a little bizarre that the title of said press release was "Netflix Will Support High-Def DVD at Launch." Ok, maybe it's because HD DVD is supposed to make it to market before Blu-ray, but we still find it a little bizarre that they'd be so blatantly headlining one standard over the other when they plan to support both. Either way, they claim we should expect discs in late March -- no word on whether there'll be a "high def" account or increased fees for renting next-gen discs.

[Dignan17 @ Jan 24th 2006 12:46PM]

Technically, both standards are "High-Def DVD." So what's your point? What else are they supposed to call them? Between consoles and these formats, you have no idea how tired I am of hearing the words "next generation."

HD just happens to have the better, more marketable name. Frankly, I think that will be its biggest advantage. The average customer has heard the "high definition" buzz words. I think a lot of them will be thinking "what the heck is a 'blue ray'?"

[Brian @ Jan 24th 2006 12:51PM]

Like #1 said, there's a difference between HD DVD and high-def DVD.

Scary that you're getting confused, imagine what's going to happen within the general pubic.

[chris @ Jan 24th 2006 12:53PM]

dignan:
a-FREAKING-men

[Joe the Consumer @ Jan 24th 2006 12:53PM]

I agree with Dignan. Adoption of the HD-DVD format will be easier in the minds of most people who are not technically inclined if the format is self-explanatory. In all the talk about features and capacities and studio acceptance, this simple fact has been largely ignored.

[Mojo @ Jan 24th 2006 1:09PM]

Uhh yea, "High-Def DVD" refers to BOTH HD DVD and Blu-Ray. They aren't singling one out over the other.

[j.d. @ Jan 24th 2006 1:27PM]

While I would normally agree with poster #1, this is one of a few cases where I think that using the IP of the incumbent standard will be a detriment rather than a benefit -- the logic?

With the advent of digital video reproduction for home, the DVD was slowly adopted by the general public and thus replaced VHS with a completely new format altogether.

The differences between DVD and hi-def DVD are less obvious in terms of public perceptions, i.e. they are both still discs of the same physical size, are read by optical drives, and "HD-DVD" even continues to retain the DVD nomenclature.

Due to this, I believe that the average electronics consumer will not feel the desire or need to 'upgrade' or 'replace' their current (now obsolete! ha!) hardware for an incremental increase in perceived performance. The name "HD-DVD", imho, implies more of an incremental/nominal change than the completely different tag "Blu-Ray" and I think the B-R contingent will have an easier time marketing their hi-def format as something must-have revolutionary.

[mike @ Jan 24th 2006 1:28PM]

This is just a press release to get attention, Netflix doesn;t have a choose about what they support. They will support what ever they publishers choose because thats the format that is sent to them.

[chay @ Jan 24th 2006 1:38PM]

and what happens when the NEXT gen TV/movie format comes out? Will that be EHD-DVD (Even Higher Def DVD)? or SDHQ (Super Dooper High Quality) recordings?

[monmin @ Jan 24th 2006 1:43PM]

In the past, Netflix CEO has stated that he thought Blu-Ray might win the format war.

That statement made a lot of people on home theater forums speculate that Netflix would only support Blu-Ray.

So this PR clarifies Netflix official position on the format war. I think it is a wise choice.

[Marcus @ Jan 24th 2006 1:50PM]

Yeah, I'm fairly certain that their use of the phrase "high-def DVD" was an attempt to encompass both the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray formats. How else are you supposed to collectively refer to the "next generation"
of DVD's?

And I agree; HD-DVD will by default have a larger fanbase, mainly because of the current market saturation of "HD" technology. The term "Blu-Ray" will no doubt scare off quite a few people who just aren't familiar with it.

[Russell Page @ Jan 24th 2006 2:00PM]

I think everybody is getting caught up over the difference between the standards, when NetFlix was obviously just working on getting some press.

a) HD DVD/BluRay is a hot topic. No matter what it's called, both formats are actually in essence high definition dvd. So to say "Netflix Will Support High-Def DVD at Launch" doesn't hint that they will actually support HD DVD.

b) The topic is so hot right now, they can use the coattails to get some press.

I work as a PR consultant, and this seems to be exactly what they have done.

[Dignan17 @ Jan 24th 2006 2:06PM]

j.d.:

I agree with your assessment until the end. I've been thinking the same thing. I think both formats are going to do much worse than these companies expect, because the average consumer will not recognize the difference in DVD-to-hidefDVD as they did with VHS-to-DVD. But I think this effect is going to apply equally to both standards, mostly due to the cost of the discs and the equipment required to play them.

And no offense, but I must disagree with this statement: "the DVD was slowly adopted by the general public." Wasn't the DVD the most quickly adopted technology in history? Sorry, it's nitpicking, but I had to call you on it :)

[HOMESLICE @ Jan 24th 2006 2:19PM]

It doesnt matter. DVD will be the last "widely standardized" digital storage medium that mankind ever uses. From here on out it will be "flash" or broadband delivery or some new storage tech. having a ubiquitous hardware storage standard doesnt matter any more in a world with universal connectivity...

[Charles @ Jan 24th 2006 2:52PM]

Interesting... zip.ca (the Canadian equivalent of Netflix) also posted a similar announcement (that they will be supporting high def formats as they become available). Do you think these services have received pressure to make these announcements, and if so, from who? the manufacturers? their customers?

[jeff @ Jan 24th 2006 3:11PM]

I bet netflix charges extra for next-gen discs.

It's really annoying that the only real advantage HD DVD has is a good name. ...it is a damn good name though. (It's selling point is exactly that it IS incremental, and backwards-compatible. if it LOOKED like a new format, a new name would be better.)

[Andy Couch @ Jan 24th 2006 3:26PM]

I certainly hope Netflix doesn't change their rates. The price different between standard DVD and high-definition DVD isn't all that much anyway.

Back when newly released VHS tapes were over $100 each (before being released as "direct market"), Blockbuster still only charged $3-$4 per rental. Now that DVDs are under $20, Blockbuster charges even more per rental.

[Paulie [eatlga] @ Jan 24th 2006 3:31PM]

Now if they only supported UMD (I believe that they still do not support them) I'd consider rejoining.

[Herby @ Jan 24th 2006 4:04PM]

I think the new formats will be slow to creep into homes. Most people have not even bought HDTV's yet. But what you guys have not mentioned is the inclusion of BD in the PS3. PS2 was a big installed base for the DVD market. When it launched it was the best bang for the buck of a DVD player. The same will be for PS3. This will increase the installed base for BD ten-fold and will incorporate the new vocab of Blue-Ray into the home whether consumers know what the hell it is or not.

[dvdmaster @ Jan 24th 2006 4:10PM]

In the topic of acronyms, most people call DVD - Digital Video Disc, although it was suppose to be Digital Versatile Disc because it is not limited to videos only!

[E-Rock @ Jan 24th 2006 4:26PM]

Paulie, try GameFly. They rent UMD movies as well as PSP games*. Probably makes more sense there than netflix.


*They also do gamecube, xbox, xbox 360 and PS2.

[Tonicboy @ Jan 24th 2006 4:40PM]

I disagree with people that HD DVD is the better name. It is dry and boring. Blu Ray is much catchier. HD DVD might have a very slight advantage in that people understand immediately that is "High Definition", but with all the advertising both camps will be throwing at this war, it will only be a couple months before everyone in the world realizes that Blu Ray is essentially the same thing. Then, HD DVD loses that slight advantage and is left with a boring five-syllable name while Blu Ray is... well, "Blu Ray"!

[evo @ Jan 24th 2006 10:36PM]

Tonicboy is right. HD-DVD is calling it like it is, which has the advantage of transparency to the consumer. Blu-Ray is trying for the Amazon effect--attach an arbitrary, catchy name to something and define the thing on your own terms. The latter is a gamble because it requires brand awareness, but it has better potential to define exactly what you want people to think about it.

Frankly, I don't think lay people will have any problem differentiating these two, as long as they hear about them both (and they will). It's certainly far better than the brain dead CD-RW and CD+RW debacle. Actually, I expect lay people will likely consider both formats "HD-DVD", with the idea that Blu-Ray is a better version of "plain" HD-DVD.

[illovich @ Jan 24th 2006 11:08PM]

The problem with GameFly (although I liked their service when I was a member) is that it's the cost of an additional NetFlix membership (I forget somewhere in the $10-20/month range).

I don't really rent video games since I tend to longer on them, and it often is actually cheaper to buy them (my wife and took 4 months to play through the rented Final Fantasy X... definitely should have bought it). But I'd like to rent umds for trips on planes and trains, and it would be nice if I could use my NetFlix membership for that...

So, I'm going to agree that it would be nice if they also supported UMDs.

Of course, my Neuros MP4 recorder should arrive soon... maybe I won't care about UMDs at all....

[Stevieo @ Jan 25th 2006 2:53AM]

Not really being knowledgable about the whole thing... I would speculate that BluRay is a new type of high capacity disk and HD-DVD is any DVD media that's been recorded in a HD format.

But basd on what I'm reading here... I take it that HD-DVD is another hardware specific type of high capacity disk?

In my mind HD content should be playable on (PC's) old fashioned DVD players through disk spanning and special storage formats.

So naming a special prioprietary disk and play-back hardware "HD-DVD" is really not good for me.

Is that what's going on?

[Pip @ Jan 25th 2006 9:24AM]

Blu-Ray is anything but catchy as far as names go. When you have a name such as HD-DVD it is not only a name, but a legacy to the format name as well. People know its High Def, and they know its a DVD - And that is what will count. Blu-Ray, the first thought you get is some light show during a Pink Floyd concert and flying inflatable pigs.

[[e-mail] @ Jan 25th 2006 4:11PM]

1 Is Blu-ray the same thing as HD-DVD?


No, HD-DVD (previously known as AOD) is the name of a competing next-generation optical disc format developed by Toshiba and NEC. The format is quite different from Blu-ray, but also relies heavily on blue-laser technology to achieve a higher storage capacity. The format is being developed within the DVD Forum as a possible successor to the current DVD technology.


What's the difference between Blu-ray and HD-DVD?


Parameters
BD-ROM HD-DVD-ROM
Storage capacity (single-layer) 25GB 15GB
Storage capacity (dual-layer) 50GB 30GB
Laser wavelength 405nm 405nm
Numerical aperture (NA) 0.85 0.65
Protection layer 0.1mm 0.6mm
Data transfer rate (1x)
Data transfer rate (movie application)
36.0Mbps
54.0Mbps (1.5x)
36.55Mbps
36.55Mbps

Video compression MPEG-2
MPEG-4 AVC
VC-1
MPEG-2
MPEG-4 AVC
VC-1



Parameters
BD-R HD-DVD-R
Storage capacity (single-layer) 25GB 15GB
Storage capacity (dual-layer) 50GB 30GB
Laser wavelength 405nm 405nm
Numerical aperture (NA) 0.85 0.65
Protection layer 0.1mm 0.6mm
Data transfer rate (1x)
36.0Mbps
36.55Mbps

Video compression MPEG-2
MPEG-4 AVC
VC-1
MPEG-2
MPEG-4 AVC
VC-1



Parameters
BD-RE HD-DVD-RW
Storage capacity (single-layer) 25GB 15GB
Storage capacity (dual-layer) 50GB 30GB
Laser wavelength 405nm 405nm
Numerical aperture (NA) 0.85 0.65
Protection layer 0.1mm 0.6mm
Data transfer rate (1x)
36.0Mbps
36.55Mbps

Video compression MPEG-2
MPEG-4 AVC
VC-1
MPEG-2
MPEG-4 AVC
VC-1

Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD) is the name of a next-generation optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers (including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson). The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as storing large amounts of data. A single-layer Blu-ray Disc can hold 25GB, which can be used to record over 2 hours of HDTV or more than 13 hours of standard-definition TV. There are also dual-layer versions of the discs that can hold 50GB.

Bottom line. Right now Blu-ray holds more has more support. My money is on Blu-ray!

[Bobolito @ Feb 23rd 2006 12:16PM]

Intel and Microsoft have decided to back the HD-DVD format which kinda says a lot because they are the brains behind most computers today. This adds a twist to this war. I just wish they make up their mind about this. I really don't care which one wins as long as they don't end up creating a chaos of media being available in one format or another creating incompatibility problems for some people. I don't want to find myself wanting a title that is available in HD-DVD only and I just bought a BlueRay player. What they should do is just make players that handle both formats and be done with it.

At 25GB for two hours of HDTV quality video on BluRay, it sounds like the streaming rate is similar to that of HDV camcorders. The DV format takes about 13GB for one hour of video in SD or HD format. So 25GB can easily give you 2 hours of HD video as stated.

But what about HD-DVD? Will its 15GB discs give you 2 hours of HD video as well? If so, that will have to be highly compressed video.

[Jecas @ Mar 8th 2006 2:30AM]

Both formats will eventually be supported by all players and/or the two formats will merge into one. Neither side wants to suffer an embarassing loss in the HD arena nor split its customer support for a product which is not going to be perceived by the general public as a "must-have". The only logical course of action is for both sides to consolidate their resources and focus on marketing their products to the relatively small, but growing, HDTV market. There is not going to be a clear-cut winner. At least not until HDTVs are commonplace. Then, everybody (broadcast, cable, satellite, gaming and disc mediums) will display 1080p and all will be right in the HD world. :)

As for myself, I'm going to get both Blu-ray and HD-DVD players.

*Not*

[DVD Rental Fan @ Mar 20th 2006 12:01AM]

When will the blue-ray DVD player come out? Sony just delayed the PS3 launch date to November this year. What about HD-DVD, what's their official launch date?

[Stephen B @ Oct 29th 2006 9:06PM]

Don't you think since there is a "lot" of potential confusion over the various formats, that Netflix has an unusual opportunity to educate and clear up the meanings of the various formats? What about a leader on the selections list, oh my gosh an antiquated "letter", or even a DVD sent gratus to cover the issue. Why chance the cost of all of the confusion by NOT acting now?