Netflix picks Blu-ray, good luck renting an HD DVD soon
By Evan Blass 
posted February 11th 2008 8:50AM
posted February 11th 2008 8:50AM
In what can only be classified as yet another crushing blow to the embattled HD DVD camp, rent-by-mail giant Netflix has just announced its intention to only stock Blu-ray titles in the future. Netflix justified its decision by pointing out the fact that most Hollywood studios seem to be converging solely around the Sony-backed format -- a fact that's all too familiar to Toshiba and friends. With both Blockbuster and now the 'Flix having eschewed HD DVD for BD, it's gonna get harder and harder to even find a place to rent those former discs in the first place, let alone one that has a decent selection.Update: It looks like all hope is not lost for HD DVD renters. Not only does Blockbuster Online still carry titles in the endangered format, but Netflix should continue offering a limited selection of discs until current stock is phased out around the end of the year.
I've got two issues I just have to get out. 1) HD-DVD is the better consumer format. It's more cost effective, $150 for a player vs $300 for a Blueray player. The disks are a lower price cost too. Why do the studios think that I will fork over $300 for a replacement DVD player that will be obsolete next year? 2) That's issue two. HD-DVD is dynamicly updateable, Blueray v2 (which incorporates all of the features HD-DVD has now) will not be backwards compatable, except with the PS3. With the high cost of BR being forced onto the consumers, no wonder piracy is an issue. The media companies are too greedy and assume we will burden their costs. I won't this year, maybe not even next year. I will continue to use my standard DVD until they are not made anymore. They are a lower cost and provide me a reasonable picture quality with my upscaling HD-DVD player, and it only cost me $130, not $300. Will someone please explain consumer economics to these large corporations. They just can't seem to understand that they are a luxury, not a requirement and every pirated movie is not a lost sale. Isn't the market suppose to follow the will of the consumer. If this was true, then every major studio would be selling their media at a low cost via bit-torrent and the pirates would not need to exist.
As someone who didn't adopt either format, I'm just glad to see this finally being wrapped up. I've waited forever to choose one or the other, but didn't want to waste my money on something that would become garbage in a year. This is great news.
As soon as all the HD-DVD movies are gone from my queue, I'll be canceling my account...I guess an extra $20 in the bank account will be good for something else LOL
I'm so glad I don't have an HD-DVD or a Blu-Ray player so I can just wait for a winning format. DVD FTW.
There are a few things that make me mad about this situation. I to was one who choose netflix because they had the best selection of HD-DVD movies. Will I cancel because of this no. However, in the e-mail they sent out to me it says they are automatically going to start changing my Que to non HD-DVD's starting at the end of this month. I know they are going to no longer be picking up any new HD-DVD's but why get rid of ones they already have so quick? And 2 it really sucks that I have this nice HD-DVD play for My 360(for like $100) and now I am going to have to spend $300 plus on a new Blu-Ray DVD player if I want to continue to watch them. And yes I can tell a difference between regular and Hi-Def dvd's. I especially love the improved sound on them!! On a side note maybe I can pick up a few previously viewed HD-DVD's from them for dirt cheap :)
To bad BlockBuster Online lost a ton of users when Netflix started doing the unlimited streaming.
Between that, and the price hike, thats what made me switch to Netflix.
I wonder if this means NetFlix is finally going to start stocking a reasonable number of Blu-ray discs? I'm so sick of the top 20 movies on my queue all saying 'long wait' and then taking a week to get shipped in from a distribution center across the country. Remember the lawsuit where someone in CA sued because their discs didn't arrive within the claimed 2 days? They didn't know how lucky they were.
I personally enjoy my Hd DVD player for 125 bucks. IT has full functionality and HD quality. Just because Netflix stops carrying HD DVD and even if the format dies I will still have an HD library I won't have to purchase again. So, all the people who suggest getting rid of HD DVDs just because the format may die are obviously deluded. Why throw out my investment. It's still a better up converter.
If a person has 30 HD DVD movies purchased at about 15 dollars each plus player at 150 dollars then that is an HD library for 600 dollars. However, if you buy a Blu ray player for 400 dollars and 30 movies at 25 dollars each equals 1150. Same HD quality but less functionality(unless you buy a PS3 gaming console to play your movies on) for a lot more money.
I could buy a Blu ray player tommorrow. But why? MY Toshiba upconverts my regular DVDs to near HD. I am not in love with HD movies enough to shell out 400 bucks for a player. And the movies are too expensive and limited with an incomplete spec for me to buy. And I am not buying a gaming console to play movies. I am a die hard PC promoter so that is out of the question.
I guess my netflix subscription is getting cancelled at the end of the month since they will no longer carry HD DVD. They just don't have the same value as blockbuster has. I can easily trade in my dvds at the store to get more while I wait for the next ones.
When Blu ray gets settled on there spec and the price comes down significantly to the 150 to 175 range then maybe I will buy blu ray.
I'll continue to purchase movies for both formats until everything is exclusive on Blu-ray mainly because when I buy a movie regardless of the format, I'm buying it to watch over and over again so it really doesn't matter which format it's on as long as it looks and sounds good ya know? Netflix deciding to dump HD-DVD support now sucks from a customer standpoint, but business wise makes sense knowing where the high def future resides in Blu-ray exclusivity and investing more money to provide extra copies for their customers is something perhaps Netflix has in mind I would think. For me personally, the last few months it's been hard to get a new movie title on Blu-ray to ship on the day of release because of high demand and not enough Blu-ray discs to go around for all the customers, so going strictly Blu-ray might insure every customer gets a copy of the movie they want faster and not have to wait a week or more for it to be off the "long wait" list. Netflix has always had an awesome service so we'll see how this works out in the next few months, I see improvement in overall availability of the newer titles customers want as a plus for going Blu-ray exclusive, we'll see.
Yes, I am pretty pissed at Netflix too. We should all write to them and Toshiba. However, I find that I mostly use my players for upscaling regular DVDs, since they do a fantastic job of that. I think that is what slows me down on acquiring more HD-DVD discs. I can throw in the regular one and it looks almost as good as the HD-DVD version. The HD-DVD discs do definitely have higher quality sound though. I will miss that. There certainly had to be some money change hands on this deal. There have been far more HD-DVD players sold than Blu-Ray and PS3. Blu-Ray is still not a finished format. Not all Blu-Ray play in all Blu-Ray players. They have to resort to giving Blu-Ray players away free when you buy a Hi-Def TV. I think the consumer is being screwed…again. Blu-Ray players are still $400 bucks or higher. Netflix own stats say HD-DVD is more popular.
You want to write to Netflix and Toshiba? To say what? That you think there was some sort of bribe to make Netflix stop offering a format that has its studio, retail, and public support crumbling more and more every day? Come on. It's just good business to carry products that make sense, and stop carrying the ones that don't.
Your disappointment is somewhat understandable. I realize that your HD-DVD equipment and movies cost you your hard-earned cash, but if you currently own either format at this point, you're an early adopter and you knew there was a 50% chance of ending up on the losing side, unless you're daft.
It's over. Enjoy the HD-DVD titles you have, stop whining about picking the loser, and move on.
Hi all, I own both formats. 2 blu ray players and 3 hd dvd players. Hd Dvd is by far more affordable to get into. I am also a netflix and blockbuster subscriber. Netflix will be gone. I am one that does not need a studio to tell me how to watch what I watch. Where to purchase my entertainment(brick and mortar versus internet), or what format I will watch it in. Netflix and the like where born out of consumers having a choice. The studios business model is dead, so now that they have figured that out, looks like they have figured out how to control the alternatives that were available. Netflix in the long run will find themselves in the same position that the studios have found themselves in today, obsolete. Because whoever provides the best choices to the consumer, will be the winner. Bluray consortium, HdDvd consortium, or the other Piracy consortium.
they call it a "closing out sale" everything is cheaper because they are getting rid of it. You need to read more and get updated before opening that hole of yours.
I own both formats, one was a gift, br, but I dropped Netflix because on Blockbuster I can rent either one. Netflix I could only rent hd dvd because I chose that format. I gave up instant view but I never used it anyway. I personally like the hd dvd player better, and it upconverts a near hd picture, better than the blu-ray And the blu-ray player will be obselete soon and I will need to purchase another to keep up to date, not so with hd dvd player.
For everyone saying that Sony "owns" Blu-Ray, not so. You need to stop hating Sony for picking the right format in the first place.
HD-DVD DL discs hold 25gb. BD DL discs hold 50gb...almost twice as much. Are you people saying you hate content? You dislike having more storage space? You hate having a media thats scratch and fingerprint resistant?
Forget the marketing, forget the companies, and forget your preconceived notions about who's "out to get you". Look at the actual differences between the formats and the benefits of each. Industry support for BD goes far beyond just Sony. To be honest, I'm rather glad Sony chose BD as their format of choice on the PS3; PS3 exclusive games have much more content than XB360 games could possibly squeeze onto a DVD.
Further, just because the XB360 can upscale regular DVDs to 1080p doesn't mean you're getting the clarity or picture quality of an actual 1080p film. You're still getting a 480p image "upconverted" to 1080p. Granted it will look better, but you still won't have the detail that you would on a Blu-Ray or even an HD-DVD.
I've an Idiot ? Does Blue Ray over HD dvd mean I won't be able to use my existing DVD player for either format?
Another even worse idiot ?. Will hd (HIGh Def?) Tv work for for both?
Got to go......think my Zeinth just blew a tube.
Thanks
You people are so stupid. does it really matter what format they go with. It's inevitable. Even if they chose HD DVD over Blu-Ray people still wouldn't be happy. You can't please everybody. I'm absolutely postive they did a ton of research on it. Compines don't just chose a side without looking at both ends. So I suggest you just get over it and it's your own problem if you bought a 360 and only watch HD DVD movies. You ain't going to stop watching movies. So in the end you will still end up going with whichever one wins. So just shut the fuck up and get over it!
LOL anyone wanna ponny up some dud response now??? It's OVER :) lol as in what everyone has been saying.... "IT's OVER!!!" :) so now just focus on blu HD and get a sweet system! No more bickering about his kind of crap!
I don't own either an HD DVD player or a Blu Ray player. My concern with this "war" is that if the different players aren't allowed to exist then it can create a "monopoly" of sorts. Think about it... In the video game world for instance, you have a PS3 and XBox360 which both have comparable visuals and both end up getting their own versions of the same games. No one is trying to "end" the life of the other. Yes, they are competing for consumer dollars but in the end you pretty much can't go wrong with either system if you want a particular game because chances are it will be out for the system you choose. The weird thing about that is that the Wii is the top dog in the video game sales and what the consumers (last 2 years for christmas) have been desperately trying to find. Yet the Wii doesn't get all the games that the other two systems get. Again, the choice is left up the consumers. My point is this.... Why not allow both the HD DVD/BluRay systems to continue and have movie companies support both. In the end the only ones that can truly win are them. If I am a production company and there are only 100,000 BluRay players out in the market but I also knew that there were 50,000 HD DVD players out, then I would rather make a version for both and have the ability to make money from both groups then to limit myself to one format and hope that all those 100,000 BluRay owners buy my one version. It just makes good business sense. Or better yet, if I were a production company, I would require my movie to be included (in both formats) on some type of double sided Hybrid disk so that no matter who bought it, it would work on their particular player... But ultimately I feel that the consumers should have the last word. I live in a part of the U.S. where people don't really earn alot of money for fancy gadgets and the HD DVD player has been selling for around 60-70 dollars here. This could prompt people in my area to buy this type of player and if it's sale numbers the production companies look at, then what would this do? It would make the HD DVD player appear to be on top. So again, let the consumers decide... that's my two cents.
Netflix. . .All DVD's should clearly state if not in English language and if they even have a queer walk through in the damned things. And Blu ray isn't worth any more than a DVD. Tired of getting movies in the mail that have subtitles and queers. What a waste. Seem not to have any trouble upgrading to a more expensive plan, but hell bent to try and find email or phone complaint system.