Netflix and Blockbuster Both Side with Blu-ray

It’s looking as if Blu-ray is really gaining some major ground in the DVD formatting battle. In fact, it is looking so good for Blu-ray, that you might be able to safely go ahead and purchase a Blu-ray disc player without much concern.

Many major players in the industry have decided to pick sides – and they have decided to go with Blu. Last year, Blockbuster decided to go with just Blu-ray discs at their stores. They actually made this decision by putting it in the hands of customers, as they tested both Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs in their stores and found that the Blu-ray discs were the most popular. As a result, they decided not to bother with HD-DVDs anymore.

Now, Netflix has decided to take the same approach and has announced that it will no longer be purchasing HD-DVD discs. More than likely, Blockbuster’s customers were more interested in Blu-ray discs because Blockbuster also rents video games and the Sony Playstation 3 also doubles as a Blu-ray disc player. Therefore, it only makes sense that these gamers would be renting Blu-ray rather than HD-DVDs.

Making this decision for Netflix probably wasn’t so cut and dry. Nonetheless, many more major studios are deciding to go with Blu-ray, which may be part of the reason Netflix decided to make the commitment. Currently, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Sony Pictures, and Walt Disney have all abandoned HD-DVDs. So far, Universal Studios and Paramount Pictures are still on the HD-DVD bandwagon.

The reasoning really is irrelevant. It is just nice to see that the movie industry seems to be moving in one direction. The public has been left in confusion for far too long and we really do deserve to know which way to go.

So, starting in March, you can expect to see a big push for Blu-ray products at Blockbuster. In addition, while Netflix will still be hanging onto its current stock of HD-DVDs, it won’t be purchasing any new DVDs in that format. So, don’t plan on renting any up-and-coming videos in the HD-DVD format from either of these two major movie rental outlets.