Studios Will Do Better With Two DVD Formats

A report from the media group Screen Digest that was commented on in today’s Variety edition has suggested that movie studios and television networks will fair better if they don’t chose one DVD format over another when releasing their product on disc.

According to the study HD DVD and Blu-ray formats will gain a stronger foothold by co-existing and unlike the old Betamax versus VHS battle of the 1970’s, there is a large enough worldwide market now to support both Blue-ray and HD DVD without the need to eliminate the other.

Taking their research out to the year 2011, Screen Digest says that any studio or network that chooses to support only one format will be missing out of a significant amount of profit and the cheap availability of creating both Blue-ray and HD DVD discs for sale should not hinder those profits, especially in the ever-growing North American, Mexico and European markets. The loss in profits by choosing just one format for their product could cost a company as much as $270 million (USD) according to the report, and worldwide consumer spending on a combinded market could easily surpass the $1.5 billion (USD) mark in 2008 alone.

“Christmas 2007 is going to be critical for the hi-def video business,” says Richard Cooper, Screen Digest Video Analyst. “Both formats will be seeking to secure consumer buy-in to their proposition during the critical holiday season but with so much at stake on both sides we think it is highly unlikely that one format will emerge as the ‘winner.’ Once it becomes clear that both formats are gaining customer acceptance, studios that have chosen to support one format over the other will realize that they are missing out on potential sales and will have to decide how long they can afford to place principle over profit. We believe that eventually most will decide to offer their titles on both HD DVD and Blu-ray in order to maximize their returns.”