Paramount Drops Blu-ray Support; Does Not Include Spielberg Movies
Despite selling more movies on the Blu-ray format, Paramount has announced today that they will begin supporting HD DVD exclusively. This move, rumored to be driven by a $150M exclusivity deal with the HD DVD group, comes after Paramount began favoring Blu-ray releases with higher quality video encodings and more HD features. The deal covers all of Paramount’s properties excluding those directed by Steven Spielberg.
The move will inevitably lengthen a format war which should never have been. Consumers will unfortunately suffer the most, as they will be forced to support a format which is being supported by corporations instead of consumers. No word was given as to how long the exclusivity agreement is for, but rumors indicate through 2008.
