The battle of the dueling high-definition DVD formats just got another heavyweight tag-team player in the Blu-ray camp: Walt Disney Company and its Buena Vista Home Entertainment home video division have come out in support of Blu-ray, backed primarily by Sony.
"One of Disney's key priorities is to take advantage of new technologies to drive innovation and growth in order to create increased value for our shareholders," said Disney senior executive vice president Peter E. Murphy, announcing Disney's endorsement. "We believe that Disney's portfolio of outstanding brands and content combined with the Blu-ray technology offers a major step forward for consumers eager to experience high definition content."
Disney will also become a member of the Blu-ray Disc Association Board of Directors, while Buena Vista will begin releasing Blu-ray formatted content when the hardware launches in North America and Japan.
Buena Vista president Robert Chapek—also head of the Digital Entertainment Group, who had told the North American DVD Forum in late October that competing high-definition DVD formats could end up paralyzing the DVD market—said Buena Vista was pleased to support Blu-ray.
"(It) will help set the stage for the next generation of digital video disc," he said at the Disney/Buena Vista announcement. "Blu-ray's excellent combination of advanced functionality, picture quality, data capacity, room for future growth, and advanced rights management for new consumer usage options will provide consumers with an outstanding interactive filmed entertainment experience."
With this move, Disney said, consumers will be able to enjoy a wide range of popular new releases and classic pictures in this advanced, high-definition format from Buena Vista Home Entertainment, which includes Walt Disney Home Entertainment, Hollywood Pictures Home Video, Touchstone Home Entertainment, Miramax Home Entertainment, Dimension Home Video and Disney DVD.
The single-layer Blu-ray disc will hold up to 25 GB of data and a dual-layer Blu-ray disc will hold up to 50 GB, Disney said, letting it store up to five times the amount of content current DVD discs can store. That makes Blu-ray "particularly well-suited" for high-definition feature films with far more additional bonus, interactive, and supplemental material for home buyers.
"We see this action as an exciting opportunity to support the latest advancement in home entertainment technology, said Dennis Maguire, President of Buena Vista Home Entertainment International. "Blu-ray promises to provide consumers in Japan and around the world a rich and thrilling new home entertainment experience," said Buena Vista Home Entertainment International president Dennis Maguire at the announcement. "And for our studio, it provides us with the chance to add unprecedented features and interactivity to the home environment, and thus continuing to enhance the consumers' love affair with movies."
