Dissecting the Insanity: What does the Paramount deal really mean?
Posted August 21, 2007 by Josh
When the press release was issued stating that Paramount would be supporting HD DVD exclusively, it was a huge shock to the Blu-ray community. What would drive a movie studio to abandon the more widely adopted high definition format, abandoning potentially millions of Blu-ray consumers, for an inferior, under-supported format? As we found out, it was a red suitcase filled with $150M and the promise to extend this needless format war for another 18 months.
Paramount hasn't been a huge player in the high definition war thus far; they've only managed to produce 33 titles for Blu-ray. In sharp contrast, Fox/MGM has so far released 38 titles (over the course of six months) and has another 29 planned for the remainder of the year. Additionally, Paramount has been the slowest to adopt the latest technology, just recently adding AVC support (with ‘Flags of Our Fathers') and almost supporting lossless audio (a PCM track was planned for ‘Blades of Glory'). Their releases are solid, but not even close to the presentations delivered by diehard Blu-ray supporters Disney and Sony.
So why did the HD DVD Promo Group pay $150M for exclusive support if that support would be weak? Very simply, they were in deep trouble heading into the forth quarter of the year. Universal, previously the only exclusive HD DVD studio, had seriously bombed in the theater during the summer months, meaning they had few if any blockbuster release for the holiday season on home video. HD DVD needed a reason to exist, and an ultra special edition of ‘Evan Almighty' just wasn't going to cut it.
Essentially, they spent $150M for the exclusive rights to ‘Transformers' and ‘Shrek the Third'; and of course, potentially, any other Paramount/Dreamworks blockbusters released in the next year. What remains to be seen is if these high profile releases can do what other exclusive high profile releases have failed to achieve: sell HD DVD players.
What the HD DVD Promo Group really bought was one year of life-support for the ailing format. An end to this war was penciled in for early next year, but with this recent shift in support, there is little hope for that now. The shift adds more confusion to an already confusing format war, and consumers will simply stay away until the dust settles; and who can blame them? If a studio can be so easily bought, why shouldn't they hold out until the HD DVD Promo Group is ready to buy their support as well?
The obvious first reaction is what you have been witnessing on this website and others: panic. It is easy to let a big press release make you doubt why you chose Blu-ray in the first place, but Paramount's support wasn't the only reason. I can't lie, the news does sting as I have enjoyed many Paramount releases, but I won't let it sway my stance. Stay “Tru Blu” and keep supporting Blu-ray. Resist supporting an inferior technology for one or two movies, and enjoy the countless classics currently on and coming soon to Blu-ray. The best Hollywood studios, most respected producers and directors, and even Paramount's own engineering staff prefer Blu-ray over HD DVD. They all have voices, and not even $150B will be enough to silence them all.
*This is an opinion piece by Josh Dreuth, and does not necessarily reflect the feelings of Blu-ray.com, its owners, employees, or members.*
