Netflix Goes Blu-ray Exclusive

Posted February 11, 2008 by Josh

The popular online video rental service Netflix has announced that they have decided to support Blu-ray exclusively for high definition movie rentals. Pointing to the Warner Brothers exclusivity announcement as the main reason for the shift, Netflix will no longer purchase movies in the rival HD DVD format, and once the life cycle for those discs has ended, they will no longer stock the format for rent.

Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix commented, "The prolonged period of competition between two formats has prevented clear communication to the consumer regarding the richness of the high-def experience versus standard definition. We are now at the point where the industry can pursue the migration to a single format, bring clarity to the consumer and accelerate the adoption of high-def. Going forward, we expect that all of the studios will publish in the Blu-ray format and that the price points of high-def DVD players will come down significantly."

While only a small percentage of Netflix users rent high definition movies, the majority of those who do take advantage of the services are renting Blu-ray. They expect that the shift to a single format will ultimately allow Netflix to provide a better service to those high definition customers.

Thanks to Blu-Ray.com