Netflix choses to exclusively stock Blu-ray

"The industry has picked a winner"

11 February 2008 15:29 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Stating that with the "industry now having picked a winner in the face-off between the two competing high-definition DVD formats", American DVD rental company Netflix has announced it will be stocking high-def DVDs exclusively in the Blu-ray format.

Netflix has said that as of now it will purchase only Blu-ray discs and will phase out HD DVD by the year's end.

Since the first high-definition DVDs came on the market in early 2006, Netflix had stocked both formats but says "it now makes sense for the company to initiate the transition to a single format" and that the "majority" of its next-gen subscribers currently opt for Blu-ray.

"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", said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix.

"We're 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. These factors could well lead to another decade of disc-based movie watching as the consumer's preferred means."