Comment: Paramount confirms "Transformers" Blu-ray release

Is this the most significant HD disc release of the format war?

30 May 2008 14:31 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Arguably the single most interesting individual title to launch during the HD DVD and Blu-ray next-gen disc format war in terms of headlines, Paramount has confirmed that the previous HD DVD flagship movie "Transformers" is to get a Blu-ray release.

The Michael Bay blockbuster will boast high-res audio and BD-Live enabled content when it launches in the States at the start of September.

Whether the "exclusive" content found on the HD DVD (including PIP, a GPS tracking feature and more) will be included on the Blu-ray version is yet to be confirmed, as have exact details of the BD-Live functionality.

The Transformers movie was a mini battleground, a microcosm if you will, of the format war with some truly interesting developments around its release.

Not only did director Michael Bay make headlines for being very vociferous over his displeasure about the film's HD DVD-only release - at one point refusing to make a sequel if it was to be single format - but there was some statistical scandal around the film's launch too.

Paramount declared the title to be the top-selling week one HD release upon its launch (when the HD DVD camp badly needed a public relations boost) a claim later to be called into question by Hollywood statisticians which led to doubts about the bandying around of such questionable figures.

For those of a whimsical disposition, seeing the Blu-ray launch of this title could be argued to be significant as adding a poignant, final and absolute full stop to the format war.