MGM goes public with decision to support Blu-ray format

November 10, 2005

The
Blu-ray camp has just captured a coup with the addition of the MGM portfolio and
now they can claim a full 80% of the available content when added with
other supporters on their list. Reuters reports this is not so
surprising an announcement from MGM Wednesday, as Sony owns 20% of the
independent studio.

But what is most important is that Blu-ray can now
add some 4.000 films and also a considerable amount of television titles to
it's arsenal. This has to be hitting rival HD-DVD where it hurts,
considering it's a widely held belief that whoever can garner the most
support from studios and therefore provide the content to kick start the next
gen high def format, will win the game.

MGM said
it plans to begin releasing film and television titles from its library of
4,000 films when the new Blu-ray hardware launches in North America, Japan
and Europe.

"MGM's library coming to Blu-ray is
certainly a nice feature in the Blu-ray's camp," said Gerry Kaufhold,
analyst with In-stat.

Last month, Warner Bros., a long time
supporter of HD DVD among Hollywood studios, threw its weight behind
Sony's rival Blu-ray format, following a similar move by
Paramount.

One format will ultimately triumph,
industry members said, as in the high-stakes home video battle between VHS
and Betamax in the 1980s.

So when is it going to launch and how much will the cost
be? Inquiring minds want to know! You can read the article in it's entirety from the original source here.

Source: Reuters