The president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment has slammed the Blu-ray video format as a loser, and proclaimed the competing HD-DVD format the winner. His studio followed his comments by completely abandoning the format.
Craig Kornblau’s comments, made in a written statement at the CEDIA EXPO 2005 electronics design show last week in Denver, have been characterized as a serious blow to the Blu-ray camp, led by Sony Electronics.
“The reviews are in and HD-DVD is hands down the leader in picture quality, audio experiences and interactive capabilities that have never been seen before,” Kornblau said.
Within days of Kornblau’s comments, Universal Studios reversed an earlier decision to release movies in the Blu-ray format. PC Magazine confirmed the decision with a spokeswoman representing the Blu-ray Disc Association.
The magazine reported that although Blu-Ray seemed to have won the lion’s share of supporters in the early going, the format has suffered from Sony’s miscues.
Sony has already run into Blu-ray production issues, suffering from a shortage of blue lasers, which has forced the company to delay its PlayStation3 console in Europe, which uses a Blu-ray drive, PC Magazine reported.
