While Blu-ray is dominating the market in the US, the Financial Times has reported that a number of Europe's independent film studios have decided to support the rival format, HD DVD. According to the article, this decision was primarily due to HD DVD's lower production costs and the belief that HD DVD players will come down in price faster than Blu-ray players.
About 35 European films are available on the HD-DVD format, compared with less than 10 for Blu-Ray. The larger European studios such as Studio Canal and Pathé in France, Filmax and DeAPlaneta in Spain, and Imagion and Nixbu in Germany have all announced plans to use the HD-DVD technology.
Although most commentators agree that the deciding battles in the format war will be fought in Hollywood, analysts such as Richard Cooper at Screen Digest say the importance of European independent studios should not be underestimated. European independent films account for only 30 per cent of the market in the UK, but 50 per cent in France, 40 per cent in Germany and 35 to 40 per cent in Spain.
While HD DVD has a market lead in Europe, this could very well change with the recent launch of the PS3. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here.
