Toshiba takes European lead over Sony in HD (film studios & production companies)

LOXjet

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A number of European independent film studios and DVD production companies are opting for Toshiba's HD-DVD format over the rival Sony technology, thanks to a strong support programme by the HD-DVD camp and concerns over the price of Blu-Ray technology.

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.

Toshiba and Microsoft have launched a large support campaign for European Studios adopting HD-DVD.

Rodolphe Buet, head of business and marketing at Studio Canal, says: "I have met much more commitment from partners involved with HD-DVD than Blu-Ray. I met Sony in mid-2006 but the support was far below what was offered by the HD-DVD partners."

David Walstra, vice-chairman of the Europe's Blu-Ray Disc Association, admits Sony has concentrated its efforts on the US, and has felt it too early to work with European studios.
 
this is the kind of info that should be shouted from the roof tops
like sony do about selling 100k of casino royal although that was a lie on sony part
 
I've come across similar aritcles on other net sites that say HD DVD is leading in Europe.
 
The title should say PAST tense.
wk14formatsalesunitsao5.png


Time (and the PS3) has caught up. Read the format war thread.
http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=477024
 
I think a couple of responders have missed the point of the article.

It is not about adoption by consumers and how many discs they have purchased.

What it is about is how many European studios have gone one way or the other and how many non-Hollywood titles have been released.
 
The point of my post; this should be in the format war thread.
 
You could say the same about Hollywood and there formulaic plots. There's been a few good films from Hollywood and a huge amount of films shovelled out that do nothing for me.
 
But it's the american films that the major studios have their money behind. You could easily put this European film arguement in the same category as the pron market.. niche and attracted to the small minority, and that'll hardly make a contribution to the overall sales of either format compared to the Hollywood blockbusters.
 
The title should say PAST tense.
If you had actually cared to read the entire thread title and\or article (instead of getting red mist after the words "Toshiba takes European lead over Sony in HD") then you would actually find that this has nothing todo with your precious sales numbers.

It's about the growing number of film studios, production companies & distributors in Europe who are committing to HD DVD and not Blu-ray (and the reasons behind their decisions).

European studios have a good share of the market in Europe (who would have thought that eh!) so this is very relevant. Even more so when you consider a lot of American films are distributed in Europe through these very same companies.

Mods, please may I ask that the offending posts be removed (I'm sure they are already covered in the 'sales figures' thread) for fear of this turning into another one of 'those' threads?
 
But it's the american films that the major studios have their money behind.
And who do you think distributes a lot of these American films in Europe... the very same companies that have chosen HD DVD (i.e. Studio Canal, Optimum, Momentum, Pathe etc).
 
If you had actually cared to read the entire thread title

This should be in the format war thread.

As for the studio's, like who are they? do they constitute even 10% of the film market? I doubt it.
 
Aren't Stidio Canel now dual format, they deceided the Blu-ray market couldn't be ignored.

Is there any reason to doubt this will not happen with other studios?

I keep hearing about European distributers having these large porfolio's, but looking at recent releases it appears major Hollywood studios are increasingly distibuting their own movies.

T2 from Studio Canal is often highlighted, but how old is that movie now?
 
Contrary to those who believe Hollywood to be the only player in world cinema, the European film industry is incredibly important to film lovers such as myself and having Studio Canal et al actively supporting HD DVD can only be a great benefit to the format. This is especially true in non-UK European countries where there is less of a focus on American productions.
 
As for the studio's, like who are they? do they constitute even 10% of the film market? I doubt it.
I suggest you do your homework before you post comments like that, it really doesn't do you any favours.

If you had taken the time to read the article (instead of the normal defensive pro Blu-ray post we have come to expect) then you would have read the following...

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.

These numbers are unlikely to include back catalogue blockbuster titles, so they may be even higher with those taken into account (speculation on my part though).

This is one of the reasons why you can pickup titles on HD DVD in Europe that are exclusive to Blu-ray in the US.

If you live in Europe this is a big deal.
 
Can I point out that Hollywoodland (a Universal film) has just been released in Europe on Blu-ray. Good news for those who would like to watch the film but can't because their XE1 won't play it.
 
T2 from Studio Canal is often highlighted, but how old is that movie now?

About as old as the number of times Spiderman or POTC is mentioned in certain threads. ;)
 
T2 from Studio Canal is often highlighted, but how old is that movie now?

Since when as the age of a film ever mattered to those who love cinema?

Would you prefer a Rembrandt or Gilbert & George?
 
As for the studio's, like who are they? do they constitute even 10% of the film market? I doubt it.

As mentioned above European films make up a far larger share than that of the European market.

Not only that, they own the rights to many American films which are Blu Ray exclusive in America.

I have just bought 2 movies from Amazon France.
 
Unfortunately this comes down to demographics again. Most of said Euro films tend to be more arthouse than wham bang thank you maam. A blurred line (no pun intended, or slight on any format) around the age of 35 once again. Deriding T2, for instance. Some of us are old enough to have seen the 15- rated film on 1st release, and hold it in nostalgic esteem. It's unavoidable that HD-DVD seems to have more 'grown up' films. Not to say that us wrinkly ones don't watch bond, or any fox titles, of course we do. It's more what the younger people don't see as appealing that leads to these kind of arguments. It's just personal taste, nothing to get worked up about. And before you raise the disney/kids thing, my kids are too old for Disney. They watch stuff like Waynes world, and Tremors when their mates sleep over. I'm very pleased to hear that the youth of today is not attracted to porn though.:D :rotfl:
 
Do those referring to porn as a "small" and "niche" market actually know the dollar stats when compared to the Hollywood machine just in the US ? Perhaps time to do a little research. Probably the same dead heads who ignore foreign films and prefer machine generates scripts.
 

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