Wednesday, September 12, 2007

No Free HD-DVD in Australia

Well, this is just not fair. In the UK, Matrix fans were rejoicing because they got a free present when purchasing the Matrix Trilogy in HD-DVD. The gift was a brand new HD-DVD player. Yes, a free high-definition player for 60 pounds (around $150) and don't forget you get the Matrix Trilogy as well. The player was a Toshiba HD-E1 which is valued at about $800.

This is definitely an excellent idea of promoting the new HD-DVD format. Remember that Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are still fighting for a pole position in the market of next-gen format. Blu-Ray seems to be taking the lead with the help of PS3. Blockbuster will only rent Blu-Ray movies. In Australia, music giant JB Hi-Fi announced that it will only sell Blu-Ray movies as well.

However, HD-DVD still is going strong. Paramount recently announced that they have chosen to side with HD-DVD. They were publishing movies in both formats before but not anymore. This means blockbuster movies such as Transformers will only be available in HD-DVD.

Actually, I don't mind if the two formats co-exist together as long as movies are not published both formats. Each movie should only be published in one format, either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray. Having 2 different players is fine, just get a PS3 and Xbox 360 (with the extra HD-DVD player) or just wait a little longer for a hybrid player that can play both formats.

Anyway, back to the Matrix. The movie is planned to be released next year in Australia (in HD-DVD) but there is no plans to distribute a free HD-DVD player with it or running a similar promotion. I guess we can only wait and see. In the mean time, if you want to check out the photos for the UK Matrix event, click here.

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