Dutch news paper on victory of Blu-Ray

[msetten]

My regional newspaper in the Netherlands (Dagblad Tubantia) had almost a whole page article about the victory of Blu-Ray. It mentioned that according to many sources, both online and from retailers, Blu-Ray has now become the standard High-Def format. It also mentioned that Blu-Ray had an advantage over HD-DVD of 80-20 in movie sales in the Netherlands last year. It also mentioned that Philips is now becoming more active with Blu-Ray players.

The whole articles made it clear to customers that Blu-Ray is the way to go.

[Nooff]

And right they are

Which region of Holland is it?

[msetten]

Originally Posted by Nooff

And right they are

Which region of Holland is it?

Twente, eastern part of Netherlands.

[Malosch78]

Nice. It's almost the same story and Denmark. Everyone is talking about, that Blu-ray has won and HD-DVD have.

[w_tanoto]

can you scan the article and translate it. I'd love to read it. also the Danish writing as well.

[Nooff]

Blu-Ray High Definition video seems to beat HD DVD fast. It seems to gain more and more studio and manufacturer's support, while its rival HD DVD only has Toshiba as a manufacturer and support from Paramount and Universal studios exclusively.

Both formats were introduced in 2006. Blu-Ray and HD DVD both use a blue laser, though they are two different technologies which require different equipment. The advantage of Blu-Ray seems to be the higher storage capacity compared to HD DVD, though equipment does come at a slightly higher price. There are however, dual format players available, but those come with an even higher pricetag. Blu-Ray discs are suitable for both films and computer games.

Both formats aren't selling much at the moment, it's still a niche market. Comsumers are still waiting to pick a side, because why should they if one is to become obsolete. Warner Bros Home Video has announced to drop HD DVD support as of May 2008, which looks like a step to end this format war, and for Blu-Ray to become the winning format. Warner Bros released 54 titles of the 129 titles released on HD DVD last year. This could mean the final blow for HD DVD. For us as a consumer however, it is great news! There is no need to fear you are backing the wrong horse anymore.

The consumer has chosen Blu-Ray according to Warner Bros Netherlands chief-director Jaap Bruijnen. Blu-Ray is selling better than HD DVD worldwide. In the Netherlands, Blu-Ray owns 80% of the HD market. We would be glad to see this format war done with, it's better for the industry and it's better for the consumer.
Warner will be releasing all new films on Blu-Ray as of May. Old movies don't have high priority with us, they still look good upconverted according to Bruijnen. The difference between Blu-Ray and DVD is less big than between DVD and VHS.

first part translated

[quexos]

Interesting.

Thank you for the translation. Always good to see what the press says in different parts of the world

[msetten]

Originally Posted by Nooff

first part translated

Thank you for translating. It difficult for me to do as I am lying in bed with a strained back. A brief message is okay, but a full translation of an articles it too much to type from a bed.

[Keesie]

Originally Posted by msetten

My regional newspaper in the Netherlands (Dagblad Tubantia) had almost a whole page article about the victory of Blu-Ray. It mentioned that according to many sources, both online and from retailers, Blu-Ray has now become the standard High-Def format. It also mentioned that Blu-Ray had an advantage over HD-DVD of 80-20 in movie sales in the Netherlands last year. It also mentioned that Philips is now becoming more active with Blu-Ray players.

The whole articles made it clear to customers that Blu-Ray is the way to go.

that's huge! In a local newspaper!
I also live in holland, in Rotterdam. Alles goed? :P
One of the national newspapers I am subscribed to wrote an article about blu-ray having defeated HD-DVD because of the warner move

[w_tanoto]

Originally Posted by Nooff

first part translated

thanks. waiting for the second part

[msetten]

Originally Posted by Keesie

that's huge! In a local newspaper!

I am not sure if you mean it sarcastically or for real (problem of text) ;-), but I think it is a good situation as such papers are read by many of the regular people, you know your next door neighbours or the man in the grocery shop. They at least know about Blu-Ray and that it is the real successor to the DVD.

[teunis]

The Dutch are always right.

[mystiksuicide]

I never been to Denmark but would love to go one day. Back to the subject I wonder if there is a country out there that is red, well besides being commie that is.

[Nooff]

All eyes are aimed at Paramount and Universal. Both companies are only releasing on HD DVD at the moment. There's no way for them to ignore Blu-Ray anymore according to Van Ballegoie.

Blu-ray's trojan horse, the Playstation 3, can also play Blu-ray movies, and was long considered to be the cheapest way to dive into Blu-ray. Consumers didn't just get an HD player, they got a games console with it too. (That's another way to look at it ) This year, Blu-ray will offer € 300,- players. Movies are quite expensive currently selling at an average price of € 30,-. This month, Ratatouille, the Simpsons Movie and Die Hard 4.0 will join Blu-ray's list of movies.

Philips will be getting into Blu-ray this year says Van Ballegoie. Philips is an official Blu-ray backer, though we haven't heared much from them yet. They probably waited for prices to come down and similar to the VHS era, be sure not to bet on the wrong horse.

To watch Blu-ray you need an HD-Ready or FullHD tv, now considered as an HD-Ready/1080p tv and HDMI cables. More and more dutch consumers are buying LCD tv's because they look good and save space. Using just regular broadband tv doesn't give them the best picture, they need to buy Blu-ray to see the best possible picture available today.

Promotions are being prepared for Blu-ray in the Netherlands. There were already demonstrations in December, where they went from shop to shop showing people what Blu-ray is all about. We mostly told people the benefits of Blu-ray, Sonja Wagenaar, spokeswoman of the Blu-Ray Disc Promotion Team Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg) said. People saw the difference in picture quality in an instant and were very impressed! Many people walking by couldn't resist the fact looking over their shoulders first.

second and last part translated