Disney Backs Blu-Ray

In a follow-up to a story in the December 8 edition of Connected Home Express, the HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray battle just got a bit more interesting with Disney's recent announcement that it will support the Blu-ray next-generation DVD standard. The company joins the likes of Dell, Panasonic, Philips, and Sony in supporting Blu-ray. Disney will start releasing Blu-ray movies as soon as players become available in Japan and North America, which the companies expect to happen in 2006. Disney's announcement made it clear that the company doesn't preclude the future support of the HD-DVD format. The only remaining large media company that hasn't publicly announced support for a next-generation format is Fox, which is on the Blu-ray Disc Association board but still hasn't determined which format it will support. Sounds like a vote of confidence to us