December 23rd 2004

Bandai Visual Signs Up To Blu-Ray, But Doesn't Close the Door on HD-DVD

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Japanese animation company, Bandai Visual, has announced that it will support the Blu-Ray, next-gen optical disc format.

Bandai has joined the Blu-Ray association as an ordinary member, but is already a member of the HD-DVD association. It has over 450 films in its back catalogue, but is adopting a 'wait and see' attitude before releasing any films on either format.

"Bandai Visual strives to provide the highest quality entertainment to consumers all over the world," commented Shigeru Watanabe, Senior Managing Director of Bandai Visual Co., Ltd. "Creating high-definition content such as animation is a very important theme for us. We expect Blu-ray Disc to strengthen our content technology and enable higher picture quality."

"The BDA is a membership organization comprised of almost 100 industry leaders all working to create the next generation of high-definition technology and content,” added Kiyoshi Nishitani, Senior Vice President, Executive Officer of Sony Corp. “Bandai Visual's decision is the recognition that high-quality content needs high-quality technology. "We are confident that this trend will continue with more content companies continuing to join BDA."

Earlier in the month, the battle netween Blu-Ray and HD-DVD intensified when several major film studios decalred their support for one format or the other in a tit-for-tat spate of annoucements.

Blu-Ray players and recorders are already on sale such as the Sharp BD-HD100 and the Sony BDZ-S77. HD-DVD has yet to bring any products to market, but they are expected by the end of 2005.