MGM to support blu-ray, no surprises for Sony backed format

10-Nov-2005 • Collecting

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. announced today its support of the new high definition Blu-ray Disc format. In cooperation with the Blu-ray Disc Association, MGM plans to begin releasing film and television titles from its world-renowned library when the new Blu- ray hardware launches in North America, Japan and Europe.

"MGM's focus has always been to provide movie lovers complete access to the world's largest modern film library in the most technologically advanced formats," commented Harry Sloan, Chairman and CEO of MGM Studios. "Adopting this new Blu-ray technology, with its expanded storage capacity and increased interactive capabilities, allows us to continue to provide our customers with the best movie viewing experience available."

"This is a tremendous win for movie lovers everywhere," said Howard Stringer, Chairman and CEO, Sony Corporation. "The Blu-ray Disc format provides a completely new viewing experience, and consumers can now look forward to enjoying content from the world's largest library of modern films, including titles from franchises such as James Bond and The Pink Panther in this amazing new format."

Blu-ray Disc is a next generation optical disc format developed for high- definition video and high-capacity software applications. A single-layer Blu- ray Disc will hold up to 25 gigabytes of data and a dual-layer Blu-ray Disc will hold up to 50 gigabytes of data. This greater storage capacity enables the Blu-ray Disc to store up to five times the amount of content than is possible with current DVDs, and is particularly well-suited for high definition feature films with extended levels of additional bonus and interactive material. Blu-ray also features the most advanced copy protection, backward compatibility with the current DVD format connectivity and advanced interactivity.

Thanks to `JP` for the alert.