Blu-Ray army gets two more recruits

Two new media groups have committed to producing future content on Blu-Ray discs, rather than the competing HD DVD standard.

Universal Music Group (UMG) and Lions Gate Home Entertainment have both joined the Blu-Ray Association. The move will be a blow to the HD DVD camp since Universal is the world's largest music company and Lions Gate holds the video rights to popular films such as Terminator 2, Dirty Dancing and Rambo.

"Blu-Ray's storage capacity, along with the level of copyright protection the format offers, the demonstrated manufacturability, and acceptable cost proposition, made it the perfect choice for Lions Gate at this time," said Steve Beeks, president of Lions Gate Entertainment.

"Through Blu-Ray, consumers will experience our library of movies with sound and picture quality beyond anything they could have ever imagined."

The news brings the number of companies in the Blu-Ray Association to 140, although many of those have also committed to putting out content in the HD DVD standard.

"The delivery of both high-definition video and multi-channel audio technologies is becoming increasingly important," stated Larry Kenswil, president of eLabs, UMG's new media and technologies division.

"We recognise that Blu-Ray Disc has the capacity, functionality and interactivity both artists and music fans demand. We intend to work closely with the BDA (Blu-Ray Disc Association) in order to represent the unique requirements of the music industry in the format creation process."