The HD Era

Written by Kevin Leathers on 09 Oct 2008

So Toshiba have finally thrown in the towel for the HD-DVD format. Blu-Ray is the winner and we welcome our new HD overlords. The question is, should you really be upgrading your DVD collection just yet? Seeing as many of us have only just gotten rid of our VHS tapes, you can guess what the answer is going to be.

So UKA has taken on the task of looking at how this new Blu-Ray will be affecting the purchasing decisions of hard pressed anime fans and whether at this point we'll really see any benefit.

Beginning of a new Era

While Blu-Ray has won the HD format war, anime companies have still yet to fully embrace this new format. This isn’t surprising though - given that the HD feud divided everyone in Hollywood, it's no surprise that many companies waited for the dust to settle. Even with the war now over, the cost of manufacturing Blu Ray discs alongside with the costs of new HD anime transfers could mean it'll be some time before many titles turn Blu. 

That's not to say that we'll be bereft of Hi-Def anime goodness. Paprika has already been released by Sony, and other titles won't be far behind. Sony will also be releasing FFVII: Advent Children on Blu Ray soon, with extra detail added to the animation just for the occasion - it should make a great film even better, and provide an excellent showcase for Sony in the process.

ADV Films US have recently confirmed their allegiance to the Blu-Ray camp and set to bring their first titles to the US this spring. No titles have been mentioned yet, but one can imagine that the first batch of titles will be recent releases, followed by reissues of popular titles (another EVA release then...) Interestingly, ADV has stated that it will take time to remaster their back catalogue to HD, so the process is likely to be tricky, and licensing may also be an issue.

While BEEZ will more than likely see backing from parent company Namco Bandai (especially as shows like Gundam 00 are produced and broadcast in HD), its MVM and Manga Entertainment that may end up being the last to the party. Especially as Manga may have had it’s hands burnt with the lacklustre pickup of the UMD format from Sony. This will more than likely be down to the production costs of HD content rather than any real lack of content to put onto the discs.

Due to the time and expense of remastering anime onto Blu Ray disc, it's certain that whatever we see in this country will be the scraps of the American market. Films are the most likely target for distributors due to the low overall cost to the consumer and the ease of a single, concentrated release as opposed to the gradual decline of a long running series. It could, however, be a boon for box sets.

It should also be noted that, at time of writing, take up on Blu Ray is pretty low. The PS3 is leading the way for most people, and until the price of the technology drops to encourage the format, distributors will be wary.