Today's High-Def Headlines

Netflix Chooses Blu-ray Over HD DVD - CNET News.com
Online video rental company Netflix said on Monday it would exclusively stock Blu-ray high-definition DVDs after a decision by some the world's biggest movie studios in favor of the Sony developed format. Netflix has stocked DVDs using both Blu-ray and the competing HD DVD format developed by Toshiba since they first came on the market in early 2006.

Blu-ray's Lead Narrows - TWICE
Despite aggressive price promotions on HD DVD players from Toshiba, sales of Blu-ray Disc players continued to outsell HD DVD units by a wide margin through the week ending January 26, according to leaked NPD Group reports, but the gap has narrowed significantly from reports issued two weeks earlier. Dedicated Blu-ray Disc player sales, which omit video game consoles, represented 65 percent of unit volume share during the period and 69 percent of retail sales dollars, according to the leaked data. HD DVD players accounted for 28 percent of hardware unit sales and 14 percent of overall HD disc retail dollars.

Time Warner Escalates HD War with HD on Start Over - CED
Deliberately sticking it to DirecTV and Dish Network, Time Warner Cable said it will start offering high-definition (HD) content through Start Over, a service TWC CEO Glenn Britt said the DBS companies simply cannot match. In its analyst briefing accompanying the announcement of its Q4 financial results, TWC said it launched Start Over HD in its South Carolina division. The company did not comment on how the rollout of HD on Start Over would track with the rollout of Start Over in general, but HD Start Over apparently will not be immediately available everywhere that Start Over is introduced.

Hallmark Movie Channel Sets April HD Debut On DirecTV - MCN
Hallmark Movie Channel's high-definition simulcast will debut Wednesday, April 2, on DirecTV with a new on-air look for the existing channel, a library full of Hallmark Hall of Fame made-for-TV flicks such as Sarah Plain and Tall and a strategy that includes one programming “event” per quarter. The first such primetime event for the network, now in about 10 million homes as a four-year-old standard-definition spinoff of Hallmark Channel, is the four-hour miniseries Son of the Dragon, a retelling of the Thief of Baghdad story starring David Carradine, John Reardon, Rupert Graves and Desiree Siahann.

Many Obstacles to Digital TV Reception, Study Says
Nearly six million people with digital receivers may still lose TV signals when digital-only broadcasts begin next February, a new study says. The study by Centris, a market research firm in Los Angeles, found gaps in broadcast signals that may leave an estimated 5.9 million TV sets unable to receive as many channels as they did before the changeover. It may affect even those who bought the government-approved converter boxes or a new digital TV. To keep broadcast reception, many viewers may have to buy new outdoor antennas, the study found.

Placing High-Def Bets - MCN
The popularity of high-definition television among consumers is never more apparent than around Super Bowl time. The Consumer Electronics Association estimated that about 2.4 million HDTV sets were sold between the start of the year and the big game. But for programmers, ramping up their high-def game can be a high-stakes gamble. While no one wants to lose the affluent viewers who are embracing HDTV, the transition to the HD world carries a significant price tag in new facilities, studios, equipment, satellite transponders, and higher production budgets; and new revenue to cover those costs have been slow to emerge. (ed. note: This article is an intro for profiles of the strategies of 8 HD networks: Big Ten Network, Discovery, ESPN, Mojo, National Geographic, Speed Channel, WealthTV & The Weather Channel.)