Netflix just announced that it will no longer purchase HD DVD titles, citing the four out of six major Hollywood studios that are now exclusively Blu-ray. Though a sound logistical decision, it may leave a welt for Netflix customers who own HD DVD players.

With over 6.7 million subscribers and 1.6 million titles shipped per day, Netflix has a long reach when it comes to home entertainment. Ditching HD DVD will force subscribers looking for future high definition media to buy a Blu-ray player, or find service with another company. Netflix competitor Blockbuster has exclusively stocked Blu-ray in stores for a long time, though its online service still offers some HD DVD titles.

The jockeying back and forth between Blu-ray and HD DVD has stretched on because of limited interest from mainstream consumers in upgrading to high definition players, and a series of marketing forays from backers of each format.

Netflix is following the trend as more content flows toward Blu-ray and is willing to risk irate HD DVD customers by choosing to “exclusively stock Blu-ray high-definition DVDs after a decision by some the world’s biggest movie studios in favor of the Sony Corp developed format,” according to Reuters.

“Netflix has stocked DVDs using both Blu-ray and the competing HD DVD format developed by Toshiba Corp since they first came on the market in early 2006.”

Specifically, Netflix told Reuters that “with such a clear signal from the industry, it will only buy Blu-ray discs going forward and will phase out stock of HD DVD by about the end of the year.”

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Entry was posted on Monday, February 11th, 2008 at 10:12 am under High Definition Formats.

Read more entries by Matt Jansen.
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