Sony launches movies in Blu-ray

Sony is to start selling movies on its Blu-ray Disc format in the UK for the first time, from October.The first titles to be made available from the Sony Pictures Home Entertainment division will include new releases and back catalogue titles such as Hitch, The Fifth Element and A Knight’s Tale.

 

Sony is to start selling movies on its Blu-ray Disc format in the UK for the first time, from October.

The first titles to be made available from the Sony Pictures Home Entertainment division will include new releases and back catalogue titles such as Hitch, The Fifth Element and A Knight’s Tale.

Until now Sony has only sold Blu-ray titles in the US and Canada. The UK is one of 15 further countries to be targeted with the discs, with others including Korea, Germany and Australia. The titles are expected to be sold at a similar price to a DVD at launch.

Blu-ray is Sonys next generation of DVD technology and is supported by the likes of Panasonic and 20th Century Fox. A rival technology known as High Definition DVD is backed by Toshiba, NE C and Microsoft.

Both groups are hoping to take advantage of the growth in high definition television. The technologies are also being included in the next generation of games consoles, with Blu-ray technology included in Sonys Playstation 3 system and HD DVD in thee Xbox 360.

Both formats offer better quality pictures and far more storage capacity than a traditional DVD.