I was recently invited to an impressive demonstration of Blu-ray technology on the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City, California. The reason for the event was to celebrate the announcement of the first 20 titles and players but the two hour demonstration outlined much more about the format and what is can do. Take it from me – the format can do plenty.

Sony Pictures has announced the first titles for the Blu-ray format will be available in stores May 23, 2006. These titles include: 50 First Dates, The Fifth Element, Hitch, House of Flying Daggers, A Knight’s Tale, The Last Waltz, Resident Evil Apocalypse and XXX. The second offering titles will be available on June 13, 2006 and will include Kung Fu Hustle, Legends of the Fall, Robocop, Stealth, Species, SWAT and Terminator. Other titles to be released include Blackhawk Down, Bridge on the River Kwai and possibly others in the near future.

MGM is the latest movie studio to announce its support for Sony’s Blu-ray next generation disc format. Although MGM is partly owned by Sony, the announcement shows the Sony-backed disc format is gaining greater support over the Toshiba-backed HD-DVD format in Hollywood studio circles. Critics suggest that studios are riding the fence as to which format to support as the a looming format battle brews. It is also suggested that increasing studio pressure will avoid said pending format war which is sure to turn consumers and retailers alike off to either or both of the HD disc formats. A similar compromise was made with the launch of the incredibly successful DVD format with Sony giving into industry pressures. It is expected with momentum coming from Playstation 3 that Toshiba and the HD-DVD group will be have to compromise this time out. MGM, the studio behind the Bond and Pink Panther movie franchises, said it plans ...

Warner Brothers announced that it has joined the Board of Directors of the Blu-ray Disc Association. The studio had supported Toshiba’s HD-DVD over Sony’s Blu-ray but, following a similar announcement by Paramount earlier this month, it is now backing both formats. "Consumers will soon be able to enjoy a large selection of catalogue favorites and contemporary hits from Warner's vast library on the Blu-ray format," said Jim Cardwell, President, Warner Home Video.

Only a few days after Universal Music Group joined the Blu-ray Disc Association, Lions Gate Home Entertainment announced its support for the format. Lions Gate will release new films, TV programs and other titles from their library in Blu-ray as soon as the hardware is launched in the US. Steve Beeks, president of Lions Gate cited “Blu-ray’s storage capacity along with the level of copyright protection the format offers, the demonstrated manufacturability and acceptable cost proposition” among the reasons for the company’s support.