Hollywood execs clash on DVD formats

Walt Disney Co. chief executive Robert Iger criticized studios Tuesday that dropped support for the Blu-ray high-definition DVD format.

Other Hollywood executives defended their support of the rival HD DVD format during an investor conference in New York sponsored by Goldman Sachs.

Consumers remain profoundly confused by the two formats, both of which deliver crisp, clear pictures and sound but are completely incompatible with each other and do not play on older DVD players.

Iger said he was disappointed that the industry had not backed one format and predicted that a victory by Blu-ray over rival HD DVD was a "foregone conclusion."

Disney backs Blu-ray exclusively along with Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures, News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Viacom's Paramount Pictures, which also owns DreamWorks SKG, recently dropped its support for Blu-ray and said it would start distributing films exclusively in the HD DVD format.

Universal Pictures, a unit of General Electric, also releases films only in HD DVD. Warner Bros., owned by Time Warner Inc., releases in both formats.

Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman told investors at the same conference that the decision to switch was made because HD DVD players were more affordable. He also said Paramount decided it made more long-term economic sense to back a single format.

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