The "TV on Hi-Def Disc" Race Finally Heats Up!

Where is "TV on Hi-Def Disc" at the moment? Well, today's news about Battlestar Galactica - Season 1 being rumored (so it's NOT official yet!) for HD-DVD release on 9/18 means that the number of TV-on-HD-DVD releases and TV-on-Blu-ray-Disc releases are pulling even, at 10 each, and each format has 3 releases unique to it. Here's the current list, including release dates:


Blu-ray Disc

1. 12/19/2006: The Sopranos - Season 6, Part 1
   
2. 01/30/2007: Discovery Atlas - Australia Revealed
   
3. 01/30/2007: Discovery Atlas - Brazil Revealed
4. 01/30/2007: Discovery Atlas - China Revealed
5. 01/30/2007: Discovery Atlas - Italy Revealed
6. 04/24/2007: Planet Earth - The Complete Collection
   
7. 05/29/2007: Weeds - Season 1
   
8. 06/05/2007: Rescue Me - Season 3
   
9. 07/24/2007: Weeds - Season 2
   
10. 09/04/2007: Nip/Tuck - The Complete 4th Season

HD-DVD

1. 11/28/2006: Smallville - The Complete 5th Season
   
2. 12/19/2006: The Sopranos - Season 6, Part 1
   
3. 01/30/2007: Discovery Atlas - Australia Revealed
   
4. 01/30/2007: Discovery Atlas - Brazil Revealed
5. 01/30/2007: Discovery Atlas - China Revealed
6. 01/30/2007: Discovery Atlas - Italy Revealed
   
7. 04/24/2007: Planet Earth - The Complete Collection
   
8. 08/28/2007: Heroes - Season 1
   
9. 09/04/2007: Nip/Tuck - The Complete 4th Season
   
10. 09/18/2007: Battlestar Galactica - Season 1

As you can see, the first hi-def TV release was the fifth season of Smallville. Now, the sixth season's standard DVD has been announced, but no word yet on a hi-def version. Will Warner end up pulling a Nip/Tuck, and releasing it both ways? Probably. So where will the scales tip?

If you ask me, the big wildcard is how many of the ABC hour-long dramas will be announced by Disney/Buena Vista for Blu-ray Disc release. These next few days see the official announcements of the DVD sets for shows like Lost, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty and Brothers & Sisters. Maybe none of those will be announced for the hi-def format, but if they are, then Blu-ray takes the lead as Disney does not do HD-DVD.

In fact, it's the "Disney" factor that leads a lot of my friends to decide to go that route. They know that the kids will want Lion King and other classic Disney "masterpieces" on hi-def, whenever Disney decides to release them. Since Disney is committed to only do Blu-ray, that helps my friends decide in that direction. Sony is, of course, committed only to their own Blu-ray format, and MGM and Fox are also exclusively Blu-ray. Universal is exclusively HD-DVD. The other major studios (Warner, Paramount) are good either way...but remember, not every TV-DVD is from what Hollywood calls a "major" studio. As you can see by looking at the list above (per Weeds), the biggest of the "little" studios, Lionsgate, leans toward Blu-ray as well.

Who will "win"? Who knows. But, for the TV on Hi-Def Disc category, at least it's finally getting interesting!