Despite trailing Blu-ray sales in Northern America, a Financial Times
report claims that HD-DVD appears to be winning the next generation format war in Europe, where 35 films from independent studios such as Studio Canal, Pathe and Filmax have been released on HD-DVD, opposed to just 10 released on Blu-ray.While admitting that there is a long way to go before a clear victor emerges, Rodolphe Buet, Studio Canal's chief marketing officer, states that the marketing strategies employed by HD-DVD backers were far superior to those of Blu-ray manufacturers.
"I have met much more commitment from partners involved with HD-DVD than Blu-Ray. I met Sony in mid-2006 but the support was far below what was offered by the HD-DVD partners.”
However, “I am totally agnostic," he continues. "All the work we are doing on High Definition will be useful for making Blu-Ray discs if the Blu-Ray standard wins. It will be easy to change position."
