Which companies back Blu-ray Disc?
The Blu-ray Disc format is governed by the Blu-ray Disc Association, whose members include such consumer electronics giants as Hitachi, LG Electronics, Matsushita Electric, Philips Electronics, Pioneer, Samsung Electronics, Sharp, Sony, and Thomson. The DVD Forum, which manages the current DVD format, is overseeing the course of HD DVD; Intel, Microsoft, and Toshiba are all backing the HD DVD format. Backing Blu-ray are seven of the eight major movie studios: Lions Gate, MGM, Paramount, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox, Walt Disney Studios, and Warner Brothers. Of that group, only Paramount and Warner are actively supporting both Blu-ray Disc and competitor HD DVD. (Also in HD DVD’s corner is Universal Studios, the lone major studio not supporting Blu-ray.) On the gaming front, Sony’s high-profile PlayStation 3 console integrates a Blu-ray Disc drive, for use with both PS3 games produced on Blu-ray Disc media and Blu-ray Disc movies.
