Amazon & Microsoft helping Independent films go HD DVD

Amazon & Microsoft helping Independent films go HD DVD
Microsoft has just announced a new HD DVD project in partnership with CustomFlix, a subsidiary of Amazon.com. The “one thousand hd dvd indies project” will help independent film makers get their content on to the HD DVD format at minimal costs.

The standard $499 HD DVD mastering fee will be waived for the first 1,000 films that are accepted into the project. Once the HD DVD master and other product details are finalized (such as box cover art) for a particular film, the product will then become available for purchase on Amazon.com.
1000HDDVDProject

These CustomFlix HD DVD’s will be manufactured on an “on-demand” basis, which means that a new disc (or batch of discs) will be created as the orders come in. This process helps to keep down inventory costs, eliminates minimum volume order costs and lowers the risk for smaller Indie film makers to enter the high definition arena via HD DVD.

A much needed win for the HD DVD camp

While this is certainly good news for the HD DVD camp, the project will probably not spark too much additional demand for the HD DVD format. Most award winning independent films are already picked up by larger Hollywood studios or well known independent film distributors such as Weinstein and FirstLook. On the other hand, the project will almost certainly lead to some (if not many) undiscovered Indie gems becoming available on HD DVD. The more selection, the better, but let’s just hope that some quality films appear on HD DVD due to this project.
Press release via CDRLabs.

About Wes Novack

Wesley Novack is a Technologist working in the software industry, with extensive experience building and managing highly available applications, services, and systems in the public cloud. He has a breadth of experience in online publishing, the consumer electronics industry, and building internet communities. Wes enjoys hanging with his family, skateboarding, hiking, the vegan lifestyle, and a good cup of tea. You can find him on Twitter @WesleyTech.

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