One problem that has vexed the home-video industry is how to lure DVD customers to Blu-ray who aren't quite ready to make the switch and how to sell titles to those who have Blu-ray and older players but don't want to buy titles in both formats. Disney's solution has been to release Blu-ray titles, such as Up, that simply add a DVD-only version of the movie. Universal's just-announced solution is a line of "flipper" discs that have the Blu-ray format on one side and DVD on the other. The first titles are the individually released movies of the Bourne trilogy (starring Matt Damon, pictured), due Jan. 19. No price was announced, but unless it's relatively low, these will probably be a niche trend. USHE sees these discs as a way for fence-sitters to buy into Blu-ray. "The flipper disc offers an easy way for viewers to convert to Blu-ray now or at any time in the future, confident in the fact they will be able to experience their home entertainment purchases in the highest quality picture and sound when they do," USHE President Craig Kornblau said. But a handful of catalog Universal titles aren't going to sway anyone, and DVD fans historically haven't been fond of flippers. Besides, how much did similar flippers help HD-DVD? If this is a problem at all, Disney's approach seems to make more sense. What do you think?
