Europe Looks at Blu-ray Practices

Our friends on the other side of the Atlantic are at it again, and this time the European Commission is taking a closer look at potential anti-competitive practices among the two high-definition DVD camps, and in particular, Blu-ray.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the commission last month requested movie studios to send in any records related to agreements over high-def DVD formats. Since Blu-ray has more support among studios (backed exclusively by Sony, Disney, 20th Century Fox, Lions Gate, and MGM), the commission is particularly interested in whether the Blu-ray peeps have been using dirty tactics to get studios to back their format. Apparently the commission has been looking at both formats for a while, but only now has shifted its attention to Blu-ray.

So what's behind the investigation? Well, HD DVD. The Toshiba-backed group has been asking the commission to investigate Blu-ray's methods when it comes to getting studios on their side. And though it may look like (or actually be) a case of sore losers, the survival of a format may be on the line.

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