“Grunts” is the studio’s current blockbuster and nominee for GLBT Feature of the Year at the XBIZ Awards.
“ ‘Grunts’ was chosen to be the first Blu-ray disc because of the importance of the title to the industry as a whole,” Raging Stallion President Chris Ward said. “The 22-man military epic was the top-selling title of 2007 and so far is the top-selling title of 2008. Reviewers around the world have hailed ‘Grunts’ as one of the most significant porn titles of the decade.
“This is the first Blu-ray disc for the gay side of the adult industry and represents a significant technological milestone,” Ward said.
Raging Stallion plans to offer “Grunts” on Blu-ray in a special package that also will include the regular DVD version of the movie. This will allow customers who have not yet purchased a Blu-ray player to enjoy the movie today and have the Blu-ray disc ready and waiting when they eventually purchase a new player.
“We upgraded all of our equipment to handle full 1080p HD footage over a year ago, so we have had the ability to make the switch to full HD for some time.” Ward said. “The upgrade was very expensive — the cameras alone were nearly $20,000. All of our computers had to be replaced with Mac G5s and our editing software also required expensive upgrades. The DVD authoring program alone costs a fortune. Rather than rush a disc to market in 2007, we decided to wait until the market was ready for the product — and that time is now. When viewers see Raging Stallion in HD on Blu-ray, there will be no going back.”
Ward stated that Raging Stallion was determined to lead the industry into the HD era.
“Previously, Raging Stallion had planned to adopt the cheaper HD-DVD format,” Ward said, “but recent customer preferences have given Blu-ray a real leg up in the competition between the formats. Blu-ray costs five times as much to manufacture as HD-DVD, which means that many studios will have a problem converting to the new format.
“Blu-ray seems to have won the format wars and eventually all studios will have to deal with Blu-ray,” he said. “Obviously we hope that being the first out of the gate will give us a competitive edge and keep Raging Stallion in the position of an industry leader.”
Pricing for the new Blu-ray will be announced later this month.
For further information, visit the Raging Stallion website .
