Friday, January 4, 2008

Warner Brothers Sides With Blu-ray in High-def Disc Battle

By Thomas K. Arnold
Warner Home Video on Friday announced it is casting its lot exclusively with the Blu-ray Disc format, leaving rival HD DVD with just two studios.

The move, which had been both widely expected and publicly denied, comes on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show, where both next-generation disc formats have big presentations on the agenda.

Warners -- with a market share of more than 20% the biggest Hollywood player in the home entertainment industry -- previously had been the only major studio to release titles in both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. The decision to ditch HD DVD after May 2008 gives Blu-ray a decided advantage, since the format now enjoys the exclusive support of four of the six major studios-Warner, Walt Disney Studios, Sony Pictures and 20th Century Fox, as well as minimajor Lionsgate...

Update:

Paramount in HD DVD blow

By Matthew Garrahan and Mariko Sanchanta in Las Vegas

Published: January 8 2008 02:49 | Last updated: January 8 2008 02:49

Paramount is poised to drop its support of HD DVD after Warner Brothers’ recent backing of Sony’s Blu-ray technology, in a move that will sound the death knell of HD DVD and bring the home entertainment format war to a definitive end....

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