Update: WB Is Now Blu-Ray Exclusive, HD-DVD Responds

By: Jarrod Sarafin, News Editor
Date: Saturday, January 05, 2008
Source: WB Press Release

Update: The high-definition war may not be "officially" over but Sony just scored a major victory today. Warner Bros. has announced their loyalty through the following press release.

In response to consumer demand, Warner Bros. Entertainment will release its high-definition DVD titles exclusively in the Blu-ray disc format beginning later this year, it was announced today by Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros. and Kevin Tsujihara, President, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group.

"Warner Bros.' move to exclusively release in the Blu-ray disc format is a strategic decision focused on the long term and the most direct way to give consumers what they want," said Meyer. "The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger. We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers."

Warner Home Video will continue to release its titles in standard DVD format and Blu-ray. After a short window following their standard DVD and Blu-ray releases, all new titles will continue to be released in HD DVD until the end of May 2008.

"Warner Bros. has produced in both high-definition formats in an effort to provide consumer choice, foster mainstream adoption and drive down hardware prices," said Jeff Bewkes, President and Chief Executive Officer, Time Warner Inc., the parent company of Warner Bros. Entertainment. "Today's decision by Warner Bros. to distribute in a single format comes at the right time and is the best decision both for consumers and Time Warner."

"A two-format landscape has led to consumer confusion and indifference toward high definition, which has kept the technology from reaching mass adoption and becoming the important revenue stream that it can be for the industry," said Tsujihara. "Consumers have clearly chosen Blu-ray, and we believe that recognizing this preference is the right step in making this great home entertainment experience accessible to the widest possible audience. Warner Bros. has worked very closely with the Toshiba Corporation in promoting high definition media and we have enormous respect for their efforts. We look forward to working with them on other projects in the future."

HD-DVD is now reeling from this WB decision. They've responded to the announcement and issued a statement about cancelling their press conference at this weekend's CES convention in Las Vegas.

"While Warner's decision is a setback for HD DVD, the consumer has benefited from HD DVD's commitment to quality and affordability -- a bar that is critical for the mainstream success of any format. We believe widespread adoption of a next generation format will ultimately be determined by the consumer."

Based on the timing of the Warner Home Video announcement today, we have decided to postpone our CES 2008 press conference scheduled for Sunday, January 6th at 8:30 p.m. in the Wynn Hotel. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

We are currently discussing the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies and evaluating next steps. We believe the consumer continues to benefit from HD DVD's commitment to quality and affordability – a bar that is critical for the mainstream success of any format.

We'll continue to keep you updated on new developments around HD DVD.

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Comments/Responses

axia777 • Jan 04, 2008, 04:06pm •

RIP HD DVD. So when do Universal and Paramount run from HD DVD like rats from the sinking ship that Toshiba and Microsoft try to keep a float?

That means The Dark Knight is Blu ray exclusive. New Line movies? That means LOTR is now Blu ray exclusive. Warner owns New Line. This is a good day for PS3 and Blu Ray fans. So when do I get Transformers on Blu Ray like Bay wanted in the first place?

Merin • Jan 04, 2008, 04:09pm •

Sony as a company is an underhanded, backstabbing piece of work. If you know the history of HD vs. Blu-ray, you'd understand.

I do think this Could go either way, but that HD Should win.

It has nothing to do with Microsoft and everything to do with agreed upon international standards that Sony keeps backing out of.

---

As for "consumer demand" - what, all those people with HD players and XB0X 360's are just DEMANDING a format they can't use? Wouldn't consumers REALLY be demanding BOTH formats?

Or, you know, not replacing DVDs so soon? I have ZERO desire to start collecting a new format nor in buying a new player. I know a few people who have BARELY started their DVD collections, and I still have tons of movies on Video that I've not felt the need to advance into the DVD replacements yet.

The format isn't even really a decade old! Dang.

LOTRSUXS • Jan 04, 2008, 04:34pm •

My friend, who works in the industry, tipped me about the whole blu ray thing, although i wasn't allow to mention anything until today. But yeah, i really don't see a difference between both formats, except the fact that blu ray discs are more expensive to produce and therefore the prices might be a little bit higher then we are used to paying... Another problem, which i hope they solve, is the fact that most blu ray players, if not all of them, can't play regular dvds, so that can cause a problem, Hd dvd has that advantage over blu say though.

WISEGUY562 • Jan 04, 2008, 04:46pm •

I'm not buying either format until one side wins and the other goes away completely. Otherwise there's always the chance you get stuck with an obsolete player. I was rooting for HD-DVD just because I have a bias against Sony. They always come across as arrogant the way they've tried to manipulate and control several formats and dictate to the whole industry instead of working on compromise for the better of the industry and the customers.

dragonrift • Jan 04, 2008, 04:47pm •

Merin -

Please tell us why you think HD-DVD should win?

Blu-ray has been outselling that format at a 2:! ratio since its release, and given that it has a significantly higher storage medium (quad layer discs hold up to 100 GB) it's plain and obvious why studios are flocking over to it. There never should have been two battling formats...

And as someone with an HDTV, I can purely say that you cannot knock blu-ray or HD-DVD until you actually try it. I used to claim that I'd never replace my 300+ collection of DVDs, but after seeing these HD releases in full 1080p, it's like putting on glasses for the very first time. DVD looks blurry to me now.

And by the way, DVDs have been around since 1994. The format just didn't boom until 1998.

smegforbrain • Jan 04, 2008, 04:59pm •

"It has nothing to do with Microsoft"

It has everything to do with Microsoft when they artificially keep the 'war' going by throwing money at Paramount & DreamWorks.

For all the bitching and moaning, whether you want HD-DVD or Blu-Ray or not, the Sony-backed product is going to win the war.

Either way, I just bought my first HDTV less than 2 months ago, and I only went 720p, so even though I want a PS3, I'm not going to be making the jump to Blu-Ray any time soon.

axia777 • Jan 04, 2008, 05:01pm •

Blu ray players can in fact play any and all DVD's. They are generally better up-scalers too, so that is FUD. And just for the record, Blu Ray players were finalized a full year before HD DVD players. So Sony was faster on the ball than Toshiba was.

Also for the record, does anyone here like CD's? Well Sony was one of the major backers of CD's. So they are not so evil, aye?

Also of note, the majority "Industry" has always been on Blu Ray's side. it is not only Sony that backs Blu ray. It is also Panasonic, Apple, and 60+ other companies that back it. It has only been Microsoft and Toshiba that have backed HD DVD.

Only the flip side, who here really wants to defend Microsoft? Toshiba is ok, they just made the wrong choice.

popa • Jan 04, 2008, 05:18pm •

This is good news, although I can understand the confusion as to why. The point that most people miss is that a standard should not just satisfy the current need but must also anticipate future developments. We don't want to wind up with a different standard for each application, one for movies and one for video games for example. The history of consumer data storage shows that you can never overestimate the need for memory.

popa • Jan 04, 2008, 05:34pm •

Sorry for the accidental resend!

gauleyboy420 • Jan 04, 2008, 05:45pm •

I don't care either way, I'm not buying a high def tv or player till they are WAAAAAAY cheaper.
smegforbrain, to say Sony cant lose is flawed. If I'm not mistaken they bet on the wrong horse a long time ago with Betamax. VHS won, and Beta (Sony) lost.

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