Warner's new next-gen DVD discs will go both ways
The New York Times reports that Warner Brothers is going to announce next week that it has developed a "single videodisc that can play films and television programs in both Blu-ray and HD DVD." The disc will be called Total HD.
Warner's making the move after it became apparent that neither Blu-ray nor HD DVD is taking off all that quickly and that neither format seems to be on the verge of gaining the upper hand, even with the release of Sony's PS3, which has a built-in Blu-ray player. In other words, the company expects a long and protracted war, and--while the combo disc likely will cost more to manufacture in the short run--I assume the overall cost to market a single disc rather than two separate packages of the same movie will be significantly cheaper. It also will help save precious shelf space in stores (eventually).
Warner's planning a supermerger.
Currently, only Warner and Paramount are putting out movies in both formats. Universal has sided with HD DVD, while Sony, MGM, 20th Century Fox, and Disney are all exclusively Blu-Ray.
At about the same time Warner is announcing Total HD, LG and perhaps other manufacturers will be announcing dual-format players at CES. All I can say is that the whole thing is stupid and I don't plan on buying either format any time soon, especially when I can easily click on a pull-down menu in my Netflix account and rent whatever movies are available in HD DVD or Blu-ray.
Hunkered down in New York City, Executive Editor David Carnoy covers the gamut of gadgets and writes his Fully Equipped column, which carries the tag line "The electronics you lust for." He's also the author of "Knife Music," a novel. E-mail David. Follow David on Twitter. 
I am also feeling like Sony is forcing Blu Ray down the consumers throat, and I don't like that at all.
Yes, freedom means conflict and personal responsibility for our choices. There is always a price. I say let's have the war, and one of the weapons might be dumping DRM. Wouldn't you go with the format that did?
I'm betting on Blu-Ray, because more capacity is always better in the future. I am worried about their DRM stance though.
- Pointless, if more manufacturers follow LG's path
- by make_or_break January 5, 2007 10:08 AM PST
- A dual-purpose hi-def drive seems more fluid and versatile to this consumer than packing both HD formats on a single disc. 'Sides, one has to really wonder what sort of premium Warner (and the rest of the MPAA, if they follow suit) will want for this sort of content 'flexibility'.
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