The Japanese daily newspaper Asahi Shimbun is reporting long-time HD DVD support Warner Brothers has decided it will also release content in Sony’s competing Blu-Ray format. The news comes just one week after fellow HD DVD backer Paramount announced it will release content in both HD DVD and Blu-Ray formats, sending the Toshiba and the HD DVD community in a public-relations tailspin.
If true, Warner’s decision would leave Universal Studios as the only major studio to be backing only the HD DVD format. Four other major studios and distributors—Disney, MGM, 20th Century Fox, and Sony itself—currently plan to release content only in Blu-Ray format.
Like Paramount, Warner’s move likely hedges its bets during what’s shaping up to be an ugly format war for control of the next-generation DVd market. By making its content available in both major DVD formats, Warner Brothers is hoping to fully participate in whatever next-generation DVD revenue stream may develop, as consumers look for content suited to their upgraded systems. However, the market may be slow to develop: historically, when new technologies are embroiled in significant disputes regarding incompatible technologies, consumers tend to stay away until one technology emerges as a clear leader. Given that no next-generation DVD systems are currently available to consumers, all bets on the future of the market are still highly speculative.
