Warner Bros. Goes for Blu-ray

Warner Bros. has announced last week (January 4) that they will release their hi-def titles in Blu-ray format only from June onward, after their contract with the HD-DVD promotion group expires. Warner Bros' Kevin Tsujihara claimed in a statement that "consumers have clearly chosen Blu-ray".

He said, "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. 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."

It seems like Blu-ray is now beating HD-DVD format. With Warner Bros. withdrawn from HD-DVD, 70% of the studios is now on Blu-ray (Sony, Disney, Warner Bros., Fox, MGM and Lionsgate), and 30% is on HD-DVD (Paramount/DreamWorks and Universal).

Both Paramount and Universal have an exclusivity contract that runs through 2008, so even if they wanted to switch over, they could not do so.