I think this is a major blow to HD-DVD. Warner owns so much of the movie landscape, when you give it all to Blu-ray, people have no choice but to follow (If they want a high definition viewing experience).

Sure, Universal and Paramount are the lone-holdouts now, in favor of HDDVD exclusively, but I think they will soon follow Warner (Until then, if you choose to support them, you can still rent their DVD versions of films). Where the money goes, they will go. I don't think they want to be grasping at straws, better to jump ship before it sinks.

I am happy with the decision by Warner. They certainly took long enough to decide. But, it's been rumored for months now that they would be first to switch, so everyone saw this coming (Although, people expected the announcement to be made at CES).

- http://www.blu-ray.com

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This whole thing is so stupid... by signing exclusing deals they are only going to kill off this generation of HD discs... I don't want either format... I don't know who makes the movies I want to watch... I don't know who is going to make a cool movie next year that I am going to want to watch...

I watch my HD movies on XBOX Live or Comcast On Demand... if these disc groups don't get their crap together they are going to be worthless... I wouldn't touch either of these until the players are less than $100 and the movies are the same price as the regular DVD versions... really... who wants to pay $35 for a movie?

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"This whole thing is so stupid... by signing exclusing deals they are only going to kill off this generation of HD discs"

Warner's plan is to help kill off HDDVD in support of Blu-ray, to make it an easier decision for the consumer.

"I don't know who makes the movies I want to watch"

True, it's not something that everyone pays attention to, but if you are a Hi-defaphile, it's more important.

"... the movies are the same price as the regular DVD versions... really... who wants to pay $35 for a movie?"

Good point. I don't buy too many, but have been taking advantage of Amazon's buy one get one free offers lately for Blu-ray. A brand new movie in the highest quality possible on a disc, and I can get it free. Also, by paying a little extra now (Until the price comes down), you're ensuring that you have the best possible version of your favorite movie to watch for many years to come.

If you buy a DVD now instead of the blu-ray version of a movie, you aren't looking very far ahead, considering that the bigger the TV you get, and if it's 1080p, you're going to regret your decision. If you want a movie theater quality experience, you simply have to go with the better stuff, the more expensive stuff (Facts of life).

It's like still buying VHS tapes in 2007 (Granted, that is an exaggeration, but it won't be so much in a few years). I guarantee that there are still grandma's out there buying VHS versions of movie at the thrift store. Hanging on by a thread, they are.

It's sad for anyone to hear that something new and refreshing is also going to cost them, but I am confident this is like the difference between Cassette tapes and CD's. People just don't know it yet. Give them time.

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I always thought Blu Ray was more or less just a company name. That the tecnology they use is not any different then the one used for HD DVD. I was looking to get HD over Blu Ray because High Defintion is high defination, same technology they use when you watch television in HD. I think its terrible that film companies have to choose one or the other instead of just putting movies out on both formats, this crap is turning into the video game wars, yet DVDs are more mainstream.

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"I always thought Blu Ray was more or less just a company name. That the tecnology they use is not any different then the one used for HD DVD. I was looking to get HD over Blu Ray because High Defintion is high defination, same technology they use when you watch television in HD."

Oh no. That is the problem. People aren't informed enough about media formats. Both are High definition discs, it just happens that HDDVD got the more recognizable name, and perhaps more descriptive. Sony is the main supporter of Blu-ray, Microsoft supports HDDVD. Don't make your decision to buy a player just because of what it is called. Make an informed decision by reading reviews, and looking at how much studio support the format has.

Take a look here for more details about Blu-ray Vs. HDDVD studio support, and I think you'll see that the decision is clear, and it will become even clearer as the year progresses:

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/studios.php

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To clarify my previous statement, Microsoft supports HD DVD with an add-on player for the Xbox 360, although other companies, like Toshiba make set-top players that support HD DVD.

Sony's Blu-ray player is built into it's Playstation 3 game console, and ready to go. Many other companies make Blu-ray set-top players as well.

So, it's not possible to name the "top" supporters of either format, but game consoles are heavily used to push the formats, much like the Playstation 2 pushed DVD into homes when it arrived.

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I thought I would go ahead and jump in on this one.

I own both a HD-DVD player and a Blu-Ray player...I have always enjoyed both, and had no complaints over which format would come out ahead.

I agree with MCW...everyone needs to be informed before jumping on board with either format. HD-DVD is going to have a tough job of recovering from only 2 studios supporting it. Blu-Ray, still has to overcome "expensive" players. I know they have gone down and you can find some for around $300, but HD had even hit $100 for christmas shoppers.

This war is definitely not yet over, and now with the backing of a major studio "warner" Blu-Ray has some big moves in order to win this thing.

Just my 2 cents!

Enjoy the day!

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