Warner Bros. going Blu-ray exclusive

Just a few days before the start of CES 2008, Warner Bros. Entertainment has announced that it is going to release high-definition DVDs exclusively in Blu-ray.

In a release dated today, Kevin Tsujihara, president of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group commented that the HD-DVD and Blu-ray war has led to consumer confusion, which has held back the high-definition DVD revolution.

"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," he said.

WB was one of the only studios to release films in both formats, and they will continue to support HD-DVD until May 2008, but only after standard DVD and Blu-ray Discs had been put on shelves.

In the past year, Blu-ray Disc movies have outsold HD-DVD by a 2-1 margin, which was likely one big reason for Warner's decision.

What this means is that Blu-ray Disc has exclusives from six of the eight major U.S. studios: Warner, Fox, Disney, Lion's Gate, MGM, and Sony. Only Paramount and Universal are backing HD-DVD.

Given the rumours surrounding what Microsoft was planning to announce for the Xbox 360 at CES, I wonder if there will be some last-minute changes in the speeches.

The HD-DVD format is looking grey and ashen. Get the coffin ready.