Source HiDefDigest and VideoBusiness

Breaking news has dictated that a Blu-Ray report be issued by Sarcastic Gamer on Fiction Friday. Just when you thought the trenches in the Hi Def war had turned into a quagmire, Blu-Ray takes a quick jab at HD-DVD, sending it reeling.

Warner Home Video has announced that they will back Blu-Ray and drop HD-DVD this year. The time between now and May will be painful for HD-DVD. Warner is delaying all HD-DVD releases a short time after the Blu-Ray and standard DVD release dates.
More after the jump.

They stated that Blu-Ray is the choice of consumers so they have decided to back them. Can we really say that the consumers had a choice? Were we given a chance to see for ourselves which one is better? No. Movie studios have been manipulating the whole thing from day one.

It would have been a choice had Blu-Ray and HD-DVD been treated equally by all of the movie studios. That didn’t happen. Disney’s backing of Blu-Ray meant that most “Hi Def” families would go with Blu-Ray… for the kids. A good number of the top grossing box office movies of the past few years have been ones that appeal to children.

Warner also 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.”

There’s no way the prices were the reason for indifference. Right? Having to go back and spend between twenty and thirty dollars for a movie you already own. That is if it had been put out in hi def at all.

It’s looking like HD-DVD is going to be shot down in a blaze of glory. There are still some heavy hitters in the HD-DVD camp. Universal and Paramount are still HD-DVD exclusive, but they did get hit with a sledge hammer today. Unless someone big switches sides, I think we can say that it is only a matter of time until Blu-Ray rules the world.