Warner Brothers Drops HD DVD

2008 finds things not so well for the HD DVD camp. Warner Brothers Entertainment, the last major studio to produce movies in both next generation optical disc formats, announced yesterday it was walking away from HD DVD to favor Blu-ray Disc only.

Warner Bros. seemed unfortunately to find Blu-ray only as "the most direct way to give consumers what they want" and that "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." The movie studio will continue to release videos in the HD DVD format until the end of May.

As was expected, the HD DVD group did not take well to this major blow. The HD DVD Group canceled its scheduled Consumer Electronics Show press conference for Sunday evening and is "currently discussing the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies and evaluating next steps." 

Toshiba did seem happy with the news either. In a short press release issued from its headquarters in Japan, the consumer electronics company and major player behind HD DVD said "we were particularly disappointed that this decision was made in spite of the significant momentum HD DVD has gained in the US market as well as other regions in 2007. HD DVD players and PCs have outsold Blu-ray in the US market in 2007."

Toshiba added it would evaluate potential next steps but also pledged its continuing support of HD DVD.