High-Def DVD War Over? Warner Goes With Blu-ray.

I wanted to buy a high-definition DVD player this holiday season. I was getting tired of how long it was taking my cable provider and the various networks to make the switch to more HDTV programming, so I thought at least with a Blu-ray or an HD DVD player, I could get my pixels worth on our TV watching movies in an HD format.

At the store, I looked at the movies that are now available in high-def, but was disappointed to find there were many titles I wanted that were only available in one format or the other. Then I looked at the players. Yikes...I thought I heard the prices had come down, but both Blu-ray and HD DVD players were still in the $400 range. Sticker shock. Not wanting to plunk down $400 on the losing platform (not to mention the cost of the movies), I left the store disappointed without making a purchase.

I doubt my experience was unique. People want someone to win the format war, and I doubt most people care which side prevails.

Now the good news. The winner might be at hand. Today, Warner Brothers, Hollywood’s biggest seller of DVDs announced it would be going exclusively Blu-ray. Previously, it had sold movies in both formats. Warner joins Walt Disney Studios, Lionsgate, Sony Pictures, and 20th Century Fox offering high-definition DVDs in exclusively the Blu-ray format. This will represent a distinct market share advantage for Blu-ray and should tip the scale decisively in that direction.

If the war is over the real winner will be the consumer. The confusion and uncertainty will dissipate. Prices will go down on high-def players as volume goes up. As an added bonus, it should also settle the battle lines for computer manufacturers trying to determine what type of high-definition DVD internal/external drives to offer their customers. Rumor has it Apple will make their Blu-ray announcement in a couple of weeks at Macworld.