Warner Puts Dual High-Def DVD On Hold

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Warner Puts Dual High-Def DVD On Hold
The disc would have include both Blu-ray and HD DVD versions.
By Swanni

Washington, D.C. (November 14, 2007) -- Warner Bros. last January vowed to end the Blu-ray-HD DVD war by issuing high-def discs that would include both versions of the film.

But nearly a year later, the studio is telling the web site High-Def Digest that the 'Total HD' disc is on hold -- indefinitely.

"The short answer is, for the moment, it (Total HD) is on hold," Jim Noonan, Warner's senior vice president of strategic promotion, told the site.

Last January, Warner said the Total HD, which would have the Blu-ray version on one side and the HD DVD on the other, would comfort consumers who were concerned about picking a losing format in the high-def disc war.

Blu-ray and HD DVD are rival formats with players that are not compatible with each other.

With a Total HD, the disc would still be valuable even if one format went out of business because it would include a version of the winning format

But Noonan now says the Total HD disc would just complicate life for retailers.

With Paramount last August endorsing HD DVD, Warner is the only studio releasing films in both formats. Consequently, Noonan explains, it's unlikely that any other studio would embrace the Total HD concept.

"We're the only studio producing content in both formats. If we were to put out Total HD with just our titles, it wouldn't really provide the solution to our retail partners that it was intended to provide. If anything, at this point, it would further complicate their life, because there would be another product looking for shelf space. Our job is not to further complicate the lives of our retailers," he told High-Def Digest.

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Swanni (Phillip Swann) is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.

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