Blu-ray Gets a Boost in the War Against HD DVDs

The Blu-ray versus HD DVD debate has been waging on for quite some time now. As a result, consumers have been left feeling uncertain about which format of DVD they should purchase. After all, if one format wins out in the great debate, all of the movies purchased in the other format will soon become obsolete.While consumers may be feeling confused by the debate, studios producing DVDs are feeling the pinch in the wallet. In fact, they have noticed that consumers have been purchasing DVDs less frequently, most likely because they are waiting to see which format is going to win out.

In an effort to get the DVD industry rolling again and to try to put an end to the debate, Warner Brothers recently announced that it will be providing DVDs exclusively in the Blue-ray format from now on.

Making the decision to go Blu-ray probably wasn’t too difficult for Warner Brothers to make since Blu-ray has been the most successful format so far. In fact, Blu-ray has been outselling HD DVDs at a rate of 2-to-1 for the majority of the year. This is likely partly due to the fact that the Playstation 3 is Blu-ray compatible, but the Blu-ray side of the camp has simply been able to put out more movies than HD DVDs. As a result, consumers have been left with the feeling that Blu-ray must be winning the war.

Blu-ray is also moving toward putting itself in the lead by introducing what is being called the Bonus View. Bonus View is essentially a picture-in-picture feature that allows user to identify titles and players. Philips has already announced its first Blu-ray player with this feature, the BDP7200, which was shown a the Consumer Electronics Show. Samsung is also launching a player with the feature, but its player will be an HD DVD/Blu-ray player. This new model is expected to hit the market in May.