Paramount Drops Blu-Ray for HD DVD

High-definition format war takes a new turn as player prices fall
By Heather McPherson,  Newser User
Posted Aug 21, 2007 9:23 AM CDT
Paramount Drops Blu-Ray for HD DVD
An HD-DVD video disc of "The Bourne Supremacy" is seen at left, with a Blu-Ray disc of "Superman Returns" at right, at a Ken Crane's Big Screen Headquarters store in Buena Park, Calif., Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)   (Associated Press)

The face-off between two standards for high-definition DVDs took a new turn yesterday as Paramount Pictures and its subsidiary DreamWorks dropped support of Sony's Blu-ray format. Starting this week, the studios will distribute new discs exclusively in the HD DVD format, which is supported by Toshiba and functions on less expensive players, the LA Times reports.

Blu-ray had seemed to be gaining market dominance: The format outsells HD DVD two to one, and Blockbuster and Target recently made Blu-ray the only high-def DVD format they stock. Paramount's move means the internecine format war will continue; says one analyst, "We don't see an early winner in this." (More HD DVD stories.)

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