During the waning hours of CES, HBO announced that it will soon publish its programs exclusively on Blu-ray Disc, abandoning the HD-DVD format. The Blu-ray news follows similar announcements from other studios earlier during CES, dealing a serious blow to HD-DVD in the “format war” between the two high-definition movie formats.
Last Friday, Warner Home Video announced it would drop HD-DVD as a supported format effective June 1, 2008. From that point on, Warner will publish its titles exclusively on Blu-ray Disc.
New Line Home Entertainment also announced it will take the Blu-ray-exclusive approach — effective immediately.
With Warner, New Line and now HBO abandoning HD-DVD support, the HD-DVD group is left with its heaviest supporters being Paramount and Universal. All other studios are moving — or have moved already — to Blu-ray only releases.
