The dominoes are falling fast in the high-definition format war, as the HD-DVD consortium tonight cancelled its CES press conference. The cancellation comes in the wake of Warner Bros.’ announcement today that it will no longer support the HD-DVD format after June 1, 2008.
In a brief statement sent to people invited to its CES press conference, the HD-DVD Promotion Group said: “We are currently discussing the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies and evaluating next steps. We believe the consumer continues to benefit from HD DVD’s commitment to quality and affordability — a bar that is critical for the mainstream success of any format.”
In our column about today’s announcements being the death knell for HD-DVD, we reference the HD-DVD Promotion Group’s abrupt cancellation of its CES press conference.
Warner Bros.’ decision to exclusively support Blu-ray after June 1 means that Paramount, Universal and New Line Cinema are the only three big-studio amigos in their support of HD-DVD. Other, smaller, studios will continue to back the HD-DVD format, including The Weinstein Company, Canal Studios, Genius Products, Eagle Rock Entertainment, Image, Rhino and Bandhi.
