DVD News

Warner Bros. signs on for Blu-ray format

By M&C News Jan 4, 2008, 23:14 GMT

In response to consumer demand, Warner Bros. Entertainment has announced its high-definition DVD titles will be released exclusively in the Blu-ray disc format beginning later this year.

The announcement was made today (Friday, Jan. 4th) by Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros. and Kevin Tsujihara, President, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group.

In a press release, Meyer stated: “Warner Bros.’ move to exclusively release in the Blu-ray disc format is a strategic decision focused on the long term and the most direct way to give consumers what they want. The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger.  We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers.”

Warner Home Video will continue to release its titles in standard DVD format and Blu-ray.  After a short window following their standard DVD and Blu-ray releases, all new titles will continue to be released in HD DVD until the end of May 2008.

In the same release, President and Chief Executive Officer, Time Warner Inc. Jeff Bewkes stated: “Warner Bros. has produced in both high-definition formats in an effort to provide consumer choice, foster mainstream adoption and drive down hardware prices. Today’s decision by Warner Bros. to distribute in a single format comes at the right time and is the best decision both for consumers and Time Warner.”

Titles headed for the Blu-ray treatment include The Invasion, The Brave One, No Reservations, In the Valley of Elah, Michael Clayton, and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.