Blu-ray and HD DVD are the two choices you have in the war of the optical HD formats. The home electronics manufacturers and movie studios are unable to agree on what format they should all go with and we, the consumers, may at worse case scenario have to buy two setups of hardware to be able to enjoy our favorite movies at a high resolution format. There have for long been talks about a hybrid player which would read both formats, but Time Warner has chosen a different approach, namely a hybrid disc that can be read by both Blu-ray and HD DVD players. Time Warner will display the “Total HD” disc during CES, a disc it is planning to launch its coming movies on, which would make it possible to offer them to both Blu-ray and HD DVD owners.
“Jeffrey L. Bewkes, the president of Time Warner, said the Total HD disc has a better chance of catching on than dual players. Research commissioned by Warner indicates that consumers are willing to pay several dollars more than current high-definition DVDs for a disc that works on both players.”
Exact specifications and pricing will most likely be presented at CES but we’re very eager to see who the market will accept Total HD and how the other movie studios will react. Especially those who have strong bonds to either Blu-ray or HD DVD.
