Why We Did It: Warner Explains Its Move to Blu-ray (Interview)

Today Warner Bros. became the latest (and final) studio to pick a side in the high-def DVD battle. Until now, it was the only major studio left that was producing discs using both HD DVD and Blu-ray technology.

Warner Home Entertainment president Kevin Tsujihara spoke to a handful of us tech bloggers today to further explain why WB made the decision it did.

In a nutshell, Tsujihara said that WB had been "monitoring the [high-def] situation closely" and felt it was time to pick a side. The big problem? "Consumer confusion was beginning to happen even with standard-definition DVD," he said. "Both formats were having an impact that caused consumers to say, let's wait a bit to buy anything, even a standard-definition DVD. We were starting to see the worst of all worlds: No one was buying high-def and not buying standard-def either."

The argument that confusion between HD DVD and Blu-ray was causing people not to buy either high-def format has been with us for a while, but this is the first time I've heard anyone make the connection to declining regular DVD sales. It makes sense, though. If you, as a consumer, feel a (real) move to a new standard is imminent, you're not going to buy the old one. Industry-wide, total DVD sales fell 4.5 percent last year, a huge decline that has some insiders nervous.

Tsujihara said that, not including WB's blockbuster "Planet Earth" release, the company had already been selling 60 percent of its high-def titles in Blu-ray format in the U.S. But that figure was 70-plus percent in Europe and 90-plus percent in Japan.

In addressing the oft-rumored "marketing compensation" paid to studios for switching high-def sides (aka payola), Tsujihara laughed and joked that he had heard these rumors too and was anxious to see such a check. "It's not a bidding war," he said. "It's all about what's best strategically for us." That said, he curiously didn't outright state that no payment had been received by Warner for dumping HD DVD. Not that it matters, I suppose. All's fair in love and home video.