Ouch! Warners to Go Exclusively Blu-ray (Report)

Looks like the Blu-ray camp has struck back at HD DVD, which scored a coup in August when it convinced Paramount and DreamWorks to go HD DVD-only.

Industry sources are telling Bloomberg News and Reuters that movie studio Warner Brothers, the last of the big studios to support both Blu-ray and HD DVD, will indeed go Blu-ray exclusive. If the story is true, Blu-ray—which already has the exclusive support of such movie studios as Disney, Fox, Sony, and MGM—will have regained its edge in the ongoing format war.

As I've posted about before, both the HD DVD camps and Blu-ray were reportedly courting the previously format-neutral Warner Brothers, hoping to woo the studio to one side or the other. With Warner's apparent defection to Blu-ray, the HD DVD camp will be left with movies from Universal, Paramount, and DreamWorks (good if you love Jason Bourne and Shrek, not so good if you're a fan of "Pirates of the Caribbean," James Bond, or Batman).

So does this mean the end for HD DVD? Well, not yet, but the news bodes ill for the long term. As I've written previously, HD DVD has the backing of Toshiba and Universal, not to mention that tech behemoth known as Microsoft. Also, HD DVD stand-alone players still have the edge in terms of pricing (although Blu-ray players just started to fall below the $300 mark). That said, Blu-ray will have a serious edge in terms of studio support, and the HD DVD camp's exclusive with Paramount and DreamWorks ends in 2009. In other words, if you're thinking of snapping up an HD DVD player...think carefully. You might have precious few movies to choose from.

Update: Reuters and Bloomberg News are now confirming the story.

Another update: Warner Brothers just released an official statement, which notes that it will continue to release HD DVD titles until May 2008.

And finally: Chris Null spoke with Warner Brothers execs, who sidestep the question of whether they took cash for their jump to Blu-ray.

Related:
Warner Bros. to Sell High-Definition DVDs in Blu-Ray [Bloomberg News]
Warner Bros to back Blu-ray exclusively – sources [Reuters]