Will Total HD End the Blu-ray/HD-DVD Format War?

This year at CES I'm looking forward to seeing how manufacturers address the format war between Blu-ray and HD-DVD.

Though LG has promised such players in the past, the Korean consumer electronics giant is purportedly unveiling a next-gen universal disc player that handles both Blu-ray and HD-DVD. But the New York Times reports that Warner Brothers plans to announce details on Total HD, a new hybrid format that contains Blu-ray and HD-DVD versions of a movie on one disc. (We picked up on this back in October when Warner filed a patent for the dual-format disc.)

How much memory these discs will have remains to be seen, but even if they boast relatively humongous capacity, they'll likely be missing some of the HD extras and other interactive features we've been told are one of the big reasons to upgrade to next-gen discs.

And yet, is the lack of HD extras such a big deal? Considering the continued relative paucity of HD sources (still only 29 or so HD channels with king-of-HD-providers Dish Network, for example), the Total HD disc actually sounds like a perfectly satisfying way to get your favorite HD movies when you want them. I think we're still early enough in the HD revolution to get anything in HD, even if it's just a crappy movie, as evidenced by the hours I have spent watching crappy shows just because they're in HD. In other words, I don't need the HD extras on the disc for the disc to be a compelling purchase because I'm still pretty hungry for anything I can watch in HD on my HDTV!

Assuming that HD extras don't count for much at this point in the game, Total HD also sounds easier on the consumers in terms of the disc-buying experience. Even so, it's too bad that consumers still have to make that tough decision between an HD-DVD player and a Blu-ray player, which is why my money's on universal players that can handle both formats. Because, in the long run, the only thing that'll keep next-gen disc sales going are the extras—who's going to buy an extras-light Total HD disc when they can just download an HD version of the same movie over the Internet or via on-demand cable?

What do you think? Would you rather stick with one format and get the HD extras or do you just care about the movie in HD?

Related links:

CES 2007: Total HD Discs
CES 2007 Preview: LG's Dual-Format HD Player
Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD: The Hands-on Experience, Part 1
HD-DVD Plus Blu-ray in One Hybrid Disc?