(5 January 2008 4:25 pm)

MUMBAI: Warner Brothers Home Entertainment has announced the release of its high-definition (HD) DVDs only in the Blu-ray disc (BD) format from now on. Prior to this, Warner Bros. has been releasing media on both HD DVD and BD formats.

Warner said it decided to go with Blu-ray because consumers have shown a stronger preference for that format than HD DVD.

"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," said Warner Bros. chairman and CEO Barry Meyer.

Warner Bros, which accounts for 20 per cent of all DVD sales in the United States, will join the league of Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Disney who also release their DVDs in the BD format only. However, Paramount and Universal Pictures are still exclusive to the HD DVD format.