Warner to support HD DVD until the end of May

Burbank (CA) - Ironically, Warner Bros now has one of the strongest HD DVD line-ups over the next few months, despite the fact that it has already announced an upcoming exclusive switch to Blu-ray.

Warner announced its intention to move away from HD DVD last month, but its decision won’t go into effect until the end of May. Until then, all the studio’s high-def releases will come out on both formats.

Warner will not change its lasting HD DVD plans in light of the format-killing news that came out this month, with HD DVD creators Toshiba and Universal axing their commitment to the high-def platform. The studio did not make an official comment about the news, but did reiterate its high-def plans for the near future.

As such, Warner is now one of two studios still with a notable slate of HD DVD movies coming out over the next few months. Paramount, which owns Dreamworks, is the other.

However, by the time Warner nears an end to its HD DVD support, it may be difficult to actually find an HD DVD player, with Toshiba, the almost exclusive HD DVD hardware manufacturer, ending its ties to the format.