Warner Bros. Set To Introduce Total HD At CES
Warner Bros. will unveil an new optical disc format, dubbed Total HD, that will pre-empt a HD disc format war. The new format is capable of playing in both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc devices. Warner will formally unveil Total HD next week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
Warner hasn’t provided details, but the disc is based on technology patented back in December 2005. It’s a dual-layer disc, with an HD DVD layer on top and Blu-Ray on the bottom, much like the DualDisc. Warner Bros. chief Barry M Meyer told the New York Times yesterday that the format is predicated on the fact there’s no clear winner in the battle between BD and HD DVD, and one isn’t likely to emerge for some time.
Total HD will appeal to content retailers, he added, who’ll be able to stock one disc not two. Many content providers have chosen one camp over the other with the hope of pushing consumers to one single format. Unfortunately, that’s not happening. Consumers have chosen to just sit it out and wait before investing their hard-earned dollars into a format that may go the way of the BetaMax. This is the reason that some manufacturers, such as LG, are set to produce a dual-format players. Warner and Paramount are the only movie studios who have embraced both Blue-Ray and HD DVD.
