The NY Times reports: In addition to Apple, Warner Brothers is now going to throw its weight behind the Blu-ray format
for high-definition disks. Warner has been the only major studio to
publish its movies in both Blu-ray and HD DVD formats. Today, the
studio announced that from now on, it would only issue movies in Blu-ray.

In response to consumer demand,
Warner Bros. Entertainment will release its high-definition DVD titles
exclusively in the Blu-ray disc format beginning later this year, it
was announced today by Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros.
and Kevin Tsujihara, President, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group.

"Warner Bros.’ move to exclusively release in the Blu-ray disc
format is a strategic decision focused on the long term and the most
direct way to give consumers what they want," said Meyer. "The window
of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format
confusion continues to linger. 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."

Warner Home Video will continue to release its titles in
standard DVD format and Blu-ray. After a short window following their
standard DVD and Blu-ray releases, all new titles will continue to be
released in HD DVD until the end of May 2008.

"Warner Bros. has produced in both high-definition formats in
an effort to provide consumer choice, foster mainstream adoption and
drive down hardware prices," said Jeff Bewkes, President and Chief
Executive Officer, Time Warner Inc., the parent company of Warner Bros.
Entertainment. "Today’s decision by Warner Bros. to distribute in a
single format comes at the right time and is the best decision both for
consumers and Time Warner."

"A two-format landscape has led to consumer confusion and
indifference toward high definition, which has kept the technology from
reaching mass adoption and becoming the important revenue stream that
it can be for the industry," said Tsujihara. "Consumers have clearly
chosen Blu-ray, and we believe that recognizing this preference is the
right step in making this great home entertainment experience
accessible to the widest possible audience. Warner Bros. has worked
very closely with the Toshiba Corporation in promoting high definition
media and we have enormous respect for their efforts. We look forward
to working with them on other projects in the future."

Via Time Warner