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In a surprise move made by Time Warner Bros today, Friday January 4, 2008, they announced they would exclusively sell the high-definition format offered by Sony. Blu-Ray has made huge strides and has somewhat knocked Toshiba and HD DVD off there feet but, it seems, they have taken their blows and grown better from it.

Toshiba has gone out and found other partners to help fuel the growth of its brand by agreeing to terms with Dreamworks and Paramount Pictures to exclusively sell their format. Those are huge allies in the fight against the powerhouse Sony. What this could remind you is the Big Three and the Asian companies. The same thing could happen here and Sony could loose major ground in the coming years. Sony though is rightfully the powerhouse as they are outselling HD DVDs 2:1 in the US. Look at other stats and you'll see HD DVD systems in Canada are outselling Blu-Ray systems (standalone) by around 500 000:340 000. Take into account the 3.4million PS3's and the 320 000 HD DVD add-on to the XBOX 360 and it looks even. Keep in mind that barely anybody know is buying the PS3 for the Blu-Ray player. I on the other hand have.

If you read my last article, you would have seen I know own a Toshiba HD DVD system, a PS3, and a 50inch, 1080p Panasonic Plasma HDTV. My dad did a whole lot of research when purchasing our new entertainment complex, about 3 months of sitting on the computer and going to electronic retailers. He probably made data sheets, graphs, to-do lists, and what-not. In the end, he found the PS3 was one of the better Blu-Ray players and surprised our family with it. I watched the included disc, Spiderman-3 on Blu-Ray and then I watched The Bourne Idendity on HD DVD. Evidently, Spiderman-3 was suberb on action but was lacking on still scenes. My 23-year old brother who does know his stuff, concurred with me. The Bourne Idendity was great on action and still. I never noticed anything bad about it. That begs the question, why would Sony include a bad disc or a bad movie and if not a bad movie, why is Blu-Ray the fan favourite? My only answer is the name.

"Ironically, Sony was also the backer of the Betamax format. In a repeat of history, Sony is pushing Blu-ray, a technically superior medium, but is seeming to repeat some of its mistakes with Betamax."

Warner will continue to release HD DVD movies until May. Warner Bros. believes further confusion with the consumer will destroy the industry. I was loving Warner Bros. today until I found out this and now I will only buy HD DVD and support all of Toshiba's allies. Warners announcement will only fuel the war that was started long ago and further confuse the consumer.

My conclusion though for all you readers is, buy a player from both sides, rent a HD DVD and Blu-Ray movie of your choice and see which is the best for you.