Should the consumer win?

[darinp2]

Originally Posted by MOONPHASE

warner on blu side will pratically end the format war especially if they released The Matrix on Blu-Ray with better sound then the dud version plus great picture quality for an affordable price

Announcing LOTR exclusively on Blu-ray would hurt even more IMO. I am assuming Warner and New Line move together because nothing else makes sense for their parent company (Time Warner).

As far as Japan goes I think Time Warner's only options are to move to Blu-ray and watch it take off over time, stay exclusive and watch Blu-ray take off over time (but at a slower pace), or poison the water in Japan for all studios (including their own) as far as HD on discs go, by going HD DVD exclusive. I really don't think Time Warner has nearly enough power to push HD DVD to a win in Japan with how far behind they are there and with HD DVD's disadvantages there (where they prefer recorders). In the rest of the world they might be able to help HD DVD to a win after a hard fought battle, but I just don't see it in Japan and wonder if Time Warner would really be willing to hurt themselves there like that. Even if it is only 10-15% of the market (I'm not sure how much it is), that is still too much to not consider.

--Darin