Those of you following the format war closely are probably already aware of all the speculation over Warner Bros. announcing their stance on the high-definition disc formats. Much of this hubbub began a few weeks ago when a Business Week article postulated what might happen if Warner chose sides instead of remaining neutral. As the story picked up steam, HD DVD haters assured everyone that Warner would make a major announcement in their favor at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in early January.
Just days after the Business Week article came out, nationally syndicated columnist, Don Lindich, received a very brief clarification from a Warner executive, who reiterated their neutral stance for the forseeable future. Two days later, another Warner executive from half way around the world in Australia echoed the same sentiments.
With CES just a couple of weeks away, Don Lindich again offers up the latest assurance that Warner is not going to do what the HD DVD haters think. Don is among the CES attendees who have received invitations to the HD DVD Promotional Group’s press conference at CES. The invitation clearly lists Warner Home Video as one of the presenters, and Don was told by the PR agency handling the event that Warner is showing up to speak. You can see the invitation card for yourself and read more about it at his blog.
The momentum of the speculation about Warner had never abated in certain circles. One of the explanations given for the Warner executives’ comments is that the company would certainly never reveal their plans this far in advance, so it’s perfectly natural that they would issue those denials. Fair enough, but let’s not forget that a bazillion HD DVD players have been sold in the last few weeks, and that there’s a giant with a lot of software buying power about to be awakened in the weeks and months ahead. It would seem logical that if Warner was to choose a side, that they’d wait to see whether these new HD DVD customers materialized or not.
Detractors should also be reminded that Warner is one of the patent holders on HD DVD technology (and Blu-ray too), and this is not a decision they’d make casually. It’s highly likely that both sides are constantly wooing Warner for its exclusive affections, and offering a lot of appealing incentives to choose them or at least not to switch the “wrong” side. This must be awesome for Warner.
One thing that enthusiasts on both sides can agree on is that the January 6 press conference will be a big deal — although their fingers will be crossed for opposite reasons.
