In the competition between the two rival next-generation formats, HD DVD has gained a slight advantage by coming to market first, even though only a few titles are available, and the first round of players are priced at a level that is likely to appeal only to early adopters.

Now, Warner Home Video is hoping to change this situation by releasing hybrid titles – discs that are regular DVD-Video movies on one side and HD DVD on the other and the first such title is the Rob Reiner comedy Rumor Has It.

Warner hopes that the hybrid discs will help consumers transition slowly over to the new HD DVD format: "Purchasing a disc now in this format gives consumers the greatest flexibility in viewing options," Warner senior vice president Steve Nickerson said. "If they own an HD DVD player, they'll get all the benefits of HD DVD. If they're considering a future purchase of an HD DVD player, they can still enjoy the movie (on their existing DVD player) until they upgrade."

However, some industry observers say what is lost with the hybrid format is the ability to have widescreen and pan-and-scan versions on opposite sides of the disc, and double-sided discs cannot feature silkscreened printing on one of the sides.

There is the view that if consumers purchase hybrid titles they are less likely to follow up that purchase with a Blu-ray player instead of an HD DVD one. Whether this represents a significant proportion of the movie-buying public is the key question.

Story filed 03.05.06