Paramount turns its back on Blu-ray

Movie studio Paramount has stated that it will only published its movies in the HD-DVD high-definition format.

The Viacom subsidiary is the exclusive distributor of DreamWorks Animation movies such as Shrek.

The agreement delivers a blow to the rival Blu-ray format in what is turning out to be a repeat of the VHS-Betamax standards war of the 1980s.

"We believe that [HD-DVD] is the best format to bring high quality home entertainment to a key segment of our audience: families," DreamWorks Animation chief executive Jeffrey Katzenberg said in a statement.

"The combination of this year's low-priced HD-DVD players, and the commitment to release a significant number of hit titles in the fall, makes HD-DVD the best way to view movies at home."

HD-DVD is primarily backed by Toshiba and counts Microsoft's Xbox 360 as well as studios including Warner Bros and Universal Studios among its backers.

The Blu-ray Consortium is led by Sony and counts most of the major US movie studios among its backers.

The first players and disks for both formats started selling last year. Although volumes are very limited for now, Blu-ray outsold HD-DVD by 50 per cent in the first half of this year, according to Home Media Magazine.

A total of 3.7 million discs were sold over the period.