Warner Bros joins Blu-ray camp

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Scoring another point for Sony Corp in a war over new DVD formats, Warner Bros Entertainment on Thursday said it would release high-definition movies in the Blu-ray format backed by a group led by Sony.

The move by Warner, a film studio owned by Time Warner Inc, gives Sony further ammunition against a rival format called HD DVD, which is endorsed by a consortium of electronics makers including Toshiba.

Warner had previously said it would release titles in HD DVD and will continue to support that format. Warner's move to also support Blu-ray was prompted by the failure of both sides to agree on a unified format before players went on sale.

The formats are incompatible, and Hollywood executives fear that will lead to consumer confusion. Industry watchers compare the standoff to the battle between VHS and Betamax in the 1980s.

Earlier this week, technology group Forrester Research declared Blu-ray as the winner due to its growing support, but the battle is far from over since neither technology is available for the mass market.

The support of Hollywood's six major film studios -- seen as the key factor to determine which technology will win -- had been split evenly until recently.

Warner's move follows a similar move this month by Paramount Home Entertainment, owned by Viacom Inc, which said it would release digital movies in the Blu-ray format, becoming the first major studio to support both.

Representatives from both the Blu-ray and HD DVD groups were not available late Thursday.

HD DVD representatives have said, however, that they believe they have an advantage because they will get to the market earlier with their players and their discs, targeting to be in the United States by about February or March next year.

Toshiba said in a statement late on Thursday that it was still working with Warner Bros on the commercial launch of HD DVD and that it is "more than confident (Warner's support of Blu-ray) will not affect timely introduction of HD DVD content to the market."

Blu-ray has not given a launch date, but Sony's PlayStation 3, which will incorporate Blu-ray, is due out in the spring.

Also this week, Hewlett-Packard Co raised the stakes in the battle by asking the makers of Blu-ray to include two technologies in its specifications now supported by HD-DVD that are important to PC makers and users.

Additional reporting by Sinead Carew in New York.