Disney & Warner Bros. Go Blu-Ray

Both Disney and Warner Bros. have announced their support of the Blu-Ray format, and title releases will soon be on the way.

Disney, who is exclusively supporting Blu-Ray, will be releasing Dinosaur, Eight Below, The Great Raid and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back on September 19th; followed by Glory Road, Haunted Mansion, Gone In 60 Seconds, Dark Water and The Brothers Grimm on October 17th.

Dinosaur, Eight Below, Glory Road, Haunted Mansion and Gone In 60 Seconds will be "Blu-Scape" releases - titles that also feature exclusive high-definition short films based on the respective feature title. These exclusives will only be available on the Blu-Ray release of the title.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros. plans to release Good Night and Good Luck, Rumor Has It, Training Day, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang on Blu-Ray on August 1st. All of the titles, with the exception of Good Night and Good Luck are already available for sale in the HD-DVD format.

HD-DVD Launches Marketing Campaign & Website

Toshiba, Universal, Paramount, Warner Bros., Microsoft, Intel, and HP have joined forces to form the North American HD DVD promotional group. This new non-profit group will both "get the word out" about HD-DVD and educate the consumer on the abilities and benefits of the new format.

The group has also set up a new website where consumers can go to find out all they need to know about HD-DVD, as well as watch trailers and get information about upcoming HD-DVD releases.

This $150 million marketing effort is the first full-blown attack in the "format war" against Blu-ray, and it couldn't come at a better time...since the release of Samsung's Blu-ray player and the first few waves of Blu-ray movies, the wide consensus among both consumers and reviewers is that HD-DVD movies both look and sound better.

Of course, don't expect Blu-ray and Sony to remain silent...they are still in the early stages of their own format launch, and a competing marketing campaign of their own can't be far behind.

As always, Hi-Def DVD Empire will stay in the trenches, as these first volleys of what is sure to be a long battle for the future of home entertainment are fired.

Paramount Goes HD-DVD

Although Paramount was expected all along to jump into the HD-DVD game, we can finally report that they have officially done so, announcing their first wave of releases.

On July 25th, Paramount will release HD-DVD versions of Tomb Raider, Sahara, Sky Captain & The World Of Tomorrow, and Sleepy Hollow.

Then, on August 1st, the studio will release We Were Soldiers, Four Brothers, and the 2004 remake of The Manchurian Candidate.

Finally, August 8th will see the HD-DVDs of Aeon Flux, U2: Rattle & Hum, and The Italian Job.

Specs for the titles have not yet been announced, but keep your eyes on DVD Empire's HD-DVD section for more info, including pre-book information.