SD/HD DVDs Announced...

[Sonnie]

Maybe we don't have to hold off on all of our DVD purchasing if we are waiting to get that next generation HD-DVD player. If only they'll start producing newer releases this way.

Reuters

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Delivering on a promise made months ago, Warner Home Video has announced the first hybrid disc to feature high-definition (HD) DVD content on one side and standard DVD content on the other.
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"Rumor Has It" will be in stores May 9, the same day as the regular DVD of the film, a Rob Reiner-directed romantic comedy starring Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Costner.

The announcement comes a week after the first two HD-DVD players, both from Toshiba, arrived in stores along with three software titles: "Serenity," from Universal Studios Home Entertainment, and Warner's "The Last Samurai" and "The Phantom of the Opera."

Warner senior vp market management Steve Nickerson said several weeks ago that Warner would be releasing a series of "hybrid" discs to ease the transition from standard to high-def DVD.

"Purchasing a disc now in this format gives consumers the greatest flexibility in viewing options," he 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."

Warner announced three additional titles to be released in the HD-DVD format: "Goodfellas" and "Swordfish" on May 2 and "Training Day" on May 9. They join three previously released HD-DVD titles from Warner: "Samurai," "Phantom" and "Million Dollar Baby," which had been earmarked as part of the April 18 launch package but because of technical issues didn't arrive in stores until late last week.