HD DVD VS. Blu-Ray DIsc

HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, the latter of which is backed primarily by Sony (NYSE: SNE) , are competing to be the high-definition format that replaces today's current DVDs. Both are designed to offer better quality than traditional DVDs, and each has won support from different camps in recent months.

Among the major movie studios, Blu-ray has a tremendous lead, as it is supported by Columbia, Disney (NYSE: DIS), Fox, Lions Gate, Miramax, New Line and, most recently, Warner, which had previously supported both standards. Paramount (along with sister studio DreamWorks) and Universal are now the only remaining major-studio supporters of HD DVD.

Recent reports, however, suggests that Paramount is considering switching to Blu-ray, taking yet more wind out of HD DVD's sails. "Paramount's decision last summer to support HD DVD gave the format some momentum, but what I'm hearing is that there's a loophole in Paramount's 18-month contract with the HD DVD format so that it can get out of it," Chris Roden, research analyst with Parks Associates , told TechNewsWorld.

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