Warner Delays BD/HD-DVD Compatible Total HD Disc

According to a new report, Warner has delayed the release of Total HD, a new dual-sided format that would contain Blu-ray and HD-DVD data on a single disc, to 2008, hoping to give retailers time to properly section and market what essentially would be a third SKU per movie. The news comes via Warner VP of sales, planning and operations Dan Miron speaking at a Entertainment Supply Chain Academy conference session, as reported by video news site Video Business. Warner senior VP of marketing management Steve Nickerson also verified the news at the conference, saying the company is waiting until it can bring 10-20 titles in the format to retail so the new format doesn't "get lost." Nickerson is quoted as saying, "There is no expiration date on the viability of this concept, so we’re not in a rush to do it. We’ll do it when it makes sense and when it's right." Recently, Blockbuster raised the stakes in the next-gen video format war when it announced it would not be introducing HD-DVD titles to any further locations, and would instead be stocking solely Blu-ray discs in the future, relegating HD-DVD to its online rental.