Warner's high-def combo 'Total HD' project is unlikely to resume

The president of WHV made a statement to a reporter indicating his company would most likely not resume its ambitious hybrid Blu-ray/HD DVD combo disc project, though he didn't shut the door entirely.

Warner Home Video President Ron Sanders is quoted by Home Media Magazine today as saying that since his is the only studio remaining that is willing to support both formats, it may be unable to go forth with its plans to produce high-definition titles on its hybrid "Total HD" format.

Early this year, the video division of the studio announced its intention to premiere Total HD at CES 2007. When attendees arrived and when the HD DVD on one side, Blu-ray on the other side format didn't appear, confusion ensued.

It took the company until June to give a formal explanation for the delay, saying for the first time that the format was on hold. With the possibility left open for seeing Total HD in "early 2008," many came to the conclusion it might premiere at CES after all, just one year later.

Now, Sanders' comments have allayed those hopes early, telling the magazine that promoting Total HD "only makes sense for studios supporting both formats, and since Paramount went the other way and retail didn't push the issue, one studio isn't enough for us to pull the trigger."

The letdown comes as the DVD Forum proceeds with efforts to adopt version 2.0 of its 51 GB, triple-layer format championed by Toshiba. The first actual working version of the format, whose specifications were numbered Version 1.9, was approved last August 31.