CES 2007: Warner announces HD DVD - Blu-ray combo disc

While the Blu-ray and HD DVD camps are still at each other's throats, we are seeing the first hybrid high-definition solutions entering the home video market. Earlier this week, LG announced a hybrid HD DVD - Blu-ray player; Warner followed up late Tuesday with a hybrid hi-def disc that can be played both in HD DVD and Blu-ray players.

You could interpret this week's announcements as frustration of the consumer electronics and entertainment industry over Sony's and Toshiba's inability to agree on a common high-definition video standard. There's a lot at stake for many companies both industries, which - given today's size of the home video market of nearly $25 billion per year - may not be able to cope with another Betamax debacle. Rather than waiting for Sony and Toshiba and congratulating one or the other for defeating the other, hybrid HD solutions could surface as the real winner. They are a welcome and refreshing development that could save consumers, the content industry and consumer electronics manufacturers billions of dollars.