Doesn't make me too comfortable. 

I know, right? Corporate politics sucks.

It seems the Financial Times is reporting that Paramount is looking to get out of its exclusive HD DVD contract. No sources are mentioned in the story, so I'll be taking this report with a grain of salt until I see something to back it up (or an official announcement).

I too am eager for it to be done.  I'd love to see HD DVD win, but with this news, I don't see that as a possibility.  At best they can limp along with a few studios, but I expect that by summer, everyone will be putting out Blu-ray and most likely exclusivly.

For me it doesn't really matter if HD DVD dies or not.  An HD DVD victory is near impossible at this point and the best case scenario is that we simply have two formats (very unlikely in my opinion).  So I'm planning on picking up a PS3 this week most likely.  I was planning to anyway, but this news has just made me jump sooner rather than later.

Now the only decision is figuring out if I should go for the 40GB or pay the extra $100 for the 80GB.  The only upside to the more expensive machine is that with 2 small kids, we could pick up old PS2 games.  The PS3 games aren't really geared toward young children and they are EXPENSIVE!  I'm thinking I'll just go cheap.  They already have DS machines and a Wii.

Take this for what it is worth...

Posted by Bill Hunt today...

Quote:
Well... we've had SOME confirmation this morning of the details of the Financial Times story from last night. While the studio isn't yet commenting, reliable industry sources are telling us that Paramount is indeed preparing to end their HD-DVD support and announce a return to the Blu-ray fold. Details are currently being finalized, and an announcement is expected as soon as they're complete. Paramount's first new Blu-rays will almost certainly include many of those titles that were cancelled last year, but that were already packaged and ready for shipping, so you could see them in stores very quickly once the studio announces.

Meanwhile, sources are telling us that Universal has also been talking with the BDA, and is looking to follow Paramount and Warner's lead as soon as possible.

On a related note, Times Online in the U.K. is now reporting that as many as 20 additional firms currently backing HD-DVD are also considering defection in the wake of Warner's Friday announcement, including Fujitsu, Lenovo, Kenwood and Pony Canyon (which is a major Japanese film and music studio).

What's more, word is starting to circulate at CES that major big box retailers will begin winding down in-store support for HD-DVD as soon as these studios go public with their decisions. We're told that the industry's major retail partners are already pressuring Paramount, DreamWorks and Universal to go Blu following Warner's decision.

Rumors are also beginning to circulate here that Apple's Steve Jobs may announce the addition of Blu-ray Disc drives to their Mac desktop lineup at next week's Macworld Expo in San Francisco.

We would caution you to keep in mind that all of this should be considered unofficial until the studios make their actual announcements. Things are moving very fast, and the situation is highly fluid. Still, it really looks like this is the end for HD-DVD, and the end of the format war overall. We'll keep you up to date with new developments as they break.

I took my first step towards purple today.  I just place an order from Amazon for The Fifth Element, A Clockwork Orange and Lost: Season 3 all on Blu-ray.  I also picked up one of these so I can use my universal remote to control the PS3.   It's not perfect, but I think it will be just fine until something better comes along.  And it's only $14.

Funny - the related purchases on that remote included The Fifth Element. 

Though, there's a nice bluetooth remote for the PS3 that gives you a lot more functionality.

I would have gladly paid more for the Sony remote if it wasn't Bluetooth.  It looks like a far ore powerful remote.  But I have exactly one remote to control my devices (except for the Wii of course) and I'm not going to mess with a second one for watching movies on the PS3.  Plus the wife and kids are used to having one remote for everything.

The Nyko remote will do the job for now.  If a better remote comes out in the future, I might upgrade.  But for $14, I really couldn't pass it up.  That's a fantastic price.