Not a whole lot to go on right now, but German site HDTV Praxis has it that both Paramount and Universal will now make the obvious choice and publish their films on Blu-ray. Notably, this follows hints seen in certain Circuit City databases as well as word that we've received noting that both studios would indeed make things easy on everyone and simply support the one format still standing. Interestingly, DreamWorks isn't mentioned in the linked article per se, but we've all ideas it'll be following suit shortly.

[Thanks, Khattab]

Update: Universal's president Craig Kornblau had this to say: "While Universal values the close partnership we have shared with Toshiba, it is time to turn our focus to releasing new and catalog titles on Blu-ray." Thanks, Kiwi616!

Not like it's any surprise or anything, but the company known for its fairly continuous stream of Blu-ray / HD DVD combo players is reportedly expected to hone in on Blu in the very near future. If you'll recall, we heard Onkyo make a similar statement earlier this month, and according to an unspecified Samsung official, it's looking to "show more interest in Blu-ray products than rival HD DVD." Unfortunately, that's all the firm would utter on the record, but really, it pretty much says it all. 'Course, it remains to be seen what will happen to the forthcoming BD-UP5500, but don't be shocked to hear that Sammy's next high-definition movie player only understands one of the two formats.

Not like it's any huge surprise or anything -- after all, the HD DVD deathwatch is already in full effect -- but Niveus has just informed us that due to "customer demand and format war influences," it will be adding support for Blu-ray and "ceasing production of HD DVD-based servers." According to CEO Tim Cutting, "incorporating Blu-ray into its offerings has always been part of the plan, but the demand from its customers, market trends, and recent announcements expedited its decision to come to market with Blu-ray support sooner rather than later." Adding more salt to the wound, he continued by saying that "while it has stood behind HD DVD as a viable high-definition platform, company engineers have been running Blu-ray in its testing facilities and are very impressed with the performance and integration with its servers." Another one bites the proverbial dust, eh?

According to the latest NPD group report, during the month of December Blu-ray players held 60 percent of the HD media player market -- despite the fact that HD DVD players were considerably cheaper. While that might've helped Warner in its decision to go Blu, the move has definitely had a dramatic effect on player sales since. According to the same study the week after the announcement, Blu-ray players were able to grab 93 percent of the market, which puts the year to date (short, we know) share for Blu-ray players at 70 percent. Granted, it's hard to put too much stock in just a week or two of data, but if this and the recent media sales numbers (85 percent) becomes a trend, maybe this won't be such a slow death for HD DVD after all.

[Via Blu-ray.com]

Affiliations in the HD DVD vs. Blu-ray format war have been pretty clearly defined for nearly two years now -- despite a hybrid player here and some international releases there, most of the players involved have not switched support since the early days. Well that's all about to change, as Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks Animation -- which started off HD DVD only before deciding to go both ways -- have officially announced plans to release movies exclusively on HD DVD, dropping Blu-ray support entirely. This means that hits like Transformers, Shrek the Third and Blades of Glory won't follow Mission: Impossible III as cross-format releases when they debut this holiday season. Paramount has released about 30 movies on Blu-ray so far, but those days have come to an end: apparently cheaper HD players trump a 2:1 sales advantage. We can't wait to see how the Blu-ray camp responds to this.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Making good on a promise made earlier this year, Sony has apparently made available a duo of cheaper, smaller LCDs to discount retailer Target as it attempts to cater to a different sect of customers. Reportedly, the 26- and 32-inch 720p Bravias won't be available in Target B&M locations until next month, but both sets are showing up on Target's website right now. Also, we should see a similar infiltration into Wal-Mart and possibly a few other big box retailers in the coming months, but those looking to snag a Sony LCD on the (comparatively) cheap can head on over to Target's virtual storefront and procure the 32-inch KDL32ML130 for $899.99 or the slightly smaller KDL26ML130 for a Benjamin less.

[Via CNET]
Read - Sony's 32-inch KDL32ML130
Read - Sony's 26-inch KDL26ML130