The recent shakeup in the Blu Ray-HD DVD format war has given HD DVD disc sales a nudge, if Amazon's sales figures are any indication.

eProductWars has updated their Blu Ray vs HD DVD page, and HD DVD currently holds the edge in overall sales rank, sales rank of top 25 products and number of titles in the overall DVD sales top 100. HD DVD also enjoys the number one spot in overall electronics sales on Amazon, as the entry level Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player hit that mark this week. The format war certainly picked up momentum last week, with HD DVD getting some much needed help from Paramount. CEDIA is next week, so it won't be long before we find out if either side has any more surprises for us.

The holiday shopping season will be heating up before too long and it will be interesting to see if the HD DVD supporting studios can turn the HD DVD boom in player sales into disc sales.

Canada based Venturer Electronics today announced their first HD DVD player for the North American market.

The Chinese-made Venturer SHD7000 will feature 1080i playback of HD DVD media via HDMI. Standard definition DVDs will be upscaled to 1080i via HDMI as well. Onboard audio support includes decoding of Dolby Digital+ and Dolby TrueHD, as well as compact disc playback. An ethernet connection is also provided for support of HD DVD's online interactive features. No suggested retail announced at this time, but with the entry level Toshiba at around $200 and the Xbox360 HD DVD add-on selling for $180, speculation leads to a unit that will sell for less than $175, perhaps close to $150. The SHD7000 will be available for purchase this holiday shopping season. *addendum 29Aug07 This just in, suggested retail price of $199.

It remains to be seen whether Walmart and similar budget-conscious retailers will sell the unit at a lower price.

Amazon is making buying a new HD DVD player an even sweeter deal until September 23.

In addition to the 5 free disc rebate Toshiba is offering until September 30, Amazon is giving customers who purchase a Toshiba HD DVD player an additional three HD DVD discs. This essentially makes all but the top of the line Toshiba HD-XA2 free. The entry level Toshiba HD-A2 is currently Amazon's #1 seller in Electronics. Not just in DVD Players, but all Electronics.

Obviously demand is already high for HD DVD players, and Amazon is making it even more attractive with the 3 disc offer.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Steve Nickerson, senior vice president of high definition media, is leaving Warner after a seven year stint.

An official press release has not yet been issued, and no replacement has been named at this time. Nickerson has held his current position since 2006, and was a vocal proponent of supporting both Blu Ray and HD DVD. It remains to be seen how this will affect Warner's position regarding the two formats. Rumors are flying that Warner is making an announcement in two weeks time at CEDIA about what their future plans are to support either both or just one of the HD optical formats. Adding fuel to that fire is Warner's online home video sales have suspended shipping until, you guessed it, September 5, the first day of CEDIA.

Is Warner getting ready to drop another bomb on the format war? Pretty much any announcement they make at CEDIA is going to stir the pot. If I had to guess, I would lean toward Warner making an exclusivity announcement, although the possibility remains that they are going to reaffirm their neutral stance and announce that all HD optical titles will be available in their proprietary Total HD disc format, which supports both Blu Ray and HD DVD on the same disc.