Yesterday Paramount dropped a bomb on the format war. AV web forums and blogs are buzzing with the pro-HD DVD celebrating the victory and the pro-Blu Ray wringing their hands and making excuses. What impact does Paramount's decision have on the format war?

Before the announcement Universal stood alone with Weinstein (who is a smaller player) as the only HD DVD exclusive studios. Warner Bros. and Paramount released on both formats, and New Line is going to release on both formats as well. That left Blu Ray with Sony (Sony Pictures, Columbia TriStar and Screen Gems), Fox, MGM, Lionsgate and Disney. Very lopsided toward Blu Ray. Let's look at 2007 YTD box office receipts:

I came across this rumor and deemed it too far fetched to post. Well, Paramount made it official today. Paramount and Dreamworks are going HD DVD exclusive and dropping support for Blu Ray.

Brad Grey, chairman and C.E.O. of Paramount Pictures stated "I believe HD DVD is not only the affordable high-quality choice for consumers, but also the smart choice for Paramount". This decision means that holiday blockbuster releases Shrek the Third and Transformers will only be released on DVD and HD DVD. Paramount also owns Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films. The exception is that Spielberg films will still be released on both formats. This is a big victory for HD DVD in a format war where Blu Ray has held the dominant position since the beginning of the year. It also shows that Toshiba, who recently announced a third generation of HD DVD players isn't planning on throwing in the towel anytime soon and is taking steps toward strengthening their position. Universal and Paramount both HD DVD exclusive.

The format war just got more interesting. This just in, the official press release.

Both sides in the Blu Ray-HD DVD format war are passionate and vocal about their format being better. Here are 5 reasons why HD DVD is the superior format:

1. HD DVD software was ready from the launch of the format. Blu Ray, on the other hand, is still waiting for it's encryption scheme to start being utilized. Also, at launch and for several months after, Sony was incapable of making a dual layer disc. Early Blu Ray discs have less storage capacity than HD DVD.

2. Interactive extra features. HD DVD has alternate audio tracks, like DVD, but on HD DVD they have picture in picture of the commentator overlaid on the screen. Another implementation is picture in picture windows that pop up in certain scenes that contain relevant making of clips. The interactive features of Blu Ray are still missing in action, so this is a big plus for HD DVD.