• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, August 31, 2007

After a series of setbacks, HD DVD won a round in the high-def DVD format war in August when Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation chose HD DVD over Blu-ray. Until then, Universal Pictures had been the only major studio distributing films exclusively on HD DVD. The surprise move revives a high-tech contest that appeared to be going Blu-ray’s way lately.

Sony gave Blu-ray a big initial boost by incorporating the ability to play Blu-ray discs into PlayStation 3 consoles.

HD DVDs also suffered a blow in June when Blockbuster said it would rent only Blu-ray discs at its 1,700 company-owned outlets. A month later, Target said it would start selling the Sony Blu-ray player along with Blu-ray discs in store displays during the key holiday shopping season. (Target sells HD DVD discs in stores, however, and a Toshiba HD DVD player on its Web site.)

Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for NPD Techworld, says it’s too early to declare a winner. As of the first quarter, the rivals were in a virtual dead heat in terms of market share, according to the NPD Group. “This holiday season should prove very interesting, with players on both sides likely to be offered at more aggressive prices than we’ve seen so far,” he says.