DVD wars still raging

>i>For a moment there, it looked as though the battle between the competing high-definition video formats was decided. In recent months, the camp backing Sony's (SNE) Blu-ray technology announced a series of partnerships with rental and retail stores that left the rival HD-DVD format limping. But key support from Paramount Home Entertainment for HD-DVD make the next-generation video disc wars once again too close to call.

On Aug. 20, Paramount parent Viacom (VIA) announced plans to release home movies from Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks (DWA), Nickelodeon, and MTV Films exclusively in the HD-DVD format, which is backed by Toshiba (TOSBY) and Microsoft (MSFT). Recent box-office blockbusters such as Transformers, Shrek the Third, and Blades of Glory will be among the first films to be released solely for HD-DVD players. Together, the three films brought in more than $1.5 billion worldwide, making them among the highest-grossing movies of 2007, alongside Walt Disney's (DIS) Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and Columbia Pictures' Spider-Man 3. Both Disney and Sony-owned Columbia Pictures support the Blu-ray format..