Warner plans Blu-ray combos with 3 formats in 1 package

Home-video companies are starting to listen to consumers. Starting early next year, Warner Home Video said it is going to release the Blu-ray editions of all new theatrical films in one package with a Blu-ray disc, standard DVD and a digital copy for portable devices. The good news is that these so-called Blu-ray combo packages will retail for the same price as Warner's current Blu-ray-only releases. Warner issued Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince as a Blu-ray combo for a $36 MSRP, but it has been on sale for less than half that price. There's no word on whether this move will eventually include catalog titles, but I assume huge catalog releases -- maybe something along the lines of the Lord of the Rings trilogy -- would get serious consideration. Disney was the first major company to offer some Blu-ray releases in all three formats in one package, a better option than Universal's recent announcement of "flipper" discs with Blu-ray on one side and standard DVD on the other.

Warner also announced Wednesday night that it will release a line of double-feature Blu-ray packs for an MSRP of $25 beginning Feb. 23. They include Dirty Harry/Magnum Force, Analyze This/Analyze That, Presumed Innocent/Frantic, Miss Congeniality/Miss Congeniality 2 and Grumpy Old Men/Grumpier Old Men.