WB inaugurates HD-DVD Trade-Ins

In the early days of the High-Def wars, there were 2 DVD-like products to choose from: HD-DVD (pushed by Toshiba and Microsoft, among others) and Blu-Ray (pushed by Sony). HD-DVD movies tended to be a little cheaper, and the players were much cheaper because (1) they used the same lasers as DVD player, and (2) they were not burdened with the same licensing costs as BluRay. But BluRay was supported by the PlayStation 3, and was backed by Sony's huge library of movies, so it eventually won out. But it left many embittered consumers with useless piles of HD-DVDs.

In an attempt to bring consumers back to the table, Warner Brothers has now announced a "Trade-In Program" where you can swap out your old HD-DVDs for BluRay discs. There are costs, and you are limited to WB movies. But it may be worth it, if you are one of those who hung onto HD-DVDs long after the horse was out of the barn.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10224852-1.html?tag=newsBlogPromoArea.0