Warner, which states that it is the only studio producing content in both Blu-ray and HD DVD formats, has now put their Total HD hybrid disc format plans on hold for the foreseeable future, saying that it does not make any sense to promote the format all by itself and reckons it would be too hard to push the new media standard alone.  The format was something that Warner offered up to the industry as a solution and mentions they have no proprietary interest in the format, let alone any patents on Total HD.  As most of the studios now exclusively back one HD disc format, it is unlikely Total HD would become major success, at least in the near future.

If Warner would go alone with the format, it would potentially further complicate its retail partners, as it would lead to one set of shelves for Blu-ray, another set for HD DVD and then the confusion of what to do with these hybrids.  Another problem is that the Total HD discs require pretty complex technologies to replicate, including custom-made replication equipment.  As a result, it would make the format pretty expensive to start off, thus adding several dollars to the already expensive HD DVD and Blu-ray title pricing.  Finally, Warner would also need to standardise its Total HD format with both the Blu-ray disc association and the DVD Forum. 

Should this format war continue on with most of the studios exclusively backing one format or the other, it looks like it will either result in hybrid players becoming the solution or worse still, it could turn out like another DVD-Audio vs. Super Audio CD battle, where neither format becomes a success, leading to the legacy standard definition format (e.g. Audio CD) becoming the real winner.

Further info can be read in this X-bit labs report.