Here it is. The first title bout between HD DVD and Blu-ray brought to you by Warner Home Video. In one corner with have the HD DVD flavor of Training Day that maybe encoded in 1080p but sufferers from a player that doesn't output the higher resolution. This title was deemed a long time ago, a great HD DVD film transfer and has been waiting for it's Blu-ray counterpart to show up so he can show 'em who is the boss.

Then in the other corner we have the rookie Blu-ray version of Training Day and even though he was just released, he is 1080p through and through, from movie to player to HDTV. His corner has been plagued with problematic noise-reduction issues and while some of his other Blu-ray brethren may have had issue in the past, this version of Training Day is ready to stand up against the HD DVD monster. We don't know who is going to come out on top of this one folks as it is going to be one mighty battle.

Blow for blow after the jump

Well that was quick. Warner has announced their first Blu-ray releases. They officially announced their support last October but had not yet announced any release dates. August 1 is the big day, with four movies coming out on Blu-ray, three already available on HD DVD and one all-new in high definition. Training Day, Rumor Has It and Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang, have already shown up on HD DVD, while George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck has not. We'll finally be able to compare the same title on either format and tell what, if any, difference there is.

HD-DVD is moving the movement, with their latest announcement that we will see the first back-and-forwards compatible movie hitting store shelves May 9. Rumor Has It (which I have never heard of) will contain a high definition version on one side and a standard definition DVD on the other. The second piece of good news is that it will premiere on the same day as the standard definition release. The bad news is that this hybrid disc is going to cost you $39.99, a 135% premium over just the standard DVD as eHomeupgrade points out.

Also announced today for HD-DVD release are Goodfellas, Swordfish and Training Day, all of which will cost $28.99.

Now we'll see if anyone is really interested in future-proofing their DVD library, especially at such a price. Blu-ray also has similar types of discs on the way; with neither format expected to gain that much traction in its first year, getting consumers to build up libraries of content and locked into a format early could be key. That said, content will mark the true victor in the next generation wars, and with the "special features" provided by Eva Mendes and Halle Berry I see where Warner is going early and I kind of like it.