The hybrid discs will feature a movie in the HD DVD format on one side and standard-definition DVD on the other. Rob Reiner's "Rumor Has It" will be the first hybrid DVD to hit store shelves on May 9.

The announcement follows the news last week by Toshiba that the company began shipping the first HD DVD players for the U.S. market. The HD-XA1 and HD-A1 are retailing for $799 and $499, respectively. On April 18, Warner Home Video released its first HD DVD titles, including "Million Dollar Baby," "The Last Samurai," and "The Phantom of the Opera."

Two-in-One Combo

Warner is betting that the hybrid DVDs will attract those who might not own an HD DVD player but plan to purchase one in the future.

Paul Jackson, an analyst at Forrester Research, said that hybrid DVDs are a nice transitional product. The biggest hurdle that companies pushing the adoption of new technologies face, he explained, is convincing consumers to purchase a product for which there are only a few accessories.

"That was the downfall of the laser disc format," Jackson said. "It failed because it did not have enough support from retailers and from [movie] studios."

With the hybrid DVDs, fans of the Harry Potter films, for instance, already can begin building their HD DVD library so that when they do buy a next-gen player, they will have some films to watch on it, Jackson said.

Although Jackson expects that initial sales of the hybrid discs will be to tech-savvy early adopters, he said that the double-sided format might contribute to confusion among those who are not fluent in all the latest specifications.

Stumbing Blocks

He also noted that the hybrid discs, with content placed on both sides, will pose a challenge to retailers and consumers alike because manufacturers cannot put a label on one side.

"That's a bit of a nightmare scenario for retailers because they will all look like five-inch silver discs," Jackson said. "Consumers will need to know once they get the disc home which way to put the disc."

In addition, Jackson said pricing is an important consideration. As the technology moves into the mainstream, he said, the price point will become increasingly important. Warner has set the price of "Rumor Has It" at $39.99, a figure that might scare away some consumers because it is more than double the average cost of a standard DVD.

"Easing the transition to HD DVD is based on more of an incremental cost than paying double," Jackson said. "There should only be five-buck difference between [each] version."