Warner Bros. is the sole studio that currently supports both HD DVD and Blu-ray. According to Business Week on Thursday, Warner may be close to going Blu-ray exclusively, and that could seal the fate of HD DVD.

With the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) set to launch on January 7th, both Sony with its Blu-ray and Toshiba with HD DVD would love to announce that they have won Warner over to their camp. However, according to Business Week, Sony seems to have emerged as the front runner.

"The rumor is that Warner is coming aboard soon," said Michael Burns, vice-chairman of Lionsgate. "That will make it awfully tough for HD DVD to stay in this game."

Lionsgate supports Blu-ray.

Currently, Sony has Disney, Fox and Sony BMG on board with Blu-ray. Paramount has gone exclusively HD DVD in a dramatic switch last summer. Warner, so far, has supported both formats and may be in a position to determine the fate of HD DVD if they abandon it.

On the other hand, if Warner goes with HD DHD, the war could continue for years. That’s the angle Sony may be pushing with Warner: make a decision that ends the war, not prolongs it and start making money.

One wrinkle is that Warner wanted to wait and see which camp sold more players over the holidays. While the number of stand alone players sold is roughly equal, Sony has sold perhaps ten times as many PS3s with a Blu-ray player.

There is also another powerful effect in Sony’s favor, namely parents who’ve been buying collections of Disney HD movies on Blu-ray for their kids. "The Blu-ray customer is more likely to build a new library," said market researcher Richard Doherty. "Studios live for [that]." Together, these two arguments for Blu-ray could could be the deciding factor for Warner and bring a welcome end to the HD disc war as soon as CES.