Netflix announced on Monday that the industry has picked a winner in the HD DVD/Blu-ray HD disc format war, and that they will move toward stocking only Blu-ray titles.

Netflix cited the decision by most of the major studios to publish HD titles in the Sony-developed Blu-ray format. The company will purchase only Blu-ray titles for its offerings from now on, and will phase out HD DVD offerings by the end of 2008.

Netflix said that while only a small portion of their subscribers have elected to receive their rentals in HD format, the majority of those have chosen Blu-ray.

"The prolonged period of competition between two formats has prevented clear communication to the consumer regarding the richness of the high-def experience versus standard definition," said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix.

"We’re now at the point where the industry can pursue the migration to a single format, bring clarity to the consumer and accelerate the adoption of high-def. Going forward, we expect that all of the studios will publish in the Blu-ray format and that the price points of high-def DVD players will come down significantly. These factors could well lead to another decade of disc-based movie watching as the consumer’s preferred means."

Mr. Sarandos added: "From the Netflix perspective, focusing on one format will enable us to create the best experience for subscribers who want high- definition to be an important part of how they enjoy our service."

Netflix now stocks over 400 Blu-ray titles in addition to about 80,000 DVD titles.

The Netflix decision has to be considered yet another severe blow to the HD DVD format. Industry observer Phillip Swann called it another nail in the HD DVD coffin.

Last week, Netflix said it may raise its rates as the HD discs become more dominant. This decision is simply good business in that they want to get on with the HD disc migration, simplify their inventory and better manage costs. Right now, Netflix doesn’t charge its customers any more per month when they opt for the Blu-ray or HD DVD version of a movie -- if it’s available.