In a subtle, hedging kind of way, some retailers appear to be shifting their emphasis to Blu-ray. However, the disc format war isn’t formally over, and they continue to cater to customers so long as there’s demand for HD DVD titles, according to Video Business on Friday.

Retailers are anxious for the war to be over, and some are making minor changes to promote Blu-ray even as they note, correctly, that the war isn’t over. Trans World Entertainment, Newbury Comics, Video Buyers Group members and Hastings Entertainment are among those doing so, according to the report. Trans World is giving more catalog room to Blu-ray.

"We are waiting to hear more about what [HD DVD] hardware manufacturers decide to do, but I think one thing we can all agree on as retailers, is that consumer confusion is leading to a delay in buying a format," said Mark Higgins, a Trans World VP. "[Customers] don�t want to buy into another Betamax. As retailers, we need to simplify things for the consumers as much as we can with merchandising one format. We don�t want to be biased, but that is clearly the direction that high-def production looks to be going."

Hastings Entertainment continues to have HD DVD titles on shelves, but the chain, strong in the midwest, foresees a shift to Blu-ray. In addition, Newberry is planning to cut back on HD DVD copy depth in anticipation of greater Blu-ray sales.

On the other hand, Best Buy, Amazon and DVDEmpire and Bjorns have simply alerted their customers to the recent Warner decision, but haven’t changed their mix. "We’ve always tried to educate people about what is going on in the two camps," said Best Buy spokesman Brian Lucas. "Obviously, [Warner going BD-only] is the latest news... but it would be irresponsible to tell them [the war] is over when it�s not yet."