Warner announces DVDs with digital versions for PC and PMPs

Harry Potter release in December will be first to feature multiple formats on single disk

11 October 2007 8:51 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Warner Home Video has announced what will be the the first DVD to provide multiple formatted versions of the same film on a single disc.

The release of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" on December 11th in the States will include both the full-size DVD video as well as separate digital copies for playback on computers and on portable media players.

Warner are hoping that this will future-proof the release, but perhaps more crucially for them, will mean consumers towing their official line as far as getting the movie on their PCs, rather than using a DVD ripper.

No info has been provided as to the format in which the extra digital copies will be supplied in, although speculation puts it likely to be a copyright protected scheme via Windows Media Video files.

A legal form of DVD burning on demand to bridge the gap between in-store buying and downloading will also come to shops in America soon, Warner revealed.