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The format war between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray appears not to be ending. In today’s New York Times, Brooks Barnes describes how Paramount and DreamWorks are now backing HD-DVD exclusively.

Aside from the fact that I think the name “Blu-Ray” is stupid, I don’t have a horse in this race. I just want what every other normal consumer wants, namely a universally adopted standard for high-definition video. Like most other people, I am sitting this one out until the studios make up their minds once-and-for-all about which technology they are going with. And if Paramount’s backing of HD-DVD would seem like a promising step in that direction, the fine print suggests it isn’t; the commitment is only for 18 months. No doubt, in a year and a half we’ll be right back here, with one group of electronics manufacturers and movie studios backing Blu-Ray, and the other backing HD-DVD. And I will be sitting here with my decreasingly functional Sampo DVD player (which I bought for its ability to play DVDs from any region), still missing out on all the high-def goodness.