Universal Studios Home Entertainment are easing the transition from DVD to Blu-ray with the announcement it will release dual-format discs containing both Blu-ray and DVD versions of some of its films on a single disc. The so-called “flipper” discs will allow users to choose between Blu-ray and DVD formats by flipping the disc, making it easy for movie buffs to future-proof their collections.

Blu-ray is slowly gathering steam, but even those who have purchased a Blu-ray player can still sometimes find themselves leaning towards a standard DVD instead of a Blu-ray disc purely for the sake of convenience. Those that have taken the plunge into the High Definition format will still likely have standard DVD players dotted around the house, limiting the viewing options of Blu-ray discs. Meanwhile, for those planning to upgrade to Blu-ray at a future date, the new discs mean movie buffs won’t be forced to double up on discs to keep their collections up to date.

Universal will launch the flipper discs on January 19, 2010 with the Bourne trilogy of films starring Matt Damon, at prices yet to be announced. Other titles will follow.