http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7886
DVD format war escalates as talks fail 13:10 23 August 2005 NewScientist.com news service Japanese electronics giants said on Tuesday they would go ahead with incompatible formats for next-generation DVDs after talks to reach a common standard failed. The decision presents consumers with a choice much the same as when video cassettes came out in the 1970s. The duelling HD DVD and Blu-ray formats parallel the battle between Betamax and VHS and - a fight which Betamax eventually lost. Next-generation DVDs, expected to hit the mass market late in 2006, are billed as offering cinematic quality images and new possibilities for interactive entertainment. Sony's Blu-ray disc is expected to have a greater storage capacity but also be more expensive to make, at least in the short term, as the format has greater differences from current-generation DVDs. Software schedule Toshiba, maker of the HD DVD (High Density Digital Versatile Disc), said it was still in talks with Blu-ray designer Sony to find a common format but in the absence of an agreement it was going to push ahead with production of its own format. [We are] planning to launch our first HD DVD products by the end of 2006. To do that, we have to start production of software for it by the end of August," a Toshiba spokeswoman said. "We have not set a time limit for the talks" on a common standard, she added, but we have not reached any concrete agreement yet". A Sony spokesman said future negotiations would be held if there was "an opportunity for it". But the Sony spokesman was bullish about Blu-ray becoming the "single standard". He said: "We have focused on improving our format with many technological breakthroughs. It is desirable that the market has a single format for the next-generation DVD. So Blu-ray has improved itself so that all firms will support the format." Multi-functional hardware After three years of fighting, the two sides agreed in April to study compatibility to prevent a scenario in which future Sony discs do not work on Toshiba players, or vice versa. But even if consumers have headaches when next-generation DVDs first hit mainstream stores, analysts note that the electronics industry has become more sophisticated since VHS and Betamax. "In the digital era, it is easier for hardware to become multi-functional. It is different from the analogue period, like with video formats," said Osamu Hirose, an analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Center. "The difference between the two formats are things such as pickups and laser wavelength. Eventually, multi-functional DVD players should be able to overcome the difference. Consumers will only have to wait a little until that time comes," he said. Some electronics firms, including Paris-based Thomson, have said they would support both HD DVD and Blu-ray formats. Supporters of the Blu-ray technology include Apple Computer, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Samsung Electronics. Among the Hollywood studios, Walt Disney and Sony Pictures Entertainment back Blu-ray, while HD DVD supporters include Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures and Warner Brothers Studios. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> <font face=arial size=-1><a href="http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12hb45ln7/M=362335.6886444.7839734.2575449/D=groups/S=1705034827:TM/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1124837294/A=2894362/R=0/SIG=138c78jl6/*http://www.networkforgood.org/topics/arts_culture/?source=YAHOO&cmpgn=GRP&RTP=http://groups.yahoo.com/";>What would our lives be like without music, dance, and theater?Donate or volunteer in the arts today at Network for Good</a>.</font> --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
