If I was a betting man - no, wait, I AM - I would cast my lot with Toshiba. The inferior format always wins.
~rave! --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, "Brent Wodehouse" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > 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 --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/LRMolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> 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/
