Joining of the Two HD DVD Formats

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The following is stolen from a post by Satdude.

New wave DVD war may see truce

The much reported battle between Sony's Blu-Ray and Toshiba's HD-DVD high definition formats may have been eased this week with the launch of two new products.

South Korean company, LG Electronics announced at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics show that it plans to launch a DVD player that will run both types of discs. Warner Brothers is also expected to reveal a single product that can play films and television programmes in both formats.

Market research has shown that the rivalry between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD has confused many consumers, who think the choice is similar to when VHS and Betamax video formats emerged 20 years ago.

Helen Davis Jayalath of market researchers Screen Digest, said: "Customers are clearly concerned about buying into the new Betamax, and we have long believed that a combined approach, either a dual-software disc or dual-player hardware, will be part of the solution. The LG Electronics player means that even if one format doesn't survive, you have still bought a viable piece of kit, rather than an expensive dust-catcher."

By 2010, Screen Digest believes that just under one third of total spending, around £5.7 billion, in the three key regions of US, Japan and Europe will be generated by sales of high-definition formats.

LG has described its new dual player as a "technological breakthrough to end the confusion and inconvenience of competing high-definition disc formats for both content producers and consumers". The product will go on sale in the US early this year.

Warner Brothers is also expected to confirm that it has developed a disc that can contain films in both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD formats, believing retailers are more likely to back a combined disc, rather than have to stock twice as many products for both formats.

Barry Meyer, chief executive of Warner Brothers, told The New York Times that he believed neither Blu-Ray nor HD-DVD was going to go the way of Betamax quickly. "The next best thing is to recognise that there will be two formats and to make that not a negative for the consumer."

The Blu-Ray format has so far been set back by the delayed launch of Sony's PlayStation 3, which includes a Blu-Ray disc player, but most of the Hollywood studios have aligned with the format, giving users access to premium movie content, which could ultimately strengthen its position.

HD-DVD is supported by Microsoft and Toshiba, with an add-on HD-DVD drive for its popular Xbox 360 games console, and has sold just as well as its rival in its first year of release.

Andy Parsons, chairman of the US Blu-ray Disc Association, added at the CES: "It comes down to content and selection of content. No-one is going to buy any player without good array of content.

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The high definition DVD format war will continue until a winner is declared, technology watchers have heard.

Blu-ray and HD-DVD are battling to become the pre-eminent hi-def format to replace the slowing DVD market.

The two formats are incompatible with each other and so consumers are being asked to choose both the player and the system when moving to high definition.

There is also no sign of the two camps working on a unified format, the Consumer Electronics Show was told.

Some believe the industry at large is being damaged by the war due to consumer confusion.

Ben Keen, chief analyst with Screen Digest, said: "There is an awful lot of people in the US and Europe who have HD displays and no hi-def content.

"That's a wasted opportunity at this point. The industry is not exploiting that opportunity."

"The growth of the industry is much slower than it could be," agreed Dr H G Lee, chief technology officer of LG Electronics, which has announced the first player to accept both formats.

We recognise that the two formats are here to stay."

But the backers of Blu-ray are much more bullish and are predicting victory.

Blu-ray has more backing from film studios and more makers of the players, but HD-DVD has sold equally well in the first year of release.

But the Blu-ray camp believes a library of exclusive titles and the power of PlayStation 3 - which has an in-built Blu-ray player - will see the format pull ahead in the next 12 months.

Mike Dunn, president of worldwide home entertainment for 20th Century Fox, said: "I really believe the format war is in its final phase."

Supporters of Blu-ray believe that the late arrival to the market in 2006 of new next generation Blu-ray DVD players has given a more even picture than is true.

Currently there is an even number of titles available for both formats but most analysts predict there will be more content available for Blu-ray than HD-DVD next year.

Seven of the eight major US film studios back Blu-ray and five of them are exclusive to the format.

Andy Parsons, chairman of the US Blu-ray Disc Association, said: "It comes down to content and selection of content. No-one is going to buy any player without good array of content.

"As title population grows consumers will quickly see which platform has the titles."

In an ominous sign for HD-DVD, the backers of Blu-ray revealed that of the 20 biggest selling DVDs of 2006 the vast majority were from film studios supporting Blu-ray.

Toshiba and Microsoft, the principal backers of HD-DVD, see the future very differently.

They believe that the cheaper cost of HD-DVD - both in terms of hardware and the ability of firms to produce content on HD-DVD disks gives them the advantage.

Amir Majidimehr, corporate vice president of consumer technology at Microsoft, said the dual format player by LG - originally a Blu-ray only backer - was proof of the vitality of HD-DVD.

"LG are recognising there is a thriving market for HD-DVD. That's the most positive thing for me.

"It's going to show the way to other Blu-ray exclusive companies. LG is saying that HD-DVD is not dying.

"You can wish it goes away but I'm here to ensure that it doesn't."

Microsoft has sold more than 175,000 and says that they sold out as quickly as they were made.

Toshiba has said that it plans to sell more than 1.8m HD-DVD players in 2007.

Mr Majidimehr predicted that the lifespan of both formats would also be less than the current DVD format.

It has lasted 10 years with great success but Mr Majidimehr said the technology would be superseded by developments in online delivery of hi-def content.

Source: BBC