Blue Ray Vs HD DVD Format War End In Site?

April 22, 2005 By Dan Gaul

The two groups decide to try to work together for a unified standard.

The about-turn coincides with the recent appointment of new chief executives at both Sony and Toshiba who do not have a strong personal interest in either format and can be more flexible.

Unlike the original DVD format dispute between 1993 and 1995, which was eventually resolved in a few months when the Sony-Philips camp agreed to develop a single standard with a camp around Toshiba and Warner, the current alliances involve many more companies, including those from the personal computer industry and Hollywood.

Sony and Toshiba have reportedly already begun briefing Walt Disney Co. and other Hollywood movie studios for approval of a unified standard, paving the way for the signing of an agreement between the rival camps.

A unified format would be favorable for profitability across the industry because consumers would be more comfortable about buying next-generation products and manufacturers could achieve lower production costs.

Showing 2 comments

jay at 11:14am 5th December 2006 Is it better to have 100% of a small piece, or a small piece of 100%? This is a question that must be answered before Sony can decide what they are going to do. If you compare the figures, my estimations show very little difference between the two. However, with choosing the latter, you've eliminated the possibility of being on the loosing end of a bitter war....making it the wiser choice. What these companies need to realize is that there are no winners in war. An all out battle for king of the hill, will only serve to weeken the industry and hurt the economy. There really is very little to gain here. Sony is still only going to produce movies in their format from companies they are affiliated with , and likewise for Microsoft. "Knocking off" the compitition offers little more than a false sense of market security. I call this a false sense because the damage to the economy and the industry will only hurt their bottom line. Working together to find a common solution is the only smart answer, together they can all make fistfulls of cash.....
James at 4:26pm 24th April 2005 I really do not see Sony bending to this unless there is some sort of immediate financial reward or royalty agreement. What do you all think?