Thomson To Support Blu-Ray/HD-DVD

Thomson has gone on record stating they will manufacture both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD discs as well as introduce HD-DVD players.

Thomson announced that it will support next-generation DVD formats by manufacturing HD DVD and Blu-ray discs through its Technicolor business and providing consumer HD DVD players through its Thomsonand RCA brands.

Thomson, which is also a founding member of the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), will continue to participate and support the development and production of the Blu-ray Disc format. The BDA regroups over 70 companies, including Sony, Dell, HP, Hitachi, LG Electronics, Mitsubishi, Panasonic (Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.), Pioneer Corporation, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, TDK, 20th Century Fox and The Walt Disney Company.

“Our tradition is based on being a trusted service provider to content owners, independent of format choices,” said Quentin Lilly, President, Technicolor Home Entertainment Services. “We will support the format our studio customers select to grow their businesses and support their growth with the highest quality replication, distribution and other media services available in the industry today.”

“We believe that the timing is right for the introduction in 2005 of high-definition DVD players that Thomson will market under the RCA brand in the U.S. and the THOMSON brand in Europe in support of the content roll-out. While HDTV is just beginning in Europe, our experience with other digital entertainment products tells us that the steady growth of HD content will fuel continued growth of the category,” said Mike O’Hara, Executive Vice President of Thomson’s consumer Connectivity business segment.

While Thomson says they will be supporting both formats, there is no mention of whether they plan on introducing a Blu-Ray DVD player to the market.