Toshiba: no unified DVD format before player launch

[picopir8]

Source: http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2005-08-24T102400Z_01_DIT437378_RTRIDST_0_TECH-JAPAN-TOSHIBA-DC.XML

By Kiyoshi Takenaka and Kunihiko Kichise

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp. (6502.T: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday that no unified format for a next-generation DVD is likely before its year-end launch of advanced DVD players, a development that could confuse users and hinder industry growth.

Japanese electronics makers Toshiba and Sony Corp. (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research), leading rival camps, have waged a three-year battle to have their different standards adopted for new DVDs, which promise much greater capacity for high-definition movies.

Toshiba, along with NEC Corp. (6701.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and Sanyo Electric Co. (6764.T: Quote, Profile, Research), has been promoting HD DVD, while Sony and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (6752.T: Quote, Profile, Research), the maker of Panasonic brand products, have been developing a technology known as Blu-ray.

At stake is pole position in the multibillion dollar markets for DVD players, PC drivers and optical discs.

"We've been working toward unification. But talks are now stalled. We will press ahead with the product launch as planned," Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida told Reuters in an interview.

Nishida added, however, that Toshiba will continue efforts to ultimately agree a unified standard even after its planned launch of HD DVD players at the end of this calendar year.

"Regrettably, two different types of products seem set to hit the market. But this is the kind of technology that will be around for five or 10 years. Efforts should be made continuously to make unification happen," Nishida said.

Sony plans to put a Blu-ray disc drive in its new PlayStation game console next year.

The two sides made a last-ditch effort to forge a common format earlier this year, without success, to avoid confusion and inconvenience of the kind that occurred as a result of the VHS-Beta battle over videocassette formats two decades ago.

At the core of both DVD formats are blue lasers, which have a shorter wavelength than the red lasers used in current DVD equipment, allowing discs to store data at the higher densities needed for high-definition movies and television.

Among Hollywood film studios, whose support is critical for the success of any DVD format, Warner Bros. Studios, New Line Cinema, Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures endorse HD DVD, while Blu-ray supporters include Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Co. (DIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Twentieth Century Fox, a unit of News Corp. (NWS.N: Quote, Profile, Research).

Nishida declined to specify the retail price for Toshiba's HD DVD players, but suggested it would be below $1,000 a unit.

"I guess it won't sell well if it carries a price tag of over $1,000," Nishida said.

Toshiba, the world's third-largest maker of notebook computers after Dell Inc. (DELL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ.N: Quote, Profile, Research), plans to launch HD DVD recorders and notebook PCs equipped with HD DVD drives in the first half of 2006.

Nishida, 61, replaced Tadashi Okamura as president in June after turning Toshiba's personal computer operations, hit hard by aggressive pricing by HP and Dell, profitable in the last business year.

On Toshiba's semiconductor business, Nishida said the supply/demand balance for NAND-type flash memories, Toshiba's cash cow, is expected to remain tight for the rest of the year.

"At the moment, we can only satisfy about 70 percent of demand and I expect the situation to remain like this into the fourth quarter," Nishida said.

Toshiba, the world's seventh-largest chip maker, competes with industry leader Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) in the fast-growing market for NAND flash memories, widely used in digital cameras, photo-snapping phones and portable music players such as Apple Computer Inc.'s (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) iPod shuffle.

Toshiba shares closed down 0.91 percent at 436 yen ahead of the interview, underperforming the Tokyo stock market's electric machinery index (.IELEC.T: Quote, Profile, Research), which edged down 0.13 percent.

© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.

[Snard]

Source: http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2005-08-24T102400Z_01_DIT437378_RTRIDST_0_TECH-JAPAN-TOSHIBA-DC.XML

Okay, so by now I've seen all sorts of articles about the "DVD format war" and how this is just like the VHS/Beta battle years ago.

Only everyone seems to be missing one important difference: VHS and Beta tapes were different sizes/shapes, and could not be plugged into players of the other persuasion. But as far as I can tell, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray DVDs are EXACTLY THE SAME SIZE AND SHAPE!

So, has someone stated that it's impossible for a player to be able to play discs of both formats? I can't imagine why this would be the case; my DVD player can play manufactured DVDs, DVD-R, DVD+R, and even CDs.

[Ralph Kramden]

That's a big surprise.