Posted by Rich on 10/11/05 21:14

Shades of SACD and DVD-A.....

Remember the VHS-Betamax debacle in the late 1970s when a format war
between two types of video tapes erupted, raging on for years and
sowing confusion among consumers? Get ready for the sequel.

Three decades later, a new duel is brewing over future DVDs, and with
consumers once again in the middle, many look set to wait until a
single format emerges victorious, or a truce is called.

Next-generation DVD technology, under development by two rival groups
headed by Sony and Toshiba, is expected to go on sale later this year,
promising cinematic quality images and new possibilities in
interactive entertainment.

But with the Hollywood studios and computer makers split in their
support for either Sony's Blu-ray or format rival HD DVD, many
consumers are expected to bide their time before upgrading from their
existing DVD players.

"Consumers will not rush to buy either format," said Kazuharu Miura,
senior analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research.

"Mass customers will wait until the prices go down and that is likely
to be the time when compatible hardware arrives on the market," Miura
said.

Browse one of the many online chatrooms and electronic gadget forums
and it does not take long to gauge consumers' feelings about the
failure of the two rival groups to agree on a common format.

"This is just plain stupid! Both sides should understand that
consumers want one product, Why wait for the dollars to decide like
with the VHS/Beta," fumed one disgruntled writer on the PCWorld forum.

"I don't have much of a preference between the two formats, but I WILL
NOT buy either until a standard has emerged," another post complained.

Sony, which is struggling to revive its core electronics business and
has just forecast a loss of 10 billion yen (90 million dollars) in the
financial year to March 2006, has much riding on the success of
Blu-ray.

But analysts say that the latest format war is unlikely to drag on for
as long as the VHS-Betamax battle, which was eventually won by VHS
with Sony's Betamax fading into oblivion.

"I think that a hardware with compatibility for both Blu-ray and HD
DVD formats will become available in the market," said Osamu Hitose,
senior analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Center.

Japanese electronic giants showcased their new technologies at the
recent CEATEC consumer electronics exhibition near Tokyo.

Among the crowd of visitors, many are taking a close interest in the
looming launch of next-generation DVDs, but few seem ready to rush in.

"I hope there will be a single standard format or appliances with both
drives, but the key is prices," said 22-year-old university student
Satoshi Odashima.

IT entrepreneur Manabu Onodera, who owns a software company, is also
optimistic that DVD players will emerge capable of handling both
formats.

"I think technologically it is possible. It's a matter of (company)
politics and stakes among related parties," he said.

Analysts say it may be the motion picture giants who finally settle
the DVD format duel, but so far they are divided in their support for
either group.

US movie giant Paramount Home Entertainment, which had previously
declared its support for HD DVD, last week gave its backing to Blu-ray
as well, becoming the first Hollywood studio to support both formats.

Among other studios, Walt Disney and Sony Pictures Entertainment have
previously announced backing for Blu-ray, while HD DVD supporters
include Universal Pictures and Warner Brothers Studios.

Other supporters of the Blu-ray technology include Apple Computer,
Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Samsung Electronics.

HD DVD's backers include US technology giants Microsoft and Intel,
Japanese electronics group NEC, Sanyo Electric, France's Thomson and
Fuji Photo Film.

© 2005 AFP

[Back to original message]