Bo Andersen, the president of the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA), today called for compromise in the DVD format war, saying that "[t]he launch of a single high-definition DVD format is unquestionably preferable to a 'format war' that could cause consumer confusion and lead to a reluctance to embrace either format."
Andersen's remarks were made during his annual "State of the Industry" remarks at VSDA's Home Entertainment 2005, the annual confab for the home entertainment industry, which is taking place through Thursday at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino.
Noting that the proponents of the competing Blu-Ray and HD-DVD high-definition DVD formats have been unable to come to consensus on a single high-definition DVD format, Andersen paraphrased Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, stating "Now we are engaged in a great format war, testing whether the next generation of packaged entertainment ... can long endure. We acknowledge that the great battlefield of that war is not here, but across the Pacific. ... Yet, retailers call for the elevation of compromise over conflict and a future for all behind a unified format. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this."
In conjunction with Andersen's call for a single high-definition DVD format, VSDA released its "Baseline Criteria for High Definition DVD Format (From the Retail Perspective)." In addition to advocating the adoption of a single high-definition DVD format, the document also argues that, whatever format is adopted, the features, dimensions, packaging, and marketing materials for high-definition DVD must be designed to generate widespread consumer and retailer support for the product.
