One of the major movers behind one of two competing next-generation, high-resolution DVD formats has said it's open to forging a single standard, and one prime adult DVD and Internet player said a single standard would be the best thing for content producers and consumers alike.
"From the point of view to provide the best service to the consumer, one format is better than two," Yukinori Kawauchi, the general manager for the next DVD format at Sony Video Group, said in a published interview. "We're open to discussions."
He'll get no argument from VS Media chief Greg Clayman, who told AVNOnline.com that a single standard agreed upon by those planning to make the next generation of high-resolution DVD discs and players would allow content producers to do what they do best without the financial headaches of dual platforms.
"They really need to come to some sort of agreement," Clayman says. "I believe the most effective approach is for the manufacturer consortiums to get together with everybody and decide how can they approach the market and [use] the easiest way for production and the consumers.
"The video side and production side is that it's going to cost production companies twice as much if they want to be ready for both, which tends to slow down output," he continues. "And if they want to continue output at the pace that it's at, with adult and mainstream, the best thing is to agree on a standard format."
Sony, TDK, and Philips are part of the large group pushing for the Blu-ray format, while a group led by Toshiba is pushing for HD-DVD. The core of the technology: blue lasers with shorter wavelengths that let discs store data at higher densities, which high-definition video content needs. The stakes: among others, what some analysts call a "pole position" in the $10 billion a year DVD player and recorder market, not to mention a comparably sized personal computer drive market.
The first players and recorders for both Blu-ray and HD-DVD are expected to hit the market by the end of 2005. And even as that prospect has the electronics and entertainment world watching closely, additional potential wrinkles have already come into play.
In late December 2004, JVC announced they had developed a prototype for a disc that it claimed would be able to store both HD-DVD and Blu-ray-formatted data. And a month later, DivX Networks said their DivX 6 software would be integrated into Apex Digital's full line of consumer electronics during 2005, including DVD players, DVD-R devices, and high-definition devices, as well as portable video players and recorders.
“Our customers have told us that they want the flexibility to play back more of their entertainment content on one device, regardless of file format,” Apex Digital spokesman Steve Brothers said when that deal was done.
The world value of all published DVD products is anticipated to hit $77 billion by 2009, up from $33 billion last year, according to market researchers In-Stat, and the companies that set the next generation DVD standard are expected to reap big royalties for years to come.
Hollywood is divided on which high-definition DVD disc to support, while the personal computer world seems more inclined to Blu-ray, with Apple coming out in support of that format in March, following an earlier lead from Dell and Hewlett-Packard.
