Truce to be Called in Blu-ray/HD-DVD Format War?

April 19, 2005 9:00 AM

A few weeks ago, Sony president Ryoji Chubachi publicly stated that he hoped to work with the backers of HD-DVD (NEC, Toshiba) to find a compromise and merge the two competing standards for the next-gen DVD format. While it was first thought talks had broken down, it appears both sides are communicating and it could be another two months before a deal is reached. Another possible scenario is to require players to be capable of handling both HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs instead of requiring two separate players.

A handy comparison of the two formats can be found here. On a technical standpoint, Blu-ray appears superior, but HD-DVD has an advantage in that their discs can be produced using existing manufacturing processes whereas Blu-ray requires new equipment. Sony has already announced it'll use Blu-ray in the PS3 and its upcoming Vaio laptops, but if a new standard is created, we could see delays. Movie studios, however, have been split.