High-Definition DVD Format War

Good news! High-definition video discs are on the way, crystal-clear snuggle buddies for your HD television. Bad news: You may have to decide between HD-DVD, Blu-Ray (that sounds cool), and FVD. Why does every new technology need to have a format war? Oh yeah: Greed.

The Salt Lake Tribune: DVD format war is brewing - will consumers dive for cover?

Now there's new techno-babble to worry about: HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray. Both are formats for high definition DVDs, the next step in home video. The first high-definition players could hit store shelves in the U.S. by the end of this year.

In one corner is a format of high definition DVDs called Blu-ray, which is backed by Sony, Panasonic, Samsung and a few other electronics companies. In the other corner is HD-DVD, supported by Toshiba, NEC and others.

But good news may be on the horizon, thanks to consumer efforts like the One Format Only Campaign.

MacWorld.com: Top Sony exec hints at Blu-ray, HD-DVD detente

After more than a year of touting Blu-ray as the best technology to replace DVD for storing high-definition video and winning proponents including Apple, a top executive at Sony Corp., one of Blu-ray's major backers, has opened the door to the possibility of unifying the format with its arch rival, HD-DVD.

"Listening to the voice of the consumers, having two rival formats is disappointing and we haven't totally given up on the possibility of integration or compromise."

RELATED ARTICLES:

• DVD Town's Latest News on HD-DVD and Blu-Ray
  
• Engadget's HD-DVD article archive
  
• Softpedia News: Taiwan's FVD (forward versatile disc) is comparable to HD-DVD but a fraction of the price.

RELATED PRODUCTS:

• "T2: High Definition": complete theatrical version in Microsoft Windows Media 9, playable in high resolution and 5.1 sound directly from your PC's DVD-ROM
  
• DVD players that upconvert to HD: Samsung DVD-HD841, Toshiba SD-5970, Sony DVP-NS975V, Zenith DVB318 1080i Progressive-Scan
  
• HD-ready flat panel TVs: Sharp LC-37GD6U 37" AQUOS LCD with Built-In HDTV Tuner, Panasonic TC-32LX20 32" WideScreen LCD, Philips 32PF9966 32" Widescreen LCD