Game consoles may determine DVD format

Iria · Jan 9, 2006, 05:32 PM

NEW YORK - For the past three years, consumer electronics makers, computer companies and Hollywood studios have been choosing sides in the battle over the dominant format for the coming high-definition DVDs - Blu-ray versus HD-DVD.

Yet, after all the jockeying by these companies, it may be the relatively low-priced video-game consoles that tip the balance toward one format - or prolong the stalemate for several more years. That is because the new game machines from Sony and Microsoft will play high-definition DVDs and may spur discs sales far faster than stand-alone players.

Sony said in 2004 that its PlayStation 3, due out this year, would play Blu-ray discs. Not to be outdone, Microsoft, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, said it would make an external drive to play HD-DVD discs on its Xbox 360, which went on sale in November.

Both the Blu-ray group, led by Sony, Panasonic, Dell and most of the big movie studios, and the HD-DVD camp, which includes Toshiba, Microsoft, Intel and three studios, are starting to release stand-alone players that cost as much as $1,800. But Sony and Microsoft are expected to sell millions of cheaper game machines well ahead of sales of stand-alone DVD players.

The view among industry analysts has been that the HD-DVD group would ultimately lose to the Blu-ray group, which includes more electronics manufacturers, more studios and Sony's game machine.

But if enough Xbox 360 users started watching HD-DVD movies on those machines, Disney, Fox and other studios that have committed to making only Blu-ray discs might be persuaded to make movies in the HD-DVD format, too. This shift could delay any resolution to the format showdown.

"The momentum is behind Blu-ray, but there's no way to write off Microsoft" and the HD-DVD camp, said Joe Wilcox, a consumer electronics analyst at Jupiter Research. "They have the potential to swing the momentum back the other way, and that could delay a single standard."
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Read More / Source: International Herald Tribune

Jan 9, 2006, 05:32 PM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 89	Game consoles may determine DVD format NEW YORK - For the past three years, consumer electronics makers, computer companies and Hollywood studios have been choosing sides in the battle over the dominant format for the coming high-definition DVDs - Blu-ray versus HD-DVD. Yet, after all the jockeying by these companies, it may be the relatively low-priced video-game consoles that tip the balance toward one format - or prolong the stalemate for several more years. That is because the new game machines from Sony and Microsoft will play high-definition DVDs and may spur discs sales far faster than stand-alone players. Sony said in 2004 that its PlayStation 3, due out this year, would play Blu-ray discs. Not to be outdone, Microsoft, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, said it would make an external drive to play HD-DVD discs on its Xbox 360, which went on sale in November. Both the Blu-ray group, led by Sony, Panasonic, Dell and most of the big movie studios, and the HD-DVD camp, which includes Toshiba, Microsoft, Intel and three studios, are starting to release stand-alone players that cost as much as $1,800. But Sony and Microsoft are expected to sell millions of cheaper game machines well ahead of sales of stand-alone DVD players. The view among industry analysts has been that the HD-DVD group would ultimately lose to the Blu-ray group, which includes more electronics manufacturers, more studios and Sony's game machine. But if enough Xbox 360 users started watching HD-DVD movies on those machines, Disney, Fox and other studios that have committed to making only Blu-ray discs might be persuaded to make movies in the HD-DVD format, too. This shift could delay any resolution to the format showdown. "The momentum is behind Blu-ray, but there's no way to write off Microsoft" and the HD-DVD camp, said Joe Wilcox, a consumer electronics analyst at Jupiter Research. "They have the potential to swing the momentum back the other way, and that could delay a single standard." ___________ Read More / Source: International Herald Tribune