Toshiba Not Giving Up on a Unified Format

In a recent shareholders’ meeting, Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida has said that they have not given up on a “unified” format for advanced DVD discs, stating that the HD-DVD/Blu-ray war will go on for a long time ‘fighting for consumers’ as both are incompatible with each other. In a neutral stance, Nishida said “We have not given up on a unified format. We would like to seek ways for unifying the standards if opportunities arise”.

Currently, Toshiba supports the HD-DVD format rather than Blu-ray, and rolled out their first HD-DVD players in Japan last March. This message from Toshiba top-dog Nishida is pretty clear – sooner or later, we need a unified next-generation media disc. The battle between Blu-ray and HD-DVD has been going on for years before the launch, and the failure of the two groups to settle on a unified format could result in something close to what we saw in the 1970s/1980s in the VHS-Betamax war.

Those that can remember the war will know that it caused huge consumer confusion, and both formats took a beating, with VHS coming out on top. Personally, I hope that we do not see a repeat of the VHS-Betamax war. I would like to see a more ‘universal‘ format that everyone can agree on. Technically, Blu-ray is the stronger format as it stores more data, however, HD-DVDs are cheaper to manufacture. Surely, a hybrid of these two strong points would emerge to be the best for all parties?

Hopefully, with more encouragement and pressure by large company bosses like Nishida we could see a move towards a united format. However, that is only a hope – or more accurately, wishful thinking. Many people have been trying to stop this ‘war’ before it started, but now with both Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs and players on the market…it’s hard to see an outcome that doesn’t involve one format lying in ruins.

Via Yahoo!

In a recent shareholders’ meeting, Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida has said that they have not given up on a “unified” format for advanced DVD discs, stating that the HD-DVD/Blu-ray war will go on for a long time ‘fighting for consumers’ as both are incompatible with each other. In a neutral stance, Nishida said “We have not given up on a unified format. We would like to seek ways for unifying the standards if opportunities arise”.

Currently, Toshiba supports the HD-DVD format rather than Blu-ray, and rolled out their first HD-DVD players in Japan last March. This message from Toshiba top-dog Nishida is pretty clear – sooner or later, we need a unified next-generation media disc. The battle between Blu-ray and HD-DVD has been going on for years before the launch, and the failure of the two groups to settle on a unified format could result in something close to what we saw in the 1970s/1980s in the VHS-Betamax war.

Those that can remember the war will know that it caused huge consumer confusion, and both formats took a beating, with VHS coming out on top. Personally, I hope that we do not see a repeat of the VHS-Betamax war. I would like to see a more ‘universal‘ format that everyone can agree on. Technically, Blu-ray is the stronger format as it stores more data, however, HD-DVDs are cheaper to manufacture. Surely, a hybrid of these two strong points would emerge to be the best for all parties?

Hopefully, with more encouragement and pressure by large company bosses like Nishida we could see a move towards a united format. However, that is only a hope – or more accurately, wishful thinking. Many people have been trying to stop this ‘war’ before it started, but now with both Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs and players on the market…it’s hard to see an outcome that doesn’t involve one format lying in ruins.

Via Yahoo!