Toshiba: Blu-ray Won't Bargain

[zombie]

http://www.redherring.com/Article.as...80%99t+Bargain

Toshiba says Sony and Blu-ray won’t compromise on a DVD standard, so it will bring its HD-DVD machines to market.
August 26, 2005

Two days after Toshiba said its talks with Sony were stalled over standards for the next generation of DVD players, the company said Friday an agreement would have been possible if Sony and the Blu-ray association hadn’t been so stubborn in their approach.

“The picture has been painted that Sony is open to discussions and it’s Toshiba that’s shutting the door,” said Mark Knox, advisor to the HD-DVD promotion division at Toshiba. “It is Sony that is not willing to negotiate evenly.”

A lot is at stake in the debate over standards. Research firm InStat estimates the market for the next-generation DVD products is about $40 billion.

Toshiba and Sony are heading their respective camps, HD-DVD and Blu-ray, and have been in a format war for three years for standards for high-definition DVDs and DVD players.

Blu-ray is also supported by consumer electronics and computer companies such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Panasonic, Pioneer, and Apple Computer. Backers of HD-DVD are NEC, Sanyo, and Thomson. The two sides are about evenly split between support from big Hollywood studios. Recently, though, independent studio Lions Gate Films and the world’s biggest music label the Universal Music Group took sides with the Blu-ray format.

Both standards promise high-quality picture and sound, higher storage capacities, and compatibility with high-definition televisions. The two Japanese giants have been in talks for months to unify the two formats but have not come to a compromise.

Hardware and software for the Toshiba-backed HD-DVD format are expected to be on the market in time for the holiday season. Sony said Blu-ray products are expected to be out by spring 2006.

Sony, meanwhile, plans to roll out its new gaming console, PlayStation 3, with Blu-ray technology. If a unified format comes about, it could put Sony in a difficult situation in meeting its planned launch for the PS3 of early 2006.

Production Plans

To meet its commitment, Toshiba said it has to go ahead with its production plans. Mr. Knox said Toshiba’s HD-DVD player will go into production before the end of the year and will cost about $1,000 when it reaches the marketplace.

“We will continue with our launch plans as talks are going on,” said Mr. Knox, adding that Toshiba is still open to resuming talks. “We’re not going to change our HD-DVD plans until a full agreement is reached.”

Blu-ray representatives declined to comment on Mr. Knox’s comments. However, after Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida announced on Wednesday that the talks were stalled, the Blu-ray Disc Association told RedHerring that it was still hopeful for a unified format because of the reported delays in rollouts of HD-DVD hardware and software.

The delays would give the Blu-ray camp time to reignite talks with Toshiba, said Marty Gordon, an association spokesman and vice president for corporate alliances at Philips Electronics, a backer of the Blu-ray standard (see Blu-ray Hoping for Standard).

Mr. Knox said Sony is not willing to compromise with Toshiba in the disc structure design. Both the camps have invested millions of dollars to develop the format technology and have several patents they want to use in the unified format for monetary benefits.

“Blu-ray said they won’t compromise on the disc structure,” said Mr. Knox. “In effect they are saying ‘my way or the highway’ and that is not the way to come to a compromise.”

Again I'll speak my mind for the best option for a merger of the formats: Use Blu-ray discs with the HD-DVD name. 'Nuff said! :lol: