what i read in our local newspaper

[Chad Varnadore]

The fact is HD DVD will never have full industry support because of Sony alone. The ONLY chance of there ever being only one format, is with BD. And such is necessary if high def wants to see the same kind of market penetration as DVD. Fox/MGM, Buena Vista (Disney, Pixar, Dimension, Miramax, Hollywood, Touchstone), and Lions Gate know this and have indicated that, that is one of the reasons why they won't release on both formats, as it only serves to prolong the war and ultimately cripple sales and adoption. In the long run they stand to gain more by supporting only one format. And one format only may be key to getting some of the big guns from Lucas, Spielberg, and others released in high def. Not to mention the support of studios like Dreamworks and producers like Criterion and Anchor Bay.

A universal player could change that, taking away any need for any studio to release on more than one format. But only if the universal player costs no more than the cheapest standalone player. As long as the maker has to pay licensing for both platforms, that just isn't possible, especially when each format is willing to lose money on hardware to compete. But who knows. Maybe as a last dying hope, HD DVD will start giving away their stuff just to stay alive.