Japanese technology companies, Sony and Toshiba are in talks to develop a common standard for next-generation optical disks that will replace DVDs.Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp., heading rival groups within their sector, have waged a three-year fight to have their new technology standards adopted industry-wide and gain pole position in the multibillion-dollar markets for DVD players, PC drives and optical disks.
Sony leads an international group including Dell, Samsung Electronics Co., Philips Electronics and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., promoting the Blu-ray Disc format. A rival group including NEC Corp. and Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd led by Toshiba backs the HD-DVD format.
Sony and Toshiba have reportedly already begun briefing Walt Disney Co. and other Hollywood movie studios for approval of a unified standard, paving the way for an agreement between the rival camps. Both sides played down a report yesterday in business daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun that said the Japanese electronics makers could agree to a compromise "hybrid" as soon as this month.
"Toshiba believes a single format will benefit consumers. We are in talks and we will continue engaging in the talks," a Toshiba spokeswoman said Thursday.
Blu-ray has more capacity, now at 50 gigabytes than HD-DVD at 30 gigabytes, but proponents of HD-DVD say their format is cheaper to make because the production method is similar to current DVDs.
