4 STUDIOS SUPPORT HD DVD FORMAT WINS ROUND 1 IN HIGH-DEFINITION WAR.Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer Shades of Noun 1. shades of - something that reminds you of someone or something; "aren't there shades of 1948 here?" reminder - an experience that causes you to remember something VHS (Video Home System) A half-inch, analog videocassette recorder (VCR) format introduced by JVC in 1976 to compete with Sony's Betamax, introduced a year earlier. versus Betamax: The war over the next-generation DVD format See VOB and DVD. was launched Monday. Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) ., Paramount and Universal studios, as well as minimajor New Line Cinema, announced Monday that they have selected HD DVD (High Definition DVD) A relatively short-lived high-capacity optical disc that holds four hours of high-definition video on a single-sided, single-layer 15GB disk. Sanctioned by the DVD Forum in 2003 and based on the Advanced Optical Disc (AOD) technology from Toshiba and over the competing high-definition Blu-ray disc A Blu-ray Disc (also called BD) is a high-density optical disc format for the storage of digital information, including high-definition video. Overview The name Blu-ray Disc is derived from the blue-violet laser used to read and write this type of disc. developed by Sony and backed by Columbia Pictures. There have been two powerful camps behind each of the high-definition technologies, which are incompatible with each other. HD DVD, developed by Toshiba Corp., NEC (NEC Corporation, Tokyo, www.nec.com, www.necus.com) An electronics conglomerate known in the U.S. for its monitors. In Japan, it had the lion's share of the PC market until the late 1990s (see PC 98). NEC was founded in Tokyo in 1899 as Nippon Electric Company, Ltd. and Sanyo, now appears to be the front-runner, although The Walt Disney Noun 1. Walt Disney - United States film maker who pioneered animated cartoons and created such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; founded Disneyland (1901-1966) Disney, Walter Elias Disney Co. and 20th Century Fox have yet to choose sides. Those that have backed HD DVD have strength in numbers in numbered parts; as, a book published in numbers. See also: Number , but no one has signed on exclusively. ``We ultimately believe that HD DVD will become the standard, and I think you will see movement from the key consumer electronics companies in the next several months,'' said Thomas Lesinski, president of Paramount Pictures Worldwide Home Entertainment. ``After a long analysis, we believe the potential of HD DVD to reach the broadest number of consumers made it the clear winner.'' Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, echoed those sentiments. ``If there are two formats in the market, that will be a real shame,'' Kornblau said. ``I'm hopeful that different studios and hardware manufacturers will come to the party and help bring around a united single format.'' Sony's Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment division did not have any comment on Monday's developments. Sony is in the process of buying Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and its vast library of movie titles, so some insiders said HD DVD has not delivered a knockout blow to Blu-ray. Kornblau said that, while his studio's deal with HD DVD is nonexclusive, ``our full throttle Full Throttle can refer to:
``With this format, you all but take away issues of how many can we make? How fast? And how much will it cost?'' said Kornblau, whose studio expects to offer select titles in the new format by the 2005 holiday season. Officials at the three studios said a key factor in the choice of HD DVD is its enhanced content-protection features. It also promises such things as enhanced sound and picture quality, greater storage capacity and increased interactivity, and existing DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. libraries can be played on the HD DVD hardware. The physical characteristics of the Blu-ray format are different from current DVD, but its backers tout Tout To promote a security in order to attract buyers. tout To foster interest in a particular company or security. For example, a broker might tout a security to a client in the hope that the client will purchase the security. its storage capacity, greater than that of HD DVD. A new type of disc would add to the cost of launching Blu-ray, which influenced Paramount's decision. ``We believe that HD DVD has clear advantages in cost of manufacturing and ease of replication, offering consumers the highest quality viewing experience at the most affordable price,'' Lesinski said. Kevin Tsujihara, Warner Bros. executive vice president for business development, added that HD DVD has the ``highest quality of performance and offers key advantages in areas of durability and reliability.'' New Line Cinema, the minimajor behind ``The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy, also announced Monday that it plans to release titles in the HD DVD format. In a separate statement Monday, Toshiba announced plans to launch its first HD DVD player/recorder during the fourth quarter of 2005. ``With the emergence of a wide range of advanced digital devices, assurance of robust content protection is of primary importance to the sound development of both the hardware and software industries,'' Toshiba Digital Network Company President Yoshihide Fujii stated. ``We intend to reinforce close collaboration and dialogue with other hardware manufacturers, content holders and software distributors to meet this objective.'' The Walt Disney Co. has been neutral in the format battle. ``We consider the next generation of DVDs to be a critical step in expanding the home-entertainment market and providing consumers even more entertainment choices,'' a company spokesman wrote. ``We have been actively engaged in the development of the emerging format proposals, but are not prepared to discuss our product plans yet.'' Bob Chapek, president of Disney's Buena Vista Home Entertainment, has encouraged a compromise between the two camps in his role as head of the Digital Entertainment Group. Chapek declined to comment Monday but has previously warned that dueling formats could turn off consumers, who won't want to make a mistake by purchasing a potentially weaker format that doesn't make it in the long run - like Betamax, which was an ultimately useless format after VHS won that format war in the 1980s. Although 20th Century Fox joined the Blu-ray Disc Association The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) is the industry consortium that develops and licenses Blu-ray Disc technology and responsible for establishing format standards and promoting and further developing business opportunities for Blu-ray Disc. board in October, spokesman Steve Feldstein said Monday that the studio is active in the development and planning for both formats. ``We have not yet committed to publish either format,'' said Feldstein. Greg Hernandez, (818) 713-3758 greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com |
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