Blue Ray

With the proliferation of high-definition TVs and content and the FCC's HDTV mandate only a few years away, new high-density optical disc formats are beginning to take shape. With talk about DVD's high-density replacement hitting stores by 2007 or even earlier, manufacturers are beginning to assess the P&L of HD disc production. As is always the case, multiple formats-two in this case, both capable of delivering DVD-length HD content--are vying to become the standard, and both have powerful backers.

HD-DVD, supported by the DVD Forum, is blue laser-based. The other format, Blu-ray, is based on blue violet lasers and is supported by Sony, Matsushita, Thomson, Philips, Pioneer, and others. Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and LG Electronics offered up products based on Blu-ray technology during the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. (Sony has been shipping a Blu-ray drive in Japan since April 2003.) Meanwhile, Toshiba and NEC demo'd HD-DVD players. Both new formats are still in development, but pilot lines already exist. It's worth noting that while HD-DVD is the authorized format of the DVD Forum, key Blu-ray backers such as Pioneer and Panasonic are Forum members. If nothing else, this suggests that the HD-on-DVD battle won't be fought along the familiar Forum vs. +RW Alliance lines.

At the IRMA Management