Tinseltown studios commit to HD-DVD
Toshiba says that four Hollywood studios have signed up to support its high-definition (HD) DVD optical storage format, which is based on GaN lasers.
Paramount, Universal, New Line Cinema and Warner Brothers are the four studios that have independently committed to back the format, announced Toshiba.
"Major studios are expected to release a number of titles, including new releases, to support the smooth progress of HD DVD in its initial year," said Toshiba CEO Tadashi Okamura.
The Japanese electronics company and its HD-DVD collaborators are locked in a battle with the Sony-led Blu-ray Disc association (BDA) to capture the next-generation optical storage market.
Sony, which has a wide-ranging licensing agreement with Nichia, the company that pioneered GaN semiconductor laser development and production, recently announced that it had backing from the 20th Century Fox studio. Sony has also acquired Metro-Goldwyn Mayer, giving it access to a huge range of movie titles.
One of the key advantages of the HD-DVD format, according to Toshiba, is its compatibility with existing DVD production methods. It expects this to keep manufacturing costs associated with making the new discs relatively low compared with the Blu-ray format.
However, the BDA disputes this notion, saying that both of the two new formats will require extensive investment in equipment due to tighter constraints on manufacturing tolerances.
Toshiba plans to launch its first HD DVD products - both a player and a recorder - in the fourth quarter of 2005. These will be followed by a notebook PC featuring the technology by the end of the year.
