Black Day for Toshiba As Blu-Ray Wins High-Definition DVD Wars

Jan 08, 06:04 PM

A WINNER was declared yesterday in the multi-billion euro war between rival high-definition DVD formats. Sonys Blu-ray technology looked to have prevailed after Toshibas HD-DVD system was dealt a devastating blow by a major film studio.

Warner Brothers said it would release its films only in the Blu- ray format from later this year, a decision analysts believe will effectively kill off the rival.

The studio is behind the hugely successful Harry Potter movies and has a huge back catalogue, including such classics as The Wizard of Oz.

Consumers who want to see them in HD clarity in their living room will have to opt for a Blu-ray player costing E150 or so more than a HD-DVD machine, which can be bought for E250. Despite this, analyst Robin Harris of Data Mobility Group said: I think the war is over. HD-DVD has lost. The basic issue is not technology. Its about distribution, its about marketing, its about content and Blu-ray has been winning the content war for some time.

The confrontation was billed as the biggest in home entertainment since the VHS video machine saw off Betamax in the early 1980s.

The introduction of high-definition DVD players has been hamstrung because consumers have been reluctant to spend hundreds of pounds on a box in case they opted for a format that would become obsolete.