May 26th 2005

Toshiba: Blu-Ray and HD-DVD Will Unite, But Not Yet

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The president of Toshiba has said that there should be a single, unified format for next-generation optical storage.

However, Tadashi Okamura was not optimistic about an agreement any time soon.

"We may actually have a situation where merchandise from both sides is put on store shelves. But the market would not allow that situation to last very long," he said, confirming what many industry commentators have recently been saying - that one format would emerge on top. However, that one format might not necessarily be a compromise solution and instead might take the form of one or other of the competing technologies.

"They are going to lose the product launch [if work begins now on a single unfied format]," said Gerry Kaufhold, an analyst with In-Stat. "There is already substantial momentum and if you stall for 18 months you will lose millions of dollars."

The balance has recently tipped towards Blu-Ray with the announcement that it will be supported by the PlayStation 3.