The competing Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD industry groups remain confident that their respective DVD-successor formats will prevail. At IFA in Berlin, both camps announced initial players, writers and film titles for Europe. They largely left recording by consumers unresolved: HD content can technically be stored, but whether it works in practice depends on rights holders because of HDCP copy protection.
The Blu-ray Disc Association announced that Sun Microsystems had joined its board. Sun’s Java technology is intended to provide interactive features on Blu-ray media. Philips planned to ship the TripleWriter in September as its first Blu-ray hardware. The internal PC combination drive reads and writes CD, DVD and Blu-ray media and costs €799. The Showline Media Center MCP9480i, essentially a Windows Media Center PC with a hard disk and two TV tuners plus Blu-ray, was expected late in the year for €2,500. Philips did not expect its first standalone BD player before early 2007.
#BDP9000
Philips said 25 GB rewritable BD-RE media had been available since July and planned a 50 GB dual-layer version shortly. Memorex and Verbatim also announced corresponding media. TDK reported that it had begun shipping 50 GB discs at IFA and claimed to have stored 200 GB on one Blu-ray Disc, twice the capacity of its previous 100 GB prototype.
Industry representatives viewed Sony’s PlayStation 3 launch as an important catalyst because the console included a Blu-ray drive as standard. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe forecast sales of around six million units by the end of March 2007. Depending on configuration, the console was priced at €499 or €599, expensive for a games machine but also able to play Blu-ray films.
Film studios announced broad Blu-ray support. While several also planned HD DVD titles, 20th Century Fox reiterated exclusive support for Blu-ray. One early release was planned as the more than three-hour director’s cut of Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven. Fox did not expect Blu-ray to trigger a consumer replacement cycle comparable with the move from VHS to DVD.
Toshiba promoted HD DVD at IFA. Its first European players were expected in November and December: the HD-E1 at €599 to €699 depending on country and tax, and the better-equipped HD-XE1 at €899 to €999. Toshiba said the European models had been technically improved over lower-priced US versions and planned a three-phase European launch to address national differences.
#HD-EX1
Paramount, Universal and Warner Bros., alongside Studio Canal, Pathé and 2|entertain, supported the HD DVD launch. Forty titles were expected by year-end. Toshiba Digital Media Network Company president and CEO Yoshihide Fuji argued that HD DVD would develop faster than predicted and disputed claims that Blu-ray had stronger studio support.
