Archive notice: This article was originally published on December 18, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The still undecided competition between the HD-DVD and Blu-ray formats is also causing computer manufacturers such as Hewlett-Packard, Sony and Acer to hesitate when planning drive deployment. The great market potential and, on the other hand, the still open question of the DVD successor make planning for the manufacture of blue-laser drives next year difficult, the news portal DigiTimes writes, citing Taiwanese industry circles. “It is not up to us to make the decision; ultimately, customers decide this. We are endeavouring to make both formats available for as long as possible”, Thomas Hartl, marketing manager at Acer Austria, tells pressetext.
Despite the apparently great market potential of the new formats, no winner in the contest is foreseeable today, if one will ever be determined, the report continues. Various possible applications of blue-laser technologies for use in computers are currently on the market, including Blu-ray burners, Blu-ray ROM and HD-DVD ROM drives, combo and dual-format drives. It is therefore particularly difficult for PC sellers to assess which of the formats entails the least risk. The companies could also be concerned that prices will fall more quickly in future than has been expected so far, even if price reductions would boost sales.
The price effect was also evident in a sales promotion by the US supermarket chain Wal-Mart. As part of a 48-hour promotion, it sold the Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD player for just under 99 dollars. The player thus cost only a few dollars more than some classic DVD players. As a result, Toshiba sold 90,000 to 100,000 players within two days. According to the tenor in Taiwanese industry circles, the success of this promotion also supported the positive prospects for the use of blue-laser drives in computers next year.
In future, Acer wants to offer both notebooks and desktop PCs where a choice can be made between Blu-ray and HD-DVD models, Hartl says. By the end of 2008 at the latest, the use of combo drives or hybrid drives would also be conceivable, at least in desktop PCs. Since no format decision is currently foreseeable in the market, it would also be conceivable that both ultimately continue to exist and that the format discussion would therefore also become superfluous for manufacturers.
“The battle between the two formats is far from decided”, Richard Cooper, video analyst at Screen-Digest, also tells pressetext. The decision could, however, be advanced if one of the major film studios opts for one format. “If, for example, Warner were to side only with HD-DVD, that would be an influential impetus for the industry”, Cooper says. Warner currently presents itself as a supporter of both formats and is a member of both the Bluray Association and the HD-DVD Promotion Group. Acer and Hewlett-Packard are also supporters of both formats. Sony, as developer of the Blu-ray format, has Apple and Dell, among others, on its side; HD-DVD developer Toshiba has support from Sanyo, among others.
Further Links:
- Blu-ray Association
Hd-DVD Promotion Group
