Movie buffs, brace yourselves for another round of Betamax versus VHS.
Two decades after the competing video formats battled for space in American living rooms, a new war is looming between two incompatible types of high-definition video discs scheduled to hit the market later this year.
One, called HD DVD, is the official choice of the group that backs conventional DVDs. The other, called Blu-ray, is spearheaded by more than a dozen big-name consumer-electronics and high-tech companies.
The two camps are trying to strike a last-minute deal and agree on common technical standards.
But with the first devices and discs slated to hit stores this Christmas, the window for an agreement is closing fast.
In addition to the money and egos involved, the physical differences in the two disc formats are keeping the two sides far apart.
"The train is going to start leaving the station shortly," said Josh Peterson, director of strategic alliances for Hewlett-Packard Co., which backs Blu-ray. A format war "looks more and more inevitable every day. We're approaching the point of no return."
Major Hollywood studios exacerbate the problem by splitting their support between the two formats, each of which promises to deliver richly detailed pictures and cinema-quality sound. Both types also will play current DVDs. Guided by differing visions for the high-definition future, half of the studios have announced plans to release HD DVD discs, and the other half are expected to back Blu-ray.
Although HD DVD players are expected to be in stores for the all-important holiday shopping season, the backers of Blu-ray think they have the advantage: Sony Corp. plans to include a Blu-ray drive in its hotly anticipated PlayStation 3 video game console. The game console won't arrive in the U.S. until next year, but the popularity of the PlayStation franchise may inspire buyers to wait for it.
If sales of PlayStation 3 repeat the performance of PlayStation 2, there could be Blu-ray players in several million homes in a matter of months.
If one format quickly becomes obsolete, casualties could include consumers who spend about $1,000 on the losing disc player. Analysts say a format war would also slow the transition to high-definition discs, reducing sales for consumer-electronics manufacturers and studios alike.
At stake is a multibillion-dollar market for next-generation DVDs.
