Blu-ray Looks to Become Industry Standard Within Three Years

HANOVER,
March 16: The Blu-ray and HD DVD standards were battling it out at the CeBIT
technology trade show in Hanover, Germany, this week, with Blu-ray saying it
aims to replace the standard DVD format within three years, and HD DVD
announcing various initiatives to drive its penetration in Europe.

"Within three years
it will just be Blu-ray," Frank Simonis, the Blu-ray Disc Association's
European chairman, is quoted as saying, according to Reuters.

Blu-ray has already
outpaced HD DVD thus far, because it comes built in to Sony’s PlayStation 3
video game consoles. According to the Reuters report, Sony Computer
Entertainment had sold 1.84 million PS3s by the end of December in Japan and
North America, with 1 million due to hit Europe next week.

HD
DVD meanwhile, is being championed in the region by the newly formed European
HD DVD Promotional Group, led by Studio Canal, Universal, Toshiba and
Microsoft. The new trade organization will include movie studios, distributors,
consumer electronics companies, IT companies, PC makers, disc replication
companies and authoring houses. As the European counterpart to the North
American HD DVD Promotional Group and working with the HD DVD Promotion Group
originally organized in Japan, the new non-profit organization completes the
global promotion structure for HD DVD, working to educate consumers on the
quality and value of the format.

"After
a strong year in North America and Asia, HD DVD is drawing attention in Europe,
with unrivaled quality and affordable prices," said Ken Graffeo, the EVP
of HD strategic marketing at Universal Studios Home Entertainment. "HD DVD
is the most recognized brand name worldwide for high-definition packaged media
and we now have a strong group of companies behind it, from hardware
manufacturers to studios and distributors."

By
the end of the first quarter of this year, more than 100 HD DVD titles will be
available throughout Europe. More than one-third of these titles come from
European studios and none of them are currently available on any other
high-definition format. With more than 21 studios and distributors, 14
authoring studios and eight replicators producing HD DVD content and discs
throughout the region, the number of titles is expected to increase to 600
worldwide by December.

"Our
goal is to achieve global penetration of the HD DVD format, so a lot of work
has gone into making sure that authoring houses and replicators across Europe
were given the training and expertise they need to get up and running quickly
allowing a wealth of European content to hit the market right from the
beginning," said Yoshihide Fujii, the chairman of the HD DVD Promotion
Group and president and CEO of Toshiba's Digital Media Network Company.
"This will be a key differentiator for HD DVD in Europe for the
foreseeable future. Combine that with a solid line-up of U.S. titles and
affordable hardware and consumers have a lot of options to create a home
theater experience that is unparalleled."