Sony unveils new Blu-ray recorders to fight HD DVD
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Sony Corp  said it will launch four models of new Blu-ray high-definition optical disc recorders in November in Japan, as its format battle with the HD DVD camp heats up.
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES  - Time Warner Inc's   Warner Bros studio on Friday said it would exclusively release  high-definition DVDs in Sony Corp's  Blu-ray format,  dealing a big blow to Toshiba Corp's  rival HD DVD  technology.
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Sony and other technology companies working to launch the next generation of DVD format, Blu-ray Disc, are planning to develop a smaller (8cm) version of the disc, Sony have said.
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This is fantastic news and could possibly make the HD-DVD format the winner over the competing Blu-Ray technology.... Two Japanese companies said Tuesday they have developed a DVD that can play on both existing
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Rolling out dual-layer BD support first, though IFA 06 Pioneer will follow up the release of its... er... pioneering Blu-ray Disc recorder with an updated model that supports dual-layer media, it has emerged. And the company said it is planning to offer a version that can also handle HD DVD.â¦
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The high-definition movie disc battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc can be traced all the way back to 2000, when companies began experimenting with using new blue lasers in optical disc systems.Because the wavelength of blue light is shorter than that of the red lasers used in DVD, less physical space is needed to record each bit of data and so more information can be crammed onto a DVD-sized disc. This extra space was needed to store the new high-definition video and TV services that were starting to be commercialized around that time.But what started in 2000 as technical research became a battle between the world&#39;s largest electronics companies and movie studios, with the consumer caught in the middle.Here&#39;s a look at the major milestones from the first research:2000Oct. 5 -- Sony and Pioneer unveil DVR Blue at Japan&#39;s Ceatec show. The format would go on to form the basis for first-generation Blu-ray Disc BD-RE.Nov. 1 -- Sony announces the development of Ultra Density Optical (UDO), a blue-laser optical disc format proposed to replace magneto-optical discs.2002Feb. 19 -- Led by Sony, nine of the world&#39;s largest electronics companies unveil plans for Blu-ray Disc.Aug. 29 -- Toshiba and NEC propose to the DVD Forum the next-generation optical disc format that will become HD DVD.Oct. 1 -- Prototypes of both formats are unveiled at Japan&#39;s Ceatec exhibition. Sony, Panasonic, Sharp, Pioneer and JVC showed prototype Blu-ray Disc recorders while Toshiba showed a prototype under the name Advanced Optical Disc (AOD).2003Feb. 13 -- Licensing of Blu-ray Disc begins . Player makers pay US$20,000 to license Blu-ray while the content-protection system license carries a $120,000 annual fee and additional charge of $0.10 per player. Media makers pay $8,000 annually and $0.02 per disc for the copy protection system.April 7 -- Sony announces its Blu-ray Disc-based Professional Disc format for data archiving applications.April 10 -- Sony puts on sale in Japan the world&#39;s first Blu-ray Disc recorder, the BDZ-S77. It&#39;s based on a 23G-byte cartridge version of the BD-RE disc and costs &#165;450,000 (US$3,815 at the time). The machine and a later model from Panasonic lack support for prerecorded movies that will launch later and prove an expensive early step into next-generation video.May 28 -- Mitsubishi Electric joins the Blu-ray Disc group .2004Jan. 7 -- Toshiba unveils its first prototype HD DVD player at CES. The player includes backwards compatibility with DVD.Jan. 12 - Hewlett-Packard and Dell put their support behind Blu-ray Disc.June 10 -- The first commercial version of HD DVD-ROM is approved by the DVD Forum.Sept. 21 -- Sony announces the PlayStation 3 will use Blu-ray Disc.Nov. 29 -- Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO and New Line Cinema announce support for HD DVD .Dec. 9 -- Disney announces support for Blu-ray Disc.2005Jan. 7 -- Backers of both formats promise players and movies in North America by the end of the year -- something that never materialized.March 24 -- Talk and hope of a common format as Ryoji Chubachi, then Sony&#39;s president-elect, says: &quot;Listening to the voice of the consumers, having two rival formats is disappointing and we haven&#39;t totally given up on the possibility of integration or compromise.&quot;April 21 -- Sony and Toshiba begin discussions on the possibility of a single format. The talks ultimately go nowhere.Aug. 18 -- Lions Gate Home Entertainment and Universal Music Group decide to back Blu-ray Disc.Sept. 27 -- Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp. put their weight behind HD DVD .Oct. 3 -- Paramount Home Entertainment says it will offer movies on both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc.Dec. 16 -- Hewlett-Packard decides to drop exclusive support for Blu-ray Disc and back both formats .2006Jan. 4 -- Bill Gates announces at CES that Microsoft will offer an add-on HD DVD drive for the Xbox 360 console.March 10 -- Blu-ray Disc-supporter LG Electronics surprises the industry with news that it&#39;s developing an HD DVD drive.March 31 -- Toshiba launches the world&#39;s first HD DVD player , the HD-XA1. It cost &#165;110,000 (US$936 at the time) in Japan.Nov. 11 -- Sony&#39;s PlayStation 3, which packs a Blu-ray Disc drive, goes on sale in Japan.Dec. 29 -- Hackers report success in breaking through part of the AACS copy protection that&#39;s on both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc.2007Jan. 7 -- Seeking to end the battle, LG Electronics unveils a dual-format player, while Warner Bros. shows a prototype disc that holds both an HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc layer so is compatible with players for both formats.April 17 -- Sales of HD DVD players in North America hit 100,000 since launch.Aug. 1 -- Microsoft cuts the price of its HD DVD player for the Xbox 360 from US$199 to US$179 and starts offering five free movies.Aug. 20 -- Paramount and Dreamworks Animation both drop Blu-ray Disc in favor of HD DVD.Sept. 13 -- Sony says it will use Blu-ray Disc in all high-def video recorders in Japan.Nov. -- The price of Toshiba HD DVD players drops to US$100 with rebates as the holiday shopping season begins.Nov. 11 -- Sony begins selling a lower cost version of the PlayStation 3.2008Jan. 4 -- Warner Bros. drops its bombshell: it will stop issuing HD DVD movies in the coming months and rely exclusively on Blu-ray Disc. In response the HD DVD Promotion Group cancels its CES news conference.Jan. 6 -- Akio Ozaka, head of Toshiba America Consumer Products, says at CES : &quot;We remain firm in the belief that HD DVD is the format best suited to the wants and needs of consumers.&quot; In response Sony CEO Howard Stringer, with a grin on his face, says &quot;All of us at Sony are feeling blue today.&quot;Jan. 14 -- Toshiba cuts the price of HD DVD players with the HD-A3 seeing a retail price of US$150.Feb. 11 -- NetFlix and BestBuy say they will phase out HD DVD.Feb. 15 -- Wal-Mart, the world&#39;s largest retailer, says it will phase out HD DVD by June.Feb. 16 -- Japanese public broadcaster NHK reports Toshiba has halted production of HD DVD players. Several additional local media reports confirm and The Nikkei business daily says Toshiba has decided to stop developing the format any further.Feb. 19 -- Toshiba formally announces it will&#160;phase out the production of HD DVD players and recorders&#160;by the end of March. The format war is over.(Dan Nystedt in Taipei contributed to this report.)&#160;
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The battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD to define the next generation DVD format shows no signs of cooling off. While electronics and computer companies such as Sony, Dell and HP back the Blu-ray
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As part of digital shift, electronics maker is planning device that will record HD DVDs, DVDs and CDs.
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called &quot;HD DVD&quot; -- is in competition with the Sony-led Blu-ray disc to become the dominant next generation DVD. Toshiba said the HD DVD&#39;s strength against
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(InfoWorld) - In the battle of new optical storage formats, Blu-ray Disc has added another weapon -- even more storage. Japan's TDK has developed a prototype single-sided recordable blue laser disc with a capacity of 200GB, surpassing the current 25GB capacity for single-layer Blu-ray discs and 50GB for dual-layer discs, the company announced at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin. TDK had previously developed a prototype disc with a capacity of 100GB. The latest prototype will store approximately 18 hours of high-definition video. TDK didn't say when the discs would be available. Several Hollywood film studios announced on Thursday the release of numerous titles on the Blu-ray Disc format, to be available ahead of the holiday shopping season in December.
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Sharp&#39;s new recorder has a dual Blu-ray disc/DVD tray to allow digital dubbing in six directional combinations to and from the hard drive, Blu-ray discs, and DVDs, including the ability to dub five DVDs (4.7 GB) onto a single Blu-ray disc (25 GB).
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Japan's Sony Corp, reeling from a string of production problems, has kicked off its bid for industry dominance in high-definition DVDs with a planned December launch of its new Blu-ray machine.
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Sony has finally posted a patch for the CyberLink PowerDVD playback software it bundles with its internal Blu-ray Disc burner, the BWU-100A, to allow the drive to play pre-recorded BD media. Sony announced the drive in Europe in September. A month later it promised a BD playback update.â¦
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TOKYO - Proponents of the Blu-ray disc standard for next-generation DVD players plan to release camcorders that will record on smaller versions of the discs as early as 2005, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported Thursday.
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Sony Corp. (6758.T) said on Wednesday it  will launch a DVD recorder using Blu-ray technology by the end  of the year in Japan, fortifying its lineup of high-definition  optical disc products.
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PC Magazine - While there's no clear winner in the battle between HD DVD and Blu-Ray, Thursday's introduction of the first set-top Blu-ray recorder from Sharp makes the fight a little more even.
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Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial   Co. 6752.T said on Wednesday it would launch two Blu-ray DVD   recorders in Japan on November 15, heating up a format battle   for next generation DVD technologies.