Blue-ray mass market move
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Singulus Technologies will begin selling machines for mass producing read-only Blu-ray Discs next year. German firm, Singulus, will supply machines that make the discs, called BD-ROMs, by
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Sony's Blu-ray looks set to become the standard for high-definition DVDs after Toshiba signalled Monday that it may give up in a long-running format battle, to the relief of investors.
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Four proponents of high-definition DVD technology will invite component manufacturers to join a group set up to help speed its commercialization, while Sony has confirmed that it will use blue lasers in its next Playstation console.
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Sharp has begun mass production of blue-laser diodes at a new factory in Japan -- a move that should help reduce the cost of Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD players.
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(InfoWorld) - Visitors to the IFA consumer electronics show, which opens Friday in Berlin, will have ringside seats to the war over high-definition disc formats raging between Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. As the two formats duel for the title of successor to current DVD movie discs, many European consumers haven't decided which kind of player they will buy. "Everyone is waiting for IFA where many new products are expected to be announced," said Frank Simonis, chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association. Both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc have sold in lower quantities in Europe than in other regions and prices are still relatively high, between â¬599 (US$814 ) and â¬899, according to Simonis. Currently, five manufacturers have launched Blu-ray Disc players in Europe, including Sony Corp. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (Panasonic). Five additional vendors are expected to launch Blu-ray Disc players at IFA, while companies with players already in the market plan to introduce devices with new features, Simonis said. Many of the manufacturers are major suppliers of HDTV sets and hope to leverage that expertise to "accelerate the adoption of Blu-ray Disc," he said. The format has received a big boost from its use in Sony's PlayStation 3 games console, with sales of more than 1.4 million units in Europe, according to Simonis. The HD DVD camp is also bringing new wares to IFA, according to Frank Eschholz, business development manager of HD DVD products at Sony Deutschland GmbH. "There will be new devices and new features and more." Both types of players are designed with many of the same components inside and offer many of the same features, according to Simonis. But one of Blu-ray Disc's key benefits is its ability to store up to 50G bytes of data, he said. "Studios want to pack a bunch of extras onto discs in addition to the movies, and Blu-ray Disc allows them to do so," he said. The Blu-ray Disc camp, however, was jolted when Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation announced last week that they would align themselves exclusively with the HD DVD high-definition format. The decision comes at a time when market indicators have been pointing to competitor Blu-ray Disc as having the lead. In addition to next-generation movie-disc players, visitors to this year's IFA can expect to see plenty of HDTV sets, camcorders, digital cameras, MP3 players and notebook computers. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. will introduce new products in all those categories, according to a spokeswoman. The company may launch two handsets as well, she said. Sony has decided to return to IFA after its absence last year, with plans to exhibit new Blu-ray Disc players, new Walkman music players and HDTV sets, according to a spokeswoman. More information about IFA -- the letters stand for Internationale Funkausstellung, although the full name is rarely used these days -- is available at the show's Web site .
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With the news early Tuesday that Toshiba is ending the next generation optical disc war by pulling the plug on HD DVD, the manufacturer said it has no plans to support or manufacture Blu-ray players. Likewise, Microsoft said it has no plans to announce.
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This morning, US movie rental giant Blockbuster announced that 18% of its retail outlets will expand their offerings to include Blu-ray titles only, at least for now.  With retail shelf space a premium commodity in today's market, it's a big gamble for Blockbuster, but the very fact that it's willing to take that gamble may have just tipped the scales in the high-def battle.
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A new specification will add features to Blu-ray disc players proves that people really just subscribe to consumer electronics rather than buying them. Accept that and you can defend profligate spending on the latest TV or being a penny-pincher.
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Company is the latest to choose sides in the next-generation DVD format battle.
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The company's distribution deal will have a big impact on its competitive strength.
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JVC (Japan Victor Co.) is trying to ease the transition from standard DVD to Blu-Ray, a contender in the battle for the next-generation DVD format.
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Consumers and investors cheered an  impending end to a format war for next-generation DVDs on  Monday, with share gains for both Toshiba, on the verge of  abandoning its HD DVD discs, and Sony, the leader of the rival  Blu-ray camp.
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An analysis of online discussions on Blu-ray and HD DVD seem to give the early edge to HD DVD. Cited as reasons are a consumer distrust of Sony and displeasure in the company's decision to include it in the PS3.
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Sony's Blu-ray technology is emerging as the likely winner in the format battle for the next generation of DVD players after Toshiba appeared ready to ditch its HD DVD business
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So Toshiba finally threw in the towel on its HD DVD format today, making Blu-ray  the winner in the hi-def war. Consumers, however, could be the losers because without competition, there's no incentive for cheaper Blu-ray players.
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The standards battle could intensify in the last quarter, but so far Blu-ray dominates, analysts say.
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Invent a standard. Collect a check. That's what Blu-ray is about.