Hi-def DVD format war just got hot

With yesterday's launch of two HD DVD players from Toshiba, the public begins deciding whether HD DVD or the rival Blu-ray format is the rightful heir to the DVD.

In the public-relations battle between the warring technologies, HD DVD scored a victory by getting to market first. Toshiba's HD-A1 at $500 (£280) and higher-end HD-XA1 at $800 players hit US store shelves this week, two months before the first Blu-ray player is scheduled to go on sale. UK prices and release dates are not currently available.

This is a high-stakes game, and not just for the movie studios, electronics manufacturers or software companies with a piece of the $24bn home-video market. Consumers could also lose thousands of pounds by betting on the wrong technology.

As the VHS-Betamax battle showed three decades ago, such confrontations are usually a winner-takes-all affair. In that instance, VHS triumphed and studios quickly abandoned the Betamax format. Betamax owners were left with no films to watch and hundreds of pounds invested in worthless video equipment.

At this early stage, some analysts believe that casual movie fans should wait for a winner to emerge. Technologies are always fraught with glitches and setbacks and typically are more expensive when they're launched than after they've been on the market for a while. At a time when a low-end DVD player costs £20, the price for an HD DVD machine starts at $499 in the US, but expect to pay more once it's crossed the Atlantic. A top-end Blu-ray player may end up as much as £1,000.

"These aren't products for cost-conscious consumers yet," said IDC analyst Josh Martin.

For TV aficionados who like being the Joneses everyone has to keep up with, there are a few things to consider before buying.

Neither HD DVD nor Blu-ray can offer movie titles from all eight of the top movie studios. That means buyers of one disc player may be prevented from watching a movie from a studio that doesn't support the format.

Seven studios currently back Blu-ray, while three support HD DVD, and two of those also support Blu-ray. Only Universal Studios supports HD DVD exclusively.

Content, content, content
For Andy Parsons, chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Promotion Committee in the US, the deciding factor for consumers should be "content, content, content", Parsons said.

"It's as important as location is when buying a house," Parsons said. "Remember, you're not buying this equipment because it looks good with your furniture. You're buying it because you want to watch movies. We have a fairly significant leg up because we've brought to market a wider array of [movie studios]."

The HD DVD camp has promised that nearly 200 movie titles will be available on that format by the end of the year.

Coinciding with the launch of Toshiba's new disc players, Warner Bros. Entertainment is releasing three film titles on the HD DVD format -- Million Dollar Baby, The Last Samurai and Phantom of the Opera.

Warner Bros. is also set to release titles for Blu-ray players when the first one (Samsung's BD-P1000) goes on sale in June, said Steven Nickerson, Warner Home Video's senior vice president of market management.

When it comes to price, HD DVD wins at least in the early stages. Initial cost estimates for building blue-laser disc players is more than $400, according to In-Stat. The research firm predicted that the costs should fall considerably by 2010.

While Toshiba's players range in the US from $500 to $800 , the least expensive Blu-ray machine is $999. Blu-ray, however, will be available on a bigger selection of players, as well as Sony's PlayStation 3, set for worldwide release in November.

While Toshiba is the only HD DVD player expected to go on sale this summer, Blu-ray has Sony's BDP-S1, which will retail for about $1,000 when it reaches store shelves in July. That's the same month that Pioneer's high-end model, the BDP-HD1 player, is scheduled to retail for $1,800.

Panasonic has said the DMP-BD10 will cost less than $1,500 when it rolls out in September.

In June, Fujitsu said it will become the first company to ship computers featuring Blu-ray disc drives when it launches a $5,000 desktop in Japan. The company also said it intends to manufacture HD DVD-ready PCs, joining electronics giants LG Electronics and Hewlett-Packard in deciding to support both formats.

Sony is due to release a Blu-ray equipped desktop, the VAIO RC, and charge about $2,300.

Sometime this spring, Toshiba is scheduled to release the first HD DVD laptop -- the Qosmio G30. Acer has said that the Aspire 9800 laptop also will feature an HD DVD drive. Prices were not available.