Industries
Blu-ray, HD-DVD Player Seen
Samsung says it plans to debut a player to run both standards of the next generation of optical discs if a unified format doesn't arise.
Seeking to cover its bases, consumer electronics giant Samsung said Tuesday it will introduce a DVD player next year capable of playing both the Blu-ray and HD-DVD formats if the backers of the two competing standards fail to agree on one technology for next-generation DVDs.
For the past three years, Sony-backed Blu-ray and Toshiba-backed HD-DVD have been in a war over what next generation of blue laser DVDs will reign supreme when it comes to high-definition content and greater storage capacity.
“We would welcome a unified standard but if this doesn’t come, which looks likely, we’ll bring a unified solution to market,” Samsung President of Digital Media Choi Gee Sung told the Financial Times Deutschland.
“It won’t be simple but you’ll see our solution in the coming year,” he added. “Consumers will be too confused otherwise.”
Samsung has backed the Blu-ray format. But if it were to develop a dual-standard player, it could capture both sides of the market, which appears to be split between Blu-ray and HD-DVD.
‘It is going to be very difficult technologically to create one drive to support both technologies.’ -Josh Martin, IDC
Both camps have been in talks for several months to unify the two formats into one to avoid consumer confusion, with HD-DVD officials arguing that Sony is frustrating the bargaining process (see Toshiba: Blu-ray Won’t Bargain).
Samsung gave no other details and it is still unclear whether the South Korean consumer electronics giant’s players will have one common drive that will play both Blu-ray and HD-DVD, or whether there will be separate drives for each.
“If it’s one drive, it’s going to be a step in the right direction,” said Josh Martin, an analyst with IDC. “But if you’re talking about putting together two devices into one, it’s kind of a stop-gap arrangement.”
Difficulty Merging
Merging the two technologies will be difficult for consumer electronics companies such as Samsung because the optical pickups and the readability of the discs are very different for both formats.
“It is going to be very difficult technologically to create one drive to support both technologies,” said Mr. Martin.
The pricing of such a player will also be an issue. Currently, next-generation disc players are expected to be priced at about $1,000 at launch. If the dual-standard player costs about $1,500, it will be cheaper than buying two separate players, said Mr. Martin.
Depending on the type of technology needed to develop the player, “there will still be a premium on that over [the price of] Blu-ray or HD-DVD,” said Mr. Martin. “The question will be how much less [than buying] two separate players.”
The HD-DVD group did not offer comment, and Blu-ray spokespersons had no immediate comment.
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Samsung announced it will market DVD players capable of playing back both Sony's Blu-Ray and Toshiba's HD DVD next-generation optical storage formats, if the two camps refuse to compromise on a single format. Assuming development is successful, consumers could expect to see such a device on store shelves next year.
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Blu-Ray and HD DVD are projected to be the successor formats for current DVDs. Samsung, while leaning towards the Blu-Ray camp, hopes it can cover both bases by distributing a player with dual-compatibility. While this means spending more in development to unify the two technologies and develop a cost-effective production method, dual compatibility may pay off for the company if the formats challenge each other as VHS and Betamax did twenty-five years ago. Despite the support for Blu-Ray, Samsung has also been supportive of a unified standard to avoid such costly competition.
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HD DVD offers single layer capacity of 15GB, more than triple the size of standard single layer DVDs, and benefits from similarities with current DVDs, such as cheap production and compatibility with current DVD players. Blu-Ray can hold 23GB on its smallest single layer version, and is reported to have superior durability and interactivity over current DVD-based technology and HD-DVD. HD-DVD is currently promoted by Toshiba, NEC, Sanyo and Microsoft; while Blu-Ray's base of support is the Blu-Ray Disc Association, which is led by Blu-Ray developers Sony and Philips. It is notable that Sony and Philips, who developed the Blu-Ray format, also competed against the Toshiba-designed SuperDisc DVD standard, which is the standard that is followed today.

The first Blu-Ray and HD DVD products are expected to start appearing in mainstream markets within the next year.