Some analysts say the announcement gives HD-DVD an edge over Sony’s Blu-ray as each side prepares to release commercial products based it own technology within the next six months.
If they are right, it could be good news for adult film companies that have invested heavily in high-definition equipment and productions.
Toshiba and Sony have been locked in a battle for next-generation supremacy for more than three years. Content providers and electronics manufacturers had been pushing for the two sides to reach a compromise in order to avoid a format war similar to the VHS vs. Betamax battle in the 1980s, which cost everyone involved millions of dollars.
“We’re of the opinion that a unified format would be far preferable,” said Richard Doherty, Microsoft’s program manager in charge of media convergence. Doherty said the company remained neutral as long as possible in the hope that a unified format would occur but decided to choose a side as that hope grew dimmer and the reality of commercially available products drew closer.
Sony had been thought to gain an advantage by winning over a number large electronics manufacturers including Matsushita, maker of Panasonic-branded hardware, as well as several major content providers such as Twentieth Century Fox and Disney.
But Toshiba’s camp over the past year has expanded to include a much larger number of movie studios than its rival and also has recently added many more electronics companies.
Part of the apparent reason for the shift in favor of Toshiba, according to Rick Marquardt, a former executive with Warner Bros., is that transitioning manufacturing to support the HD DVD format would be more cost effective than switching to Blu-ray.
“The tab for radically overhauling the media manufacturing industry [to accommodate Blue-ray discs] would approach a billion dollars worldwide,” Marquardt said. “The cost of upgrading an existing DVD line [to hi-def] is about $150,000. A DVD mastering system can be upgraded for $145,000.”
Analysts cite several other reasons why HD-DVD may have an advantage over Blu-ray. For example, it supports regular DVD recordings on the flip side of the disc, meaning studios could release DVDs that satisfy existing and hi-def customers on a single disc. Many see such flexibility as the next best option after an outright truce between the two sides.
With both sides set to release products late this year and early next year, an ongoing feud could have far-reaching effects for the adult entertainment industry.
“With so many titles being released in such small quantities, a format war could seriously impact adult,” Hustler Video director Quinn Roberts told XBiz. “It is not cost effective for companies to release in both formats.”
“Widespread consumer adaptation will be much slower during the war, and this will have a direct impact on hi-def sales,” Digital Playground founder Joone added.