CES: In high-dev DVD war, LG, Warner play Switzerland
Don’t believe the CES hype. Although both HD DVD and Blu-ray backers are claiming victory in the high-stakes, high-def DVD war, the battle’s only just begun.
At CES, both camps rolled out statistics showing their respective format was leading the move into the next generation of DVD players. But the two high-def DVD products that garnered the most press were the technological equivalents of Switzerland: an LG Electronics “hybrid” player that can play both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs; and a new “hybrid” disc, called Total HD, that is compatible with both types of players.
LG’s dual-format player, the $1,199 Super Multi Blue BH100 Blu-Ray/HD DVD combo player, will be available this month. While the player can output 1080p video signals, compromises include lack of support for HD DVD's iHD interactivity (it uses Blu-ray’s Java-based interactivity to generate a menu for HD DVD tiles), and it lacks the latest HDMI 1.3 connector (it uses the HDMI 1.2 instead). The company also showed a PC drive/writer, called the Super Multi Blue drive, which can play Blu-Ray and HD DVD discs and record to Blu-ray discs. It's the same price as the player. However, because these players/writers don’t support the iHD standard for interactivity (for features ranging from interactive movies to games), they violate the terms of the DVD Forum's licensing agreement. As a result, neither of the drives will bear the HD DVD logo. According to a Blu-ray representative, a company making a player that only used iHD interactivity would have the same issue with the Blu-ray Disc Association’s licensing requirements, which mandate Java interactivity.
Warner Bros. surprise announcement at CES was the launch of Total HD, a "universal" disc that can be played in both HD DVD and Blu-ray players. The discs, which will be available in the second half of 2007, are the same 1.2 mm size as DVDs, HD DVD, and Blu-ray discs. They can be single-layer and dual-layer for both formats, resulting in 15GB/30GB on the HD DVD side, and 25GB/50GB on the Blu-ray side. Major retailers including Best Buy, Circuit City, and Amazon immediately announced they would stock the discs, though it's unclear whether other studios are willing to embrace detente rather than continue to battle it out as confused consumers sit on the sidelines.
In the interim, proponents of each format continue to issue products, letting the marketplace pick a winner. During CES, the HD DVD Promotions Group said that four new manufacturers — Onkyo, Meridian, Shinco, and Alco — would begin to make HD DVD products for the home, while car stereo manufacturer Alpine demoed a car-based player. The group claimed that at least 1.8 million HD DVD players would be sold this year, backed by $600 million in HD DVD title sales.
At the show, Toshiba announced a new, lower-cost 1080p HD DVD player, the HD-A20 HD, which will be available this spring for $600. The new player joins a high-end ($1,000) HD-XA2 player, as well as a $500 entry-level model that outputs only 720p and 1080i. Shinco said it would introduce an entry-level player, the HD-A100, in North America, while Onkyo only said it would have a player in the U.S. market later this year. Meridian issued a statement denying a player was forthcoming, though, and RCA, which had been selling a rebranded entry-level Toshiba player, said it was eschewing that battle to focus on DVD.
As for the Blu-ray camp, Samsung showed a new, less expensive (and presumably, better-performing) Blu-ray player — the BD-P1200 — which has a built-in HQV video processor that can upscale standard DVDs to 1080p. The unit will carry a $799 price tag and will be available in March. Sony showed two new Blu-ray prototypes, called Sapphire 1 and Sapphire 2, which will support a new, wider color gamut called xvYCC (although Sony, of course, has its own nomenclature, x.v. Color). Sharp announced a $1,200 Blu-ray player (BD-HP10U), which will be available in the second quarter of 2007, while Panasonic showed several Blu-ray products, including a second-generation player, a BD recorder, and multiple BD/DVD/CD writers for notebooks and desktops. Pricing for the player wasn’t announced, but it will be available in the US this summer. And Pioneer showed a Blu-ray drive (BDC-202) for PCs, available in the second quarter, that can also write to recordable DVDs and CDs.
— James K. Willcox
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