JVC previews Blu-ray DVD combo
Published: December 29, 2004, 1:40 PM PST
By Paul Festa
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
A new Blu-ray and DVD hybrid disc could bring some relief to consumers
weary of the format war, but will it be enough for the increasingly
fractured market?
JVC on Friday showed a prototype of a disc that combines standard DVD and
new Blu-ray technology for a combined 33.5GB of capacity.
Blu-ray is a new read-only optical disc technology that increases the
amount of storage on a disc with the aim of allowing content producers to
distribute high-definition movies. But analysts warn that competing
technologies like Blu-ray and High-Definition DVD (HD DVD) could do more
short-term harm than good by prolonging confusion in the market.
"Everyone's vying to be the next DVD heir-apparent," said Jupiter
Communications analyst Michael Gartenberg. "It's the 21st-century format
wars and until all this stuff shakes out, consumers aren't going to buy
anything. It's going to be a huge mess until consumers are able to sort
out what the winning technology is."
A combined Blu-ray and standard DVD disc could help the situation. If
content producers start distributing the combo discs, consumers might be
more inclined to buy Blu-ray players.
Rest of article:
http://news.com.com/JVC+previews+Blu...j=news.1041.20
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