The two companies are said to be considering forming an alliance that will merge the Blu-ray disc technology produced by Sony with Toshiba’s HD-DVD format. Both groups had been competing against each other until the recent stalemate, each claiming their discs had enhanced picture quality and sound, more secure copyright protection and improved interactive capabilities.
Last month, computer conglomerate Apple announced its support for the Blu-ray software, joining film studios including Disney, Twentieth Century Fox and Sony Pictures who are backing the technology for its advanced storage capacity. Toshiba meanwhile has Warner Brothers, Universal and Paramount on its side, boasting that the HD-DVD format is cheaper to manufacture because of its similarities with the current DVD technology.
Reports are hopeful that an alliance would put a stop to the fighting since it would produce a single technology standard for the next generation of high resolution DVDs.
However, other reports indicate that the two companies may yet come to blows over the final decision, and another stalemate would likely delay the much anticipated launch of new DVD players based on the two separate technologies by the end of the year.
