HOSTILITIES have heated up in the next-generation high-definition DVD standards war. The rival formats each mounted shows of strength at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Las Vegas
HD television and DVD clearly took the spotlight at the show, which brought more than 2500 consumer electronics companies to
Amid all the colourful displays of LCD, plasma and the soon to be launched SED (Surface-conduction Electron-emitting Display) television screens, it was the battle of the DVD formats that provided the show's undercurrent.
Since talks on bridging the divide between the rival HD-DVD and Blu-Ray formats broke off last year, companies on both sides have been forging ahead with their respective plans.
At CES 2006 it was HD-DVD that seemed to have stolen the march, with its chief proponent Toshiba promising an imminent launch of HD-DVD recorders in the US
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As well as touting HD-DVD's ability to convert existing standard definition (SD) DVDs to high-definition quality, Toshiba's HD-DVD push also got some heavyweight support from tech giants such as Microsoft and Intel, both of which are supporting HD-DVD in their new offerings.
Indeed, none other than Microsoft chairman Bill Gates came out slugging in HD-DVD's corner when he touted Microsoft's latest games console, the Xbox 360, as the breakthrough HD-DVD device when it gets an external HD-DVD drive later this year.
"High-definition DVD is coming on line this year," Mr Gates said in his CES keynote address as he and Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer started trading virtual HD punches in a demonstration of the upcoming HD Xbox game, Fight Night Round 3.
In the CES demonstration of the game, which will ship in the first quarter of this year, Mr Gates and Mr Ballmer re-enacted a Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fight, with Mr Gates as the eventually victorious Ali.
Mr Gates said he expected about 50 HD Xbox titles would be available by June.
"This is going to be a big year for digital lifestyle, and high-definition is one of the themes that really stands out," he said. "Xbox 360 is driving high definition."
HD-DVD would also be supported on the Media Centre edition of the company's Windows Vista operating system, and one of its chief advantages would be the ability to allow protected versions of HD-DVD movies to be copied to a hard drive, he said.
On Intel's part, HD-DVD found support in the company's VIIV technology platform for the digital home market.
While beaten to market, proponents of the rival Blu-Ray were not to the denied. Its supporters, grouped the Blu-Ray Disc Association, mounted a show of solidarity.
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