An end to the hi-def battle?
Makers of a new digital disk say it works in both of the competing high-definition DVD format players on the market. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports.
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BOB MOON: You may have heard about the battle between the two high-definition DVD formats. Sony makes Blu-Ray players. Toshiba makes ones featuring HD-DVD. For now, consumers can only hope the player they buy will win the format war. But there may be an answer to that dilemma. Ashley Milne-Tyte has more.
ASHLEY MILNE-TYTE: Next week Warner Brothers will be the first studio to release a movie on all three DVD formats. The one most of us use, plus Blu-Ray and HD-DVD.
But a few Warner Brothers employees have applied for a patent on a new disk that could be read by any player.
Technology analyst Rob Enderle says it's a good idea in theory, but the reality is that right now, few consumers are buying high-definition players.
For one thing, they can cost up to $1,000 and even then . . .
ROB ENDERLE: "Content is mixed, and a lot of folks having seen the content think that regular DVDs played on one of the new DVD players with upscalers on them look almost as good."Upscalers enable the high-definition look minus the cost of a high-def player.
Enderle says the new disc has potential for success only if consumers begin embracing high-definition en masse.
I'm Ashley Milne-Tyte for Marketplace.
