HD-DVD

It became HD-DUD

All the talk during late 2005 was of two rival formats vying to become the future of optical disc storage and movie playback. First was Blu-ray, mainly backed by Sony, with support from Philips, Samsung and Panasonic, plus movie studios including Disney and Twentieth Century Fox. Then came HD-DVD, supported by Toshiba, NEC, Universal and, less enthusiastically, Warner Bros.

Which format did Microsoft and Intel choose? 'It's clear that HD-DVD offers the highest quality, and is the most affordable and highly flexible solution available,' said Microsoft corporate vice-president Blair Westlake. 'We have high expectations of having a single format, and that format is HD-DVD,' said Intel spokesman Bill Kircos.

Admittedly, Microsoft had a valid point: HD-DVD, which supported the rights of users to make DRM-managed copies of HD-DVD movies onto other devices, seemed to be a better fit for the PC. However, once Wal-Mart and Blockbuster in the USA had decided not to carry HD-DVD movies, and Warner Bros had abandoned producing them, it was all over bar the shouting. In February this year, even Toshiba admitted defeat.

You may think that Blu-ray, as the only remaining format, has now become a roaring success. However, sales of Blu-ray discs might have increased by 500 per cent this year, but they account for a mere 1.2 per cent of the UK movie market. It seems we like our old DVDs too much, and for a majority of the public, a £40 up-scaling DVD player is of good enough quality to prevent us from rushing out to buy expensive Blu-ray players and discs. Sony may remember a similar scenario from its doomed Super Audio CD. Blu-ray could still pull through, but if it doesn't do so before HD digital download services take off, we may be looking at another dodo.

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