South African viewers are unlikely to see new high-definition DVD formats before the last quarter of this year, say industry players.
This reassurance comes amid growing concern that new DVD formats will make consumers' existing DVDs and DVD players redundant.
Billed as a rerun of the VHS - Betamax video clash of the 1970s, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are the new formats fighting for dominance.
We are waiting for it to settle out there as we don't want to invest in a machine which may be obsolete.
Dennis Rainbird, process quality manager, Compact Disc Technologies
Blu-Ray will be introduced to the South African market later than HD-DVD due to the slow high-definition TV (HD-TV) uptake in SA and the extra expense involved in manufacturing Blu-Ray.
"At the moment, it is only worthwhile to release Blu-Ray in Japan as they have HD-TV distribution," says Andrew Fraser, senior manager of promotion and brand enhancement at Sony SA, "but actual products will only be released in SA around 2006."
Andrew Wyllie, business manager at NEC (UK), says the HD-DVD is on the roadmap for shipping in SA around September - December 2005 for both ROM and recordable.
According to Dennis Rainbird, process quality manager at Compact Disc Technologies, a South African CD and DVD manufacturer, only one format will make it to production and so his company will not make any changes to its production line yet.
"We are waiting for it to settle out there as we don't want to invest in a machine which may be obsolete," he says.
Cost vs storage space
While storage space is important, manufacturers say cost will be a major factor influencing consumer buying. In the short-term, it will be cheaper to produce HD-DVD, as Blu-Ray will need new manufacturing equipment, say experts.
Blu-Ray and HD-DVD will be backward-compatible, so existing DVDs and CDs will work on the new equipment. Both new formats will use a blue violet laser instead of the red laser currently in use. This blue laser has a shorter wavelength, which makes it possible to focus the laser spot with more precision, allowing data to be packed more tightly, providing more storage space.
HD-DVD drive and media can be produced on current DVD/CD production lines with small modifications; however, Blu-Ray devices will require the installation of complete new production lines, says Wyllie.
Table of differences
Table
Royalties an adoption driver
<B>The new DVD formats</B>
HD-DVD (fHigh-Density Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical media format, and is one of the specifications being proposed as the standard for high-definition DVD. HD-DVD is similar to a competing format, the Blu-Ray disc, in that it uses a CD size (120 mm) optical data storage media and a blue laser at 405nm wavelength.
Source: Wikipedia
The formats are incompatible with one another and early indications show they may target diverse markets, with Blu-Ray tackling the gaming arena and HD-DVD targeting the home entertainment market.
Backing these theories are reports that games firms Electronic Arts (EA) and Vivendi are supporting Blu-Ray while film giant Warner Bros supports HD-DVD. However, both formats have backing from assorted film studios, with Blu-Ray recently acquiring support from movie production houses MGM and Walt Disney.
"As PlayStation 2 cemented DVD success, it is likely that PlayStation 3 will cement Blu-Ray technologies," says Fraser.
However, Wyllie says: "The future of the format is going to be determined by the Hollywood studio." At least 100 Hollywood titles are to be launched on HD-DVD this year, he says.
"But none of the movie companies have said they will support any format exclusively, so they may switch sides in the future," says Fraser.
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