Toshiba has launched its new high-definition DVD player in Europe, marking the start of a battle for living room domination.The electronics firm wants consumers to use their HD-E1 DVD system rather than the rival Blu-Ray format.
Blu-Ray is being backed by electronics firms Sony, Samsung and Panasonic as well as a number of film studios.
The tussle between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray is similar to the 1980s war between VHS and Betamax video, analysts said.
Toshiba has forecast 500,000 worldwide sales of its HD-DVD player by March 2007.
HD-DVD
- Price: Roughly £450
- Disc: 15GB or 30GB
- Supporters: Toshiba, NEC, Sanyo, Microsoft, Intel
- Studios: Universal, Warner, Paramount
Its system will retail for about £450, roughly half the price of Blu-ray.
A more feature-laden HD DVD player from Toshiba - the HD-XE1 - is planned to launch from late January 2007 for around £649.
Despite differences, both of the new DVD formats offer greater storage capacity than traditional players to cope with the increased size of encoded images needed for high-definition televisions.
And both players have an internet connection, which adds further possibilities of downloadable extras and film teasers.
Blu-ray
- Price: Roughly £900
- Disc: 25GB or 50GB
- Supporters: Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Sharp, Philips, Hitachi, Pioneer, Apple, Dell
- Studios: Sony, Disney, 20th Century Fox, Warner, Paramount
HD-DVD discs contain up to 30 gigabytes (GB) of data, compared with 50 GB for Blu-ray.
Disney and 20th Century Fox are backing Blu-ray, while Universal is supporting HD-DVD.
Warner Bros and Viacom have said they will support both.
With no agreement between studios, both formats may continue to exist side-by-side for a while, analysts said, adding that many consumers may put off buying a system until a clear winner emerges.
