On Thu, 9 Jun 2005 17:19:31 -0500, <xenon360> wrote:

>http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/06/09/news_6127225.html
>Kutaragi: Blu-ray-HD-DVD deal dead
>
>Sony Computer Entertainment president says there's little chance of a
>unified disc format becoming a reality; Toshiba's president concurs.
>TOKYO--Just over two months ago, a truce was declared in the three-year war
>between the Blu-ray and HD-DVD factions as Sony and Toshiba began
>negotiations on a unified next-generation disc standard. However, talks fell
>apart after Toshiba announced last month that it has no plans to accept
>Blu-ray's disc structure as the base for a unified standard.
>
>Talking to the press on June 8, Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken
>Kutaragi offered his own view on the issue of a unified next-generation disc
>standard for the first time. He commented that he made the decision to adopt
>the Blu-ray disc format for the PlayStation 3 because he thinks the chances
>of coming up with a unified disc standard in the future are slim. "There's
>very little chance that the negotiations will go through," stated Kutaragi,
>who said "product planning" for the PS3's launch forced a decision on Sony.
>
>Sony and Toshiba each announced its own unique next-generation disc format
>in 2002, and each has been vying to have its standard adopted ever since.
>The two sides began negotiations for a unified disc standard in February,
>fearing a repeat of the VHS-versus-Betamax wars of the early '80s. (Sony was
>the owner of the Betamax format.) The negotiations were broken on May 16 by
>Toshiba, which stated that its HD-DVD disc structure would be better suited
>than Sony's Blu-ray for use in a unified standard, since it would be more
>convenient to both consumers and Hollywood film studios in terms of cost.
>
>Analysts see the chances of Toshiba and Sony coming to an agreement as
>virtually impossible, since both companies see their format as superior.
>Sony's main focus has been capacity, while Toshiba's has been cost of
>production.
>
>In a recent interview with Mainichi Interactive, Sony Blu-ray management
>director Kiyoshi Nishitani was not optimistic. "There's too much difference
>between our beliefs," he said. "The Blu-ray can record 50GB, but the HD-DVD
>can only record 30GB. Without 50GB of capacity, we can't answer the demands
>of long hours of high-definition video recording and high-quality extras.
>The HD-DVD camp is saying that we don't need that much capacity, but it will
>be required in the future."
>
>Yoshihide Fujii, managing director at Toshiba, expressed similar doubts
>about a unified format. "Toshiba has no plans to agree with Sony," he said.
>"Most movie studios have said that the HD-DVD's 30GB capacity is enough.
>Normal households use HDs for long hours of recordings, and they record
>whatever they want to save long-term onto DVDs. So there's really no need
>for a recording media with an extreme capacity. The consumers are most
>concerned about inexpensive media. Therefore, the HD is better than the
>Blu-ray, since it can be manufactured by current DVD production machines and
>costs less to create."
>
>By Hirohiko Niizumi -- GameSpot
>POSTED: 06/09/05 01:31 PM PST
 Time to stop letting the waning Sony corportation dictate these
things.  That rapidly aging company even lost out on portable music
device sales to Apple's iPod.  
-Rich