Sunday, 30 July, 2006
Blu-ray and HD DVD face EU investigation
The next-generation DVD formats, Blu-ray and HD DVD, are both facing up to the possibility of an EU enquiry.
A spokesman from the European Commission (EC) said: “We have sent a letter earlier this month to the makers of HD DVD and Blu-ray to request information about licensing.”
At the heart of the enquiry is the issue of whether or not the manufacturers are breaking EU competition laws. There is no evidence, however, that this will develop into a formal investigation.
Toshiba have not commented on the matter, but Sony have confirmed that a letter was received, although they go out of their way to stress the informal nature of the enquiry. “There are no indications of any complaint, nor of any antitrust concerns on the part of the Commission,” they said. “Or anyone else,” added the statement just to be clear.
HD DVD has been developed by Toshiba whereas Blu-ray is the product of a consortium headed by Sony.
Both will be offering considerable improvements to picture and sound quality, but a number of analysts have speculated that only one will survive in the long-term.
A number of huge companies have thrown their weight behind the projects, with NEC, Sanyo and Microsoft all pledging support to HD DVD. Blu-ray, meanwhile, has attracted the backing of Hitachi, LG and Dell, although a number of companies have hedged their bets by championing both formats.
As the EU looks into the licensing debate, experts remain convinced that the formats will revolutionise the DVD player market.
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