Industry Tries Again To Reach Agreement On New DVD Format
Hoping to avoid a costly war over the next generation of DVDs, Hollywood executives and electronics manufacturers are discussing whether to merge two competing formats that are on a collision course and are threatening to delay the arrival of high-definition movies and games in consumers' homes.
Sony Corp., with its Blu-ray format, is in a knockout battle with Toshiba Corp. and its HD DVD format. Both formats promise better picture quality, more-interactive features and stricter copy protection than do today's DVDs. Each one has the support of several big electronics makers and studios.
Studios are hoping the next generation of DVDs will help stave off piracy while boosting sales and rentals of packaged movies, already a $21 billion-a-year business. Electronics companies, meanwhile, are counting on the new discs to drive sales of a whole new line of players and recorders, as well as garner revenue from patents on technology.
Both camps have the same goal: to extend the DVD bonanza that has revived the movie business in recent years, by offering upgraded DVDs with high-definition content and interactive features. With each side wedded to its own incompatible technology, the industry has seemed headed for a repeat of the brutal format war between Betamax and VHS videocassettes two decades ago.
The two sides have resisted years of pressure from studios and consumer-electronics retailers to reach a compromise. Given the two camps' dug-in positions, the idea of a merged format hasn't gotten much traction, and even now, the chances of an agreement may be slim.
Still, talks recently have gained momentum, people familiar with them say, in part because of Howard Stringer's recent appointment as chief executive of Sony Corp. Mr. Stringer, who has led the U.S. entertainment business at Sony for several years, is known as a skilled diplomat, with close ties to Hollywood. He is said to be less concerned with pushing Sony's proprietary technology than are the electronics-focused executives who have run Sony until now. Sony said Mr. Stringer declined to comment.
People close to Mr. Stringer downplay his role as a ringleader of the talks. Still, brokering a compromise could be an important win for him, sowing valuable goodwill in Hollywood and among consumer-electronics retailers.
An agreement on a single new DVD format would help the industry avoid a standoff, in which rival formats sit side by side on store shelves. Such an outcome would probably deter a lot of consumers from upgrading their DVD players and libraries.
One thing seems certain: Consumers will need to buy a new DVD player to experience all the new features of the next-generation DVDs. Whether Blu-ray or HD DVD, the new discs are expected to be the same size as current DVDs. Each camp says the DVD player for its format will be "backwards compatible," meaning it will be able to play today's DVDs, although without a high-definition image or interactivity.
Bob Wright, chairman and chief executive of General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal, said in a recent interview that Mr. Stringer was interested in a compromise even before he rose to the Sony CEO post. He recalls that Mr. Stringer said, "There must be a way to get both sides together." Mr. Wright said he hasn't talked to Mr. Stringer since his promotion but a compromise is in all the entertainment companies' interests. "We don't want to be dealing with two standards....Our issue is to try to encourage them both to get together," he said.
Sony's newly appointed president, Ryoji Chubachi, also has signaled a willingness to be more flexible on Blu-ray. In recent interviews, he said Sony "has not given up" on a single format. "In the area of next-generation optical discs, we continue to be open to discussions with supporters of other formats," a Sony spokeswoman said.
Toshiba, meanwhile, "remains interested in a single standard that would be in the best interest of the consumer," says Warren Lieberfarb, a former Warner Bros. executive who is a consultant Toshiba has hired to advance HD DVD and bring studios on board.
This may be the industry's last chance to resolve the conflict: The HD DVD camp is hoping to get both hardware and movie titles such as "The Bourne Supremacy" and "Ocean's Twelve" on the market in time for the 2005 holiday season.
Each side has much at stake. Engineers in each camp have spent years working on their respective formats and don't want to give up the effort, an attitude shared by many of the company executives involved.
Besides Sony, Blu-ray-aligned companies include Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which makes Panasonic products, as well as PC maker Dell Inc. Matsushita in particular has poured money and time into Blu-ray development and is unlikely to support a compromise that would undermine its efforts, engineers from several companies say. Toshiba, for its part, has lined up NEC Corp. and Intel Corp., among others, for HD DVD.
The studios are evenly divided between the two formats. In November, Viacom Inc.'s Paramount, GE's Universal and Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. lined up behind HD-DVD. Days later, Walt Disney Co. said it would join Sony Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, a studio Sony has since acquired, behind Blu-ray.
Retailers want to avoid the returns that are likely to stack up as soon as consumers start buying the wrong DVDs for their next-generation players. "It will be confusing to the average consumer," says Randy Wick , general merchandising manager at Circuit City Stores Inc. If necessary, he says he plans to carry merchandise from both sides, along with plenty of displays explaining the formats' differences.
What makes compromise so difficult, engineers say, is that the two formats' discs are made very differently. HD DVDs -- like current DVDs -- are made like a sandwich, with a layer of data in the middle. Blu-ray discs store data close to the surface, with a thin protective coating over the top. Some electronics executives say that in a true compromise, engineers would be sent back to the drawing board, adding years to the timetable.
In reality, merging the formats is more likely to mean that one side's format with be adopted, with a few minor software changes thrown in to placate the losing side. If so, the deal would be similar to the 11th-hour compromise that produced the current DVD 10 years ago, in which Sony agreed to dump its disc in favor of the one pushed by Toshiba and Matsushita. In exchange, Sony's technology was included in the final format.
Time is running out: Engineers on both sides say they now are developing and marketing the machines that stamp content onto the discs, making compromise more expensive with each passing week. The HD DVD camp says it plans to have its players out in time for Christmas, and Paramount, Universal and Warner have announced the titles they plan to make available. Blu-ray products aren't expected to hit store shelves until early 2006. DVD 格式两大阵营重启合并格式谈判
为了避免就下一代 DVD 展开一场代价高昂的争斗，好莱坞管理人士和电子产品制造商正在讨论是否将两种互为竞争、彼此冲突的 DVD 格式合二为一，并威胁将推迟高清晰度电影和游戏进入消费者家庭的时间。
索尼公司 (Sony Corp.) 携其蓝光 (Blu-ray) 格式正在与东芝公司 (Toshiba Corp.) 及其 HD DVD 格式展开殊死搏斗。两种格式均承诺较时下的 DVD 具备更好的图像质量、更加互动的特质以及更为严格的版权保护。两种格式的背后分别有数家大型电子产品制造商和电影制片商的支持。
电影制片商希望下一代 DVD 将有助于遏制盗版，并推动影碟的销售个租赁。该行业的年交易额已经高达 210 亿美元。与此同时，电子产品公司正在指望新版 DVD 推动一整套新的播放机和录像机系列产品的销售，同时从技术专利方面获取收入。
两大阵营的目标一致：即通过推出拥有高清晰度内容和互动特点的 DVD 升级产品，延续近年来重振电影行业的 DVD 热潮。由于双方坚守各自不能兼容的技术，整个行业似乎正在重演 20 年前 Betamax 和 VHS 之间惨烈的录像带格式大战。
面对多年来电影制片商和消费电子产品零售商的压力，双方一直不愿作出让步。考虑到两大阵营巩固的地位，合并格式的想法尚未得到多少响应，即便是现在，达成协议的可能性也相当渺茫。
尽管如此，据知情人士透露，最近双方的谈判已经有所进展，一定程度上是因为最近霍华德?斯特林格 (Howard Stringer) 被任命为索尼的首席执行长。斯特林格几年来一直领导著索尼的美国娱乐业务，他被誉为是一位有技巧的外交家，与好莱坞的关系相当密切。据说，他在推动索尼的自有技术方面不像现在运营索尼的那些以电子产品为导向的管理人士那么忧心忡忡。索尼称，斯特林格拒绝置评。
熟悉斯特林格的消息人士对他作为谈判牵头人的角色予以轻描淡写。尽管如此，撮成双方的让步对斯特林格来说将是一个重要的胜利，这将会使他在好莱坞和消费电子产品零售商当中树立威望。
如果就新的 DVD 格式达成协议，将有助于避免整个行业陷入僵局，即竞争对手的格式并列出现在商店货架上。这样的结局可能妨碍许多消费者对他们的 DVD 播放机和 DVD 收藏进行升级换代。
至少有一件事情是肯定的：消费者必须购买新的 DVD 播放机来才能体验下一代 DVD 的所有新功能。无论是蓝光还是 HD DVD 格式，预计新版 DVD 的大小将与目前的 DVD 相同。两大阵营均表示其格式可以“向下兼容”，这意味著它们都可以播放现有的 DVD ，但没有高清晰度图像或互动性。
通用电气公司 (General Electric Co.) 旗下 NBC Universal 的董事长兼首席执行长鲍勃?莱特 (Bob Wright) 在最近的一次专访中表示，斯特林格在被提升为索尼首席执行长之前就有意推动两大阵营作出让步。他回忆说，斯特林格曾表示，“一定有什么方式可以让双方坐到一起。”莱特称，自斯特林格被提升后，他还没有和他谈过话，但双方的妥协将符合所有娱乐公司的利益。莱特称，“我们不想应付两种标准 . . . . 我们的问题是试著鼓励双方进行磋商。”
索尼新任总裁中□良治 (Ryoji Chubachi) 也发出愿意在蓝光格式上采取更加灵活立场的信号。他在最近几次专访中表示，索尼“并没有放弃”促成一种 DVD 格式。索尼的一位发言人称，“在下一代光碟领域，我们仍愿意于其他格式的支持者展开磋商。”
与此同时，东芝“仍有意促成一种符合消费者最高利益的标准，”华纳兄弟 (Warner Bros.) 前管理人士沃伦?利贝法贝 (Warren Lieberfarb) 这样说，目前他为东芝聘用，负责推动 HD DVD 格式和争取电影制片商的支持。
这可能是业内解决这场争端的最后机会： HD DVD 格式阵营正期待将诸如《谍影重重 2 》 ('The Bourne Supremacy') 和《十二罗汉》 ('Ocean's Twelve') 等硬件和电影抢在 2005 年假日季节面市。
双方均面临得失攸关的处境。两大阵营的工程师均花费了数年开发各自的格式，他们都不想放弃自己的努力，许多参与其中的公司管理人士都抱有这样的态度。
除了索尼之外，蓝光派的公司还包括制造松下 (Panasonic) 产品的松下电器产业公司 (Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.) 以及个人电脑制造商戴尔公司 (Dell Inc.) 。尤其是松下电器，它已经为蓝光格式的开发投入大笔资金和时间，不大可能支持可能损害其多年努力的让步协议，几家公司的工程师这样说道。而就东芝而言，它已经与日本电气公司 (NEC Corp.) 和英特尔公司 (Intel Corp.) 等结盟，开发 HD DVD 格式。
电影制片商则在两种格式之间分为两派。去年 11 月份，维亚康姆 (Viacom Inc.) 的派拉蒙 (Paramount) 、通用电气的 Universal 和时代华纳公司 (Time Warner Inc.) 的华纳兄弟结成了支持 HD-DVD 格式的联盟。几天之后，沃尔特－迪斯尼公司 (Walt Disney Co.) 表示，将加入 Sony Pictures 和索尼已经收购的电影制片商米高梅 (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) ，支持蓝光格式。
零售商希望避免退货现象的发生，因为一旦消费者买错了用于其下一代 DVD 播放机的 DVD ，退货就可能增加。 Circuit City Stores Inc. 的综合商品经理兰迪?威克 (Randy Wick) 表示，“对于普通大众来说，这将令人困惑。”他称，如有必要，他计划销售两大阵营的商品，并充分演示说明两种格式的区别。
工程师表示，达成让步之所以如此困难，是因为两种格式 DVD 的制造程序非常不同。 HD DVD-- 像现在的 DVD 一样 -- 其制造程序就像是做三明治，中间有一层数据。但蓝光 DVD 将数据存储在接近表面的地方，顶端有一层薄薄的保护层。一些电子界的管理人士称，真正的妥协意味著工程师将返回到制图板重新来过，从而将推出单一格式的时间增加数年。
从现实的角度出发，将 DVD 格式合二为一更有可能意味著一方的格式被接纳，并在软件方面作出微小的变动，以此安抚失败的一方。如果是这样，妥协交易将类似于 10 年前促成现有 DVD 格式的长达 11 个小时的让步谈判，当时索尼同意放弃其 DVD 格式，支持东芝和松下推出的格式。作为交换，索尼的技术被纳入最终的格式当中。
时间不多了：双方的工程师表示，他们目前正在开发和营销将内容印制在光碟上的机器，每过去一周，达成让步的代价就越高。 HD DVD 阵营表示，计划在圣诞节之前推出其 DVD 播放机，而派拉蒙、 Universal 和华纳相继宣布了他们计划推出的电影。蓝光产品预计不会在 2006 年年初之前上市。
