Following an announcement on Monday that U.S. video and DVD rental giant Blockbuster will stock only Blu-ray format DVDs in its 1,450 stores when it expands to high-definition DVDs next month, many news reports suggested it will deal a major blow to Blu-ray's rival, the HD DVD format.

The Blockbuster's move could be the first step in resolving a war between the two incompatible formats, which kept confused customers from rushing to buy new DVD players until they can determine which format will dominate the market, AP reported on Monday.

The two formats that enable sharper images and interactive features have been incompatible; Blu-ray is used in products of Sony, Samsung Electronics, Hitachi and JVC; HD DVD is supported by Toshiba, Microsoft, Intel and NEC.

Officials from Korean DVD player makers Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics say that it is too early to say consumers are choosing Blu-ray over HD DVD because the two companies still have enough potential demand for the HD DVD format.

"Although the Blu-ray format seems to have gained some momentum after the Blockbuster announcement, we still see a demand for HD DVD titles as well," said Samsung Electronics spokesman Kim Se-hun.

To satisfy customers favoring HD DVD, Samsung Electronics, which has been selling only the Blu-ray DVD player BD-P1000 since June last year, plans to launch a dual DVD player that supports both formats in the fall, Kim said.

LG Electronics spokeswoman Na Joo-young said her company will flexibly respond to the market move as it is still unsure which format will take over the other.

"It will take at least two or three years to see which will be the major format," Na said.

To support both formats, LG Electronics introduced its hybrid Blu-ray/HD DVD player Super Multi Blue BH 100 in the global market in February with a price tag of $1,199.

Blu-ray or HD DVD players by other electronics companies cost about $400 to $600 according to Na.

Blu-ray creator Sony and HD DVD maker Toshiba have been warring over the standard for the next generation DVD player, which were introduced last year but failed to become popular because consumers had to choose which one to buy. The content producers involved in the film industry have to choose the format, too.

Major studios in Hollywood including Sony Pictures and Disney support Blu-ray, but only Universal Studios supports HD DVD. Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures support both formats.

By Kim Yoon-mi
(yoonmi@heraldm.com)  2007.06.22

그럼 Blu-ray 는 무엇이고, HD-DVD 는 무엇 일까?
- Blu-ray : 디지털 비디오 디스크(DVD)보다 약 10배를 저장할 수 있는 용량의 청자색 레이저를 사용하는 대용량 차세대 광디스크 규격. 소니가 주도하는 블루 레이 디스크 창립 협회에서 제안하였다. 이 단체에는 국내 LG, 삼성을 비롯해 일본의 하타치, 파이오니아, 샤프, 소니 그리고 네델란드의 로얄 필립스, 프랑스의 톰슨 등이 참가하고 있다. 기존 DVD가 650㎚ 파장의 적색 레이저를 사용하는데 비해 블루 레이 디스크는 좀 더 좁은 405㎚ 파장의 청자색 레이저 사용하여 한 면에 최대 27GB, 듀얼은 50GB의 데이터를 기록한다. 비디오/오디오 데이터 포맷은 현재 DVD에서 사용되고 있는 영상 기록 방식인 MPEG-2, 음성 방식인 AC3/MPEG-1 Layer2 등이 그대로 적용된다.