James Delahunty
28 Nov 2005 23:47
Blu-Ray seems to be in the number one position currently in the format war it is waging against Toshiba's HD-DVD technology. However, concerns are now growing about the cost of bringing this new format to consumers. Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are new formats that both use blue lasers instead of red. They offer much higher storage capacity than the DVD format, making it possible high definition movies on the DVD-sized discs.
Since Blu-Ray is the format most Hollywood studios intend to release movies on, concerns are now growing that the cost of manufacturing the discs may be very high at least in the short term, which could lead to price hikes affecting consumers. It's unknown how much of a price hike could be in store however. One manufacturing executive who asked to remain anonymous said that a production line for HD-DVD discs produced twice as many usable discs as a Blu-Ray line in the same time frame.
Also component costs for Blu-Ray are nearly double that of HD-DVD. Sony still disputes the price estimates however. "If there is a (cost) difference, that has yet to be determined," said Sony Pictures' Adrian Alperovich, the studio's executive vice president in charge of new business development. "There are (manufacturers) on both sides of the equation. If there is a difference in price either way, we think it will be minimal."
Alperovich also argues that the advantages that Blu-Ray has over HD-DVD outweigh a possible price gap. Blu-Ray requires completely different production equipment to DVD, whereas basic HD-DVD can be produced with relatively minor modifications to existing DVD manufacturing lines. A senior executive a disc manufacturing facility has been worried about Blu-Ray for some time now.
"We feel that some of the (Blu-ray backers') statements are setting unrealistic cost and price expectations for the content owners they are courting," said the executive, who asked to remain anonymous. "They're right at the zero point in terms of operational knowledge."
Source:
News.com