Laptops get next-generation DVD

2005-09-27 13:11

Tokyo - Japanese electronics giant Toshiba said on Tuesday it has developed the first laptop computer with a next-generation HD DVD drive despite a looming format war with a rival group led by Sony.

Toshiba, in collaboration with South Korea's Samsung, will start selling personal computers with a slim HD DVD drive designed specifically for laptops by the start of next year in Japan.

The company said demand was growing for high definition images.

"Toshiba has responded to this trend by promoting the advanced imaging capabilities of the next-generation HD DVD format and has now brought HD DVD to portable computing, the fastest growing segment of the computer market," it said.

Toshiba's announcement came after the company failed in its efforts to reach a common standard with a rival group led by Sony promoting another format called Blu-Ray.

The duelling HD DVD and Blu-ray formats parallel the battle a generation ago between VHS and Betamax video cassette tapes. Betamax eventually became extinct when customers opted for its rival.

Next-generation DVDs, expected to hit the mass market later this year, are billed as offering cinematic quality images and opening up new possibilities in interactive entertainment.

Toshiba last month said it was in talks with Sony to find a common format but in the absence of an agreement it was going ahead with production of its own format.

- AFP