From Digitalbits.com

4/29/05

Here's more good news for those of you hoping for a single high-definition disc format... Matsushita (Panasonic) has officially endorsed Sony and Toshiba's negotiations to unite Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD and avoid a format war. According to the TechWeb story (via Yahoo), however, both Sony and Toshiba are continuing to prepare for the launch of their individual respective HD formats despite these negotiations. Hedging their bets, no doubt.


Read the full story HERE

If they want to create still another standard, why not just settle on HDDs instead? Build DVD-ROM drives that have built-in 2.5-inch HDDs.

New article on MSNBC.com

Sony, Toshiba to agree on new DVD format
Plan would resolve long battle over next-generation standards

SEATTLE - Japan's Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp. are close to finalizing a plan to develop a common standard for next-generation DVDs to resolve a three-year-long battle over formats that threatened the industry's growth, a Japanese newspaper reported Monday.

A detailed plan could be unveiled ahead of a key meeting of manufacturers involved in the manufacture of next-generation DVDs scheduled for May 16, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said.

Sony, along with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., maker of Panasonic brand products, had been pushing for the standard it calls Blu-ray, while Toshiba, with NEC Corp. and Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd., has been promoting a technology called HD DVD.

Both sides have indicated that a new, unified format will use Sony's technology for recording information onto an optical disk while Toshiba will supply software that will handle efficient data transfer and copyright protection.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7794775/

Looks like we'll be getting the higher capacity version.