The battle over creating an industry standard for high-definition DVDs is about to begin. The fight is not unlike the decades-old one between Betamax and VHS, with the entertainment industry currently
split over which one will emerge as the winner. On one side is HD-DVD, which is backed by Toshiba and Microsoft, among others. On the other is Blu-ray, which counts Sony, Samsung and Disney among its
proponents. Both camps are preparing advertising campaigns designed to win converts, with Toshiba poised to be first out of the gate. The new devices are said to deliver movies in true
high-definition compared to existing DVDs, and experts are preparing for an all-out format war not seen in the category in about 25 years and one the industry avoided with the first DVDs. "They're
going to put the products in consumers' hands and may the best man win. It's risky. It could be winner take all," said Mike Goodman, senior analyst at The Yankee Group, Boston. HD-DVD will have a
two-month lead with Toshiba's expected launch of its HD-DVD player next week. Blu-ray software hits shelves at the end of May, with hardware following in June. In an attempt to assert its advantage,
Toshiba will launch a campaign themed, "So real. You can feel it," this week on TV stations that offer HD programming. The ads show a "Mission: Impossible"-type scene that will "make consumers say 'I
have to get that,'" said Tina Tuccillo, vice president-marketing communications at Toshiba. "Consumers have been asking for content," she says. "This is the first time you've got the display and
source device at the same resolution, picture quality and sound.
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