News & Commentary
Best Buy: HDTV DVD Format War Could Be 'Disaster'
Top retail executive says it's 'vital' the industry get an affordable high-def DVD.
By Phillip Swann

Washington, D.C. (July 5, 2006) -- Best Buy CEO Brad Anderson says the Sony-Toshiba HDTV DVD format war could be a 'disaster' for the industry.

At a recent conference held by the Consumer Electronics Association, Anderson said the industry desperately needs a successful high-def DVD format. But he said the competition between Sony and Toshiba is making it difficult for retailers like Best Buy to promote the new technology.

"“It makes it impossible to get behind one format and introduces so many problems," said Anderson, as quoted in this week's TWICE magazine. "We must get an affordable (HDTV DVD) software format. It is vital for the movie industry too, to sell their library of titles again."

Anderson added that he did not know which format would ultimately be successful.

Toshiba launched its HDTV DVD format (HD-DVD) in early spring while Sony introduced its rival Blu-ray format last month. The two formats are not compatible with each other, meaning one disc can't play on the other's player.

Swanni Sez:
I have predicted that the new HDTV DVDs will be an utter failure until Sony and Toshiba reach an agreement on a single format. (I have also predicted that the agreement will come by next year.)

But Anderson's comments reflect a growing frustration among retailers that the HDTV DVD format war is costing them an opportunity to generate significant new revenue. Millions of new HDTV owners would be interested in buying the new players, but they fear a repeat of the Beta-VHS videotape fiasco of the 1980s.

In addition, the new players could entice non-HDTV owners to buy high-def sets.

But as it now stands, the HDTV DVD format war has no winners and plenty of losers.

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Phillip Swann is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.

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