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Concept
High-definition optical disc format war
Summary
The high-definition optical disc format war was a market competition between the Blu-ray and HD DVD optical disc standards for storing high-definition video and audio; it took place between 2006 and 2008 and was won by Blu-ray Disc.
The two formats emerged between 2000 and 2005 and attracted both the mutual and exclusive support of major consumer electronics manufacturers, personal computer manufacturers, television and movie producers and distributors, and software developers.
Blu-ray and HD DVD players became commercially available starting in 2006. In early 2008, the war ended when several studios and distributors shifted to Blu-ray disc. On February 19, 2008, Toshiba officially announced that it would stop the development of the HD DVD players, conceding the format war to the Blu-ray Disc format.
The Blu-ray/HD DVD conflict resembled the earlier videotape format war between VHS and Betamax, partly because of Sony's strong involvement in both episodes. These format wars have often proved destructive to both camps because consumers, afraid of committing to a losing standard, would refrain from purchasing either. Format wars have been avoided in notable cases such as the DVD Forum for the unified DVD standard (except for a minor war from 1998 to 1999 with the DIVX format), the Grand Alliance for the HDTV standard, and the Wi-Fi Alliance for wireless networking standards.
The emergence of high definition players followed the entry of HDTV televisions into the mainstream market in the mid-2000s. Consumer-grade high definition players required an inexpensive storage medium capable of holding the larger amount of data needed for HD video. The breakthrough came with Shuji Nakamura's invention of the blue laser diode, whose shorter wavelength opened the door to higher density optical media following a six-year patent dispute.
Sony started two projects applying the new diodes: Ultra Density Optical and, with Pioneer, DVR Blue. The first DVR Blue prototypes were unveiled at the CEATEC exhibition in October 2000.
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