Fox Joins Group Promoting New Blu-Ray DVD Format
Posted on: Monday, 4 October 2004, 06:00 CDT
TOKYO (AP) -- U.S.-based Fox Entertainment Group Inc. (FOX) on Monday joined a group of companies promoting Blu-ray Disc, one of two competing formats for next-generation DVDs.
Both formats offer better image quality and higher capacity than current DVDs, and are expected to become more popular with the growth of digital TV broadcasting.
But Fox technology expert Michael O'Neill said the company was not ready to put its films, television shows and other content on the Blu-ray format.
He said Fox is taking part in the Blu-ray Disc Association, being launched in Tokyo Monday, mainly to learn more about the technology and give input as a content provider.
More than 70 companies are now in the group, including Japanese electronics and entertainment giant Sony Corp. (SNE) and U.S. computer maker Hewlett-Packard Co., association officials said.
Fox is also part of a group that is endorsing a rival technology called HD DVD, which is being pushed by Japanese electronics maker Toshiba Corp.
O'Neill said discussions with the Blu-ray association were just beginning, and Fox hadn't picked one format over the other.
"We're very excited about exploring both formats at this time. We see them both as very excellent candidates," he told reporters on Monday after Blu-ray Disc Association's news conference.
Although Blu-ray has more storage capacity than HD DVD, it uses a different structure from current DVDs and would likely require companies that make DVDs to invest in new equipment.
Proponents of HD DVD say the format is cheaper than Blu-ray.
Fox Entertainment Group, the film and television company majority-owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (NWS), owns businesses including the Fox News Channel and Twentieth Century Fox.
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