Blu-ray Founder Thomson Backs HD-DVD

Leading DVD manufacturer Thomson announced Friday that it will support both new competing high-definition DVD formats. However, in what could spell early trouble for Blu-ray, BetaNews has learned that the company feels there is a "greater opportunity" in HD-DVD. A founding member of the Blu-ray Disc Association, Thomson currently only has plans to produce HD-DVD players.

Tom Bracken, Vice President of Marketing for Thomson told BetaNews that the company's movie studio customers have played biggest role in Thomson's decision to produce HD-DVD players initially. "Since there are few who have announced the availability of HD-DVD players, there appears to be a greater opportunity," he said.

But Disney is also one of Thomson's biggest customers under its Technicolor brand, and has recently come out in support of Blu-ray. Thus, it was an "easy decision" to announce support for disc replication in the Blu-ray format, the company says.

The announcement that Thomson will be producing HD-DVD players in conjunction with its RCA arm should not be taken as a full-scale retreat from the Blu-ray format, Bracken told BetaNews. "We are continuing to evaluate the opportunity and are still considering the need and business opportunity related to Blu-ray players," he added.

However, Thomson is wary of a seemingly unavoidable industry divergence over future DVD formats.

In the end, the last thing the industry needs is an all-out war for a new DVD standard, Bracken told BetaNews. "This is complicated and I don't think the industry has heard the last of this. Most, if not all, of the studios do not want another format war. But, we will follow the lead of our studio customers and do whatever we can to help them grow their businesses."