Competition is always good, but there should be a better way to compete

[ohcnetwork]

Two-format race for next DVD standard is wide open

By Niclas Mika and Lucas van Grinsven

HANOVER, Germany (Reuters) - The race between two competing formats for future DVDs -- and the $24-billion-a-year home video market -- appeared wide open on Thursday as manufacturers said they would support both formats.

The Blu-ray format is backed by big consumer electronics firms such as Sony Corp, Philips and Dell as well as most Hollywood studios.

But the HD DVD format, whose proponents are led by Toshiba, looks set to reach the market faster and offer cheaper players.

Consumer electronics maker LG Electronics and PC maker Fujitsu-Siemens both said on Thursday they would keep their options open after computer giant Hewlett-Packard said last month it would back HD DVD as well as Blu-ray.

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Competition is always good, but there should be a better way to compete.  In this particular case, most consumers will not buy any of these two for a while.  They will just wait until the majority of electronic appliance makers pick one of two.  It seems like that this is a bit silly way for these two companies to compete.