Rival HD camps fight over pricing

The uneasy peace between the Blu-ray and HD-DVD high definition video camps has descended into another row, following accusations of panic price cutting by the HD-DVD standards group before products even hit the shelves.

Both standards have major backers from the IT, gaming and Hollywood studio sectors, although Blu-ray is generally considered to have more support.

High definition players and PC optical drives are expected to be released by spring. Prices were expected to be high, but the HD-DVD group caught out the industry by announcing that it was dropping the cost of its players to as little as $499 (£282 approx).

Peter Weedfeld, senior vice president of consumer electronics at Samsung, said the move was bad for everyone, especially consumers, who would be caught in a damaging VHS v Betamax type standards war.

'You drop your prices when you are fearful of what your volume sales will be. I've never heard of a standard and technology price being dropped before it launches,' said Weedfeld.

He insisted that all customers want is the best high definition standard. 'Manufacturers and Hollywood have to help straighten out confusion among consumers. We would like to have a unified standard, but talks between the two camps failed.'