Next-gen DVD war could be messy--or not

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.--Will the much-hyped next-generation DVD format war be a bloody battle, a bloodless coup or simply a stalemate? Depends on who you ask.

At the fourth annual DisplaySearch HDTV: The Future of Television conference here, analysts, HD DVD and Blu-ray manufacturers, retailers, studio executives and software makers offered different theories as to how the format competition between HD DVD and Blu-ray will play out.

Ross Young, founder and president of DisplaySearch, the conference host, said both formats and their respective camps of supporters "appear ready to slug it out long term."