Panasonic will open a technology center for producing DVDs based on the next-generation Blu-ray Disc format. The plan is meant to reassure Hollywood that the current format battle will be resolved and that Blu-ray is the way to go.

Sony and Toshiba group firms are discussing a new unified standard for next-generation DVDs, a Sony source said Thursday.

Interesting – I just hope the consumer doesn’t get screwed with a compromise solution that gives up the technical advantages of Blu-ray. But this isn’t surprising, the two camps have been playing a game of chicken – and they’re getting close to the collision. Someone blinked.

At a three day press event in Bordeaux Sony this week announced it is going to add Blu-ray and DSD (Direct Stream Digital) to its Vaio series of PCs and notebooks.

No surprise here.

Sony said Wednesday that it is open to discussions to create a single standard for the next generation of DVD discs–a move that could head off the looming threat of a major format war among the world’s biggest technology companies.

This isn’t surprising, but it seems futile. The physical specs of the two formats are so vastly different that there doesn’t seem to be any way for them to compromise the standards. The only way I can see it is some bastardized hybrid spec where all machines have to support both types of disc.

Another one: Sony ‘open’ to Blu-ray Disc/HD DVD bonding talks