Japan"s Toshiba Corp. said on Wednesday it would introduce notebook computers with HD DVD technology in the last quarter of 2005 in a move to pressure rivals in the battle over formats for next-generation DVDs. Toshiba"s move comes after Sony Corp. said in September that its next-generation PlayStation console, tentatively called PlayStation 3, would support Blu-ray technology, giving a boost to the competing Blu-ray camp.
Both HD DVD and Blu-ray technologies use blue laser light, which, with a shorter wavelength than the red light used in conventional DVD recorders, can handle data at the higher densities needed for high-definition recordings. Toshiba, along with NEC Corp. and Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd., support HD DVD as the next-generation DVD format.