As we move into the next generation of DVD technology, known as high definition DVD, a fight is brewing between two camps that will make it difficult, again, to figure out what to buy.

I say again because the common denominator in the history of cool technology is that there is never a consensus: VHS vs. Beta. DVD vs. Divx. SACD vs. DVD-Audio.

Now there's new techno-babble to worry about: HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray.

Both are formats for high definition DVDs, the next step in home video. The first high-definition players could hit store shelves in the U.S. by the end of this year.

These new high definition discs produce a crystal clear picture that is more stunning than standard definition DVDs with a resolution at least five times that of ordinary discs. With the rising popularity of high definition TVs, this is the logical next step for home video.

But this is where it gets infuriating, thanks to narrow-minded electronics manufacturers who are creating this newfangled technology.

In one corner is a format of high definition DVDs called Blu-ray, which is backed by Sony, Panasonic, Samsung and a few other electronics companies. In the other corner is HD-DVD, supported by Toshiba, NEC and others.

Both are relatively dissimilar and incompatible technologies. But both are backward compatible, meaning standard DVDs can be played on high definition players but high definition DVD discs cannot be played on today's standard players.

To make the line in the sand even deeper, movie studios have taken sides.

Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal and Newline are lining up behind HD-DVD. Sony Pictures, Disney, MGM and possibly Fox are with Blu-ray.

What these manufacturers never seem to learn is that producing competing formats slows the growth of new technology. It took a few years for VHS to take off, for example because it first had to fight off Betamax.

Haven't heard of DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD, the next generation of digital audio music for the home? It's probably because they're so busy battling each other, no one seems to care that they exist. So far, sales of machines in both formats have been tepid at best.

It's all too confusing for consumers who want to jump into the next big thing without worrying if this disc can play in that machine.

What's amazing is that these manufacturers have already forgotten what happens if there is just one format. Once DVD became the clear winner in the late '90s against the competing format known as Divx, DVDs skyrocketed in popularity and players became the fastest-growing consumer electronics device in history.

So why produce competing formats that will scare consumers into not buying one or the other?

Greed.

Whoever wins this fight gets the crowning glory - licensing fees from manufacturers who make players and from studios who put their movies on the winning format.

But it's shortsighted thinking, because as long as there is a battle like the one that's heating up right now, nobody wins.

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Television columnist Vince Horiuchi appears Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. He can be reached at vince@sltrib.com.

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