TOKYO (Reuters)—Toshiba Corp. said on Wednesday that no unified format for a next-generation DVD is likely before its year-end launch of advanced DVD players, a development that could confuse users and hinder industry growth. Japanese electronics makers Toshiba and Sony Corp., leading rival camps, have waged a three-year battle to have their different standards adopted for new DVDs, which promise much greater capacity for high-definition movies. Toshiba, along with NEC Corp. and Sanyo Electric Co., has been promoting HD DVD, while Sony and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., the maker of Panasonic brand products, have been developing a technology known as Blu-ray.
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