PCs play key role in HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray war

PCs are emerging as a battleground in the budding war between two technologies vying to be the standard for high-capacity DVDs--and take the lucrative mantle of next benchmark in optical storage. The stakes are huge for one group led by Sony, developer of the standard known as Blu-ray, and another led by Toshiba, developer of the rival HD DVD standard, with each party standing to reap a fortune in royalties if its candidate becomes the next industry standard. Many liken the war to the 1980s battle over video cassette recording standards, which ultimately saw the VHS standard emerge the victor over Sony's Betamax.