High Def's Adult Situation Favors Toshiba; HD DVD Vs. Blu-ray Heats Up; Toshiba's HD DVD group embraces a potent force in films, adult entertainment.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)

Byline: PATRICK SEITZ

In the battle to win favor as the standard format for next-generation video discs, a wild card could tip the scales in HD DVD's favor: porn.

HD DVD is fighting a rival standard called Blu-ray Disc for supremacy in the about-to-emerge next generation of digital video discs. The HD DVD camp has been much more receptive to adult video companies, while rival Blu-ray Disc so far has given them a cold shoulder.

The situation is playing like a repeat of what happened with rival videocassette formats in the 1980s. The X-rated movie business helped VHS beat out Betamax to become the videocassette standard. Sony was the main backer of Betamax, and it's the force behind Blu-ray.

Two decades later, Sony is treating the porn industry in much the same way it did in the Betamax days, adult video executives say.

The porn industry, though, has a history of helping new technologies get adopted. Its early support of VHS, DVDs, broadband Internet and video on demand helped all those technologies, analysts say.

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