And we have failure - again! Yup, the talks with Sony and Toshiba for DVD unification have not been successful once again. So far, things are looking pretty bleak for both formats until this gets resolved.

According to sources at Toshiba, Sony, and Matsushita, talks on rallying around one format for next-generation DVDs has failed, however, all the parties involved did say talks would nonetheless continue (for now).

Sony and Toshiba updated the status of unification talks during both meetings, according to attendees. Kiyoshi Nishitani, Sony’s senior vice president, acknowledged that the three companies had failed to reach an agreement, according to a Sony spokesman.

Both Sony and Toshiba executives said the talks would continue, but downplayed the prospects that the three consumer electronics giants could reach a consensus on a unified format.

The HD DVD group said it will stick to its schedule for introducing HD DVD products later this year. [Read the rest]