FACTBOX - Sony on verge of winning high-definition DVD battle

(Reuters) - Sony Corp's Blu-ray technology is close to winning the latest format war for home movie DVDs after a source at main rival, Toshiba Corp, said it was planning to give up on its HD DVD format.

The new discs promise consumers high-definition movies and up to five times more space than previous DVDs, but the two rival formats had put off shoppers, with players only able to use one or other type of disc.

That changed this year as HD DVD suffered a string of defections to Blu-ray by movie studios, such as Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros, and big retailers.

Sony and Panasonic products maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co -- consumer electronics giants that fought head-on in the video cassette format battle of the 1980s -- are on the same side this time with Blu-ray.

Following is an overview of the latest video format battle, including specifications of each technology.

THE RIVAL CAMPS:

BLU-RAY: Sony, Matsushita, Philips

HD DVD: Toshiba, NEC Electronics, Sanyo Electric

FORMAT SPECIFICATIONS:

BLU-RAY HD DVD CURRENT DVD

CAPACITY* 23-27 GB 15-20 GB 4.7 GB

LASER blue blue red

(*Capacity is for single-layer disc. GB stands for gigabytes)

FORMAT STRENGTHS:

HD DVD - Lower costs. With the same structure as current discs, HD DVD allows makers to use much of their existing DVD manufacturing equipment.

BLU-RAY - Larger capacity. Matsushita's 25 GB single-layer recordable disc can hold 25 percent more data than the HD DVD equivalent. About three hours of high-definition programmes on terrestrial digital broadcasting can be packed in the disc.