Blu-Ray launch plans unveiled at CES

New range of players to be launched at CES in Las Vegas next January

The Blu-Ray DVD group has told analysts that it is still on course to launch players by spring of next year and will be outlining its plans in full at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January.

The announcements will add further momentum to the Blu-Ray camp, which has already been predicted by Gartner to win the standards war with HD DVD. Blu-Ray had been due to launch in the middle of next year and this had swayed some to support the HD DVD Forum.

"We're sticking with the spring time frame," said Andy Parsons, a spokesman for Blu-Ray, to Reuters.

"At CES, you're likely to hear some announcements from a number of companies as to when you'll see our products on the market."

Blu-Ray looks to have the edge for the consumer entertainment market but its high manufacturing costs have turned off the PC industry. Microsoft and Intel are both supporting the HD DVD standard.

However, the invention of an entirely new format that can store an impressive 300Gb per disc looks set to cloud the issue further, and raises the likelihood of a long-term standards war.