We all heard last week how things aren’t going so well in negotiations to form a single unified HD disc format. The talks had broken down, and Matsushita said they were dead. But efforts are still proceeding at several levels.

According to VB Online, Sony, Toshiba, and Matsushita are still talking on and off. In the U.S., the studios are talking about unification too. Their focus? Disney, the only major studio not controlled by Sony.

VB Online said on 20may05:

Disney’s decision was controversial because it prevented a clear Hollywood consensus from emerging behind HD DVD, which many in the HD DVD camp hoped would drive Blu-ray from the field before a format war began in earnest.

Disney said it chose Blu-ray because of the format’s higher storage capacity and greater interactive capabilities.

But with time running out, sources say the pressure is now being turned up on Disney to reverse course.

Toshiba recently unveiled a 45 GB HD DVD disc, which was aimed primarily at addressing Disney’s concerns about capacity.

Blu-ray supporters say their format can store up to 50 GB on a single disc.

Other studios are now pressing Disney to explain more fully why it believes it needs the additional capacity promised by Blu-ray, especially if it means a divided front in Hollywood.

For its part, Disney is seeking to use its exposed position to gain leverage over both camps and force both sides to the bargaining table. Only by denying each side a clear-cut victory, Disney officials believe, can the studios hope to force the rival hardware camps to make the kind of concessions necessary to achieve a single, unified format.

Discussions between Disney and the other studios are expected this week at the home video division level, perhaps to be followed by higher-level talks involving senior studio figures.

Link: Video Business Online (free subscription) - Some Still Hope for High-Def Unity