ECONOMICS REPORT - For High Definition TVs, Blu-ray Gets a Big Supporter
Thu, 17 Jan 2008
This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
经济报道－在高清电视领域，蓝光DVD获得一个巨大推力。
2008年1月17日，星期四。
这是VOA特别英语的经济报道。
Competition often means waiting for people to make a choice.
That was the case with VCRs, video cassette recorders. During the nineteen eighties, people had two choices: VHS and Betamax. The VHS format won the competition. Betamax disappeared from all but professional use.
竞争通常是等待人们作出选择。
VCR（盒式录像机）也是如此。在1980年代，有二种选择：VHS（家用录像系统）和Betamax（盒式视频录像机）。VHS赢得了竞争，并且Betamax从此退出舞台，但不包括专业之用。
More recently, the VHS, or video home system, format has been disappearing as people choose DVD players.
But now the two newest kinds of DVD players are in competition. Blu-ray and HD DVD are both designed for use with high definition televisions. These produce bigger, sharper pictures. They work best when showing movies or TV programs made in true high definition.
最近，当人们选择DVD播放器（数字视频光碟/数字多功能播放器）时，VHS不断消失。
但是，二新款DVD播放器出现竞争。蓝光DVD和HD（高清）DVD均适用于高清电视，它们可产生更大更清晰的图像。当播放真正高清制作的电影或电视节目时，它们非常棒。
But high def takes up more memory, so a new kind of DVD, digital video or versatile disc, was needed.
Blu-ray and HD DVD are similar in technology. Both use a blue laser to read the information on the disc. But HD DVDs cost less to produce. They can be made with existing equipment, while Blu-ray DVDs cannot. But a Blu-ray disc holds more memory: about fifty gigabytes compared to thirty gigabytes for an HD DVD.
但是，高清占用更多的内存，因此需要新款DVD（数字视频光碟或数字多功能光碟）。
蓝光DVD和HD（高清）DVD在技术上相仿。二者均采用蓝色激光阅读光碟上的信息。但是，HD（高清）DVD生产成本低，能够采用现有设备进行制作，而蓝光DVD却不能。然后，蓝光光碟具有更多的内存，大约50G，而HD（高清）DVD却只有30G。
Two major Hollywood studios, Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures, have agreed to release movie only in HD DVD. The Toshiba company is the main supplier of the players.
Sony, on the other hand, supports the Blu-ray format, as do the movie makers at Walt Disney, Twentieth Century Fox and MGM.
好莱坞二家主要影业公司，派拉蒙影业公司和环球影业公司，已经同意只采用HD（高清）DVD发行影片，并且东芝公司是播放器的主要供应商。
另一方面，索尼公司支持蓝光DVD，如支持迪斯尼影业公司、20世纪福克斯影业公司和米高梅影业公司等电影制作公司。
Then earlier this month, Hollywood's biggest seller of DVDs announced its choice in the fight between Blu-ray and HD DVD. Warner Brothers will support only Blu-ray starting in June.
The company says having two kinds of high definition DVDs on the market has led to confusion with the buying public. So far, sales of the new high-definition disc players have been slow. An estimated one million players of both kinds have been sold.
本月早期，好莱坞DVD最大商家（华纳兄弟）宣布其在蓝光DVD和HD（高清）DVD竞争中的选择：从6月份开始，将只支持蓝光DVD。
华纳兄弟说，在市场上有二款高清DVD已经导致大众购买的混淆。因此，新款高清DVD播放器的销售进展缓慢。据估计，二款DVD播放器才销售了100万。
This week, Toshiba announced that it would cut the price of its HD DVD players by forty to fifty percent. Some of its players are now under two hundred dollars.
But many people think Blu-ray has won the competition with HD DVD. Time will tell. For those who cannot make up their minds, there are some players that can play both.
本周，东芝公司宣布，将其HD（高清）DVD播放器的价格下调40－50%。目前，东芝公司的某些播放器价格在200美元以下。
但是，许多人认为，蓝光DVD已经赢得了与HD（高清）DVD的竞争。时间会说明一切。对于悬而未决的人而言，某些播放器可同时播放二种DVD。
And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. For more business news, and for transcripts and MP3s of our reports, go to www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.
这是由Mario Ritter编写的、VOA特别英语的经济报道。关于更多的商务新闻以及报道的文稿和MP3，请访问www.unsv.com。我是Steve Ember。