As LG Electronics, Plextor and Samsung Electronics release their hybrid optical disc drives (ODDs) that can read both Blu-ray disc (BD) and HD DVD, Taiwan-based makers of optical devices reportedly claim that universal high-definition ODDs are too expensive to make due to royalties and consequently do not expect such products to become mainstream.

Founding members of the Blu-ray disc Association (BDA) – Sony Corp. and Royal Philips Electronics – demand $30 fee of every drive capable of reading Blu-ray, whereas Toshiba, which developed both DVD and HD DVD (co-developed with NEC), asks for $12 license fee for every optical drive that can read HD DVD. With so high licensing fees, Taiwan-based manufacturers doubt that multi-format drives would go mainstream at all, reports DigiTimes web-site.

Given that presently many CD/DVD burners cost around $40, blue laser-based optical drives will be much more expensive by definition due to high royalties, which equal more than $42 in case of a multi-format optical drive since manufacturers have to pay for CD and DVD compatibility as well. It should be noted, however, that adding HD DVD capability to already expensive Blu-ray drive should not be too expensive, but should add tremendous value.

The format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD has been lasting for nearly two years already and it is believed that its consequence is slow adoption of high-definition media (HDM) in general as consumers are unwilling to invest into a format that may end its life in the following years. Many analysts expect the war to last for several more years and the best way for a consumer not to become a victim of the HDM battle is to get a player or an optical disc drive compatible with both Blu-ray and HD DVD.

“ABI Research expects high-definition drives to bring in revenues of about $2 billion by 2012. Of that, about two-thirds will be accounted for by universal drives, which can play either format. Few universal drives are sold today, partly because of their higher price. But those prices will fall to about the same as Blu-ray players by 2009, and we forecast universal player sales to exceed Blu-ray the following year,” said principal analyst of ABI Research Steve Wilson.