It appears that, as feared, the current negotiations between Sony and Toshiba to find a common ground by which we might move towards a standard format for next generation DVD has currently been stalled. In the aftermath of Sony announcing that its Blu-Ray drives would be out next year, news is reaching us that there are quite simply just no further movements towards a resolution.
"We are actively participating in talks towards format unification," Sony said in a statement last April. "At this point, however, nothing has been decided, and absolutely no decision has been made for unification on any basis," it added ominously. "The indication that a unification agreement on the basis of a 0.1mm disc system is imminent is unfounded and erroneous. Given this, Toshiba does not intend to make any proposal on unification to the members of the HD DVD Promotion Group."
Both formats differ so greatly in their implementation of the blue laser technology that is needed to write the new high capacity media formats that it's unlikely that they could ever be truly amalgamated. One will have to win over the other.