Hewlett-Packard, Dell Join Group Aiming To Set Global Standards

By Agence France-Presse U.S.-based computer giants Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. (H-P) have joined a group of international high-tech companies to set a common standard for the Blu-ray Disc format. They joined the Blu-ray Disc Founders, formed in May 2002 to promote the disc format, which allows high-capacity optical-disc storage to be used for such technologies as high-definition televisions, the organization said in a statement. "It's extremely important that any optical-disc format be suitable for use in both PCs and consumer electronics devices, and have strong support from the movie industry and other content providers," Maureen Weber, general manager of the optical storage solutions at H-P, said in the statement. Dell and H-P joined a group comprised of Hitachi Ltd., LG Electronics Inc., Matsushita Electronics Industrial, Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Pioneer Corp., Royal Philips Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Sharp Corp., Sony Corp. and Thomson. Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2004