Acer joins HD DVD Promotional Group

Los Angeles (CA) – Acer has become the first major global PC manufacturer to become a member of both the North American HD DVD Promotional Group as well as the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA).

The announcement that Acer today joined the North American HD DVD Promotional Group comes as a somewhat unexpected move, given the fact that the company announced its participation in the BDA just one week ago. Representatives for the North American HD DVD Promotional Group told TG Daily that Acer is currently the only PC manufacturer that is supporting both HD DVD and Blu-ray.

Questions on how Acer will be promoting both HD DVD and Blu-ray in an increasingly hostile competitive environment were left unanswered today. Prepared statements from Acer executives create an interesting situation for Acer, which now looks like it will be playing both sides.

Campbell Kan, vice president of the company’s mobile computing business unit was quoted saying "Acer is pleased to join the North American HD DVD Promotional Group to help bring the freshest technology to more consumers worldwide." Last week, Kans statement read : “Acer is pleased to be joining the Blu-ray Disc Association and to continue empowering our users to benefit from the freshest technologies available.”

While it is clear now that Acer will be supporting both formats, the role of the company as participant in both camps is unclear. Representatives at the BDA and the HD DVD group we contacted told us that they were not sure how Acer would be handle the expectation to be promoting both formats at the same time – especially in an "either-or" environment.

However, the North American HD DVD Promotional Group is certain that Acer’s support for HD DVD is firm : "The main difference I see is that Acer has been offering HD DVD-enabled notebooks for the last year," said Ken Graffeo, co-president of the North American HD DVD Promotional Group, in an e-mail statement to TG Daily. "They have three models available today - the Aspire 5920, 7720, and 9920. So they are actively engaged in the HD DVD format. In fact, Acer is showcasing the Aspire 5920 model at the HD DVD Mobile Experience truck at CEDIA this week," he wrote.