Two prams, no toys in either of them

The two competing formats in the battle for next-generation DVD players will not hold further talks about forming a single standard, according to an executive officer at Matsushita.

Negotiations were held last year between the companies promoting Blu-ray and the rival HD-DVD to try and prevent a format war that might stop consumers buying either system.

However, those talks collapsed because neither side wanted to base its format on the rival discs.

According to Matsushita's Kazuhiro Tsuga, there will be no further talks between the parties. "We are not talking and we will not talk. The market will decide the winner," he told Reuters.

Matsushita's Panasonic brand is backing the Blu-ray camp, which is yet to launch a consumer DVD player.

The HD-DVD format already has its first products to market, launched by Toshiba.

"It's now a test of physical strength," said Tsuga. He claimed that Toshiba's HD-DVD player must be making a loss at $499 (£280) and questioned how long the company could keep it at that price.

The first Blu-ray players are due later this year, costing around $1,000 (£562) in the shops.

Matsushita also announced that it would be the first company to ship Blu-ray disc drives to PC manufacturers.