There is a format war underway for the next generation, high-definition DVD standard.  Interestingly enough, one of the major players in determining which format ultimately wins in the marketplace may be the porn industry.

One of the next big issues in which pornographers could play a deciding role is the future of high-definition DVDs.

The multibillion-dollar industry releases about 11,000 titles on DVD each year, giving it tremendous power to sway the battle between two groups of studios and technology companies competing to set standards for the next generation.

“It’s sort of like the buzz around the campfire,” said Peter Warren, DVD editor at industry bible Adult Video News.

One side of the divide is a standard called Blu-ray backed by consumer electronics heavyweights like Sony, Philips Electronics and Thomson and movie studios Fox and Disney. Blu-ray offers storage up to 50 gigabytes, enough for nine hours of high-definition content.

On the other side of the fight is HD DVD, which has much the same structure as current DVDs and, backers say, is cheaper and easier to manufacture as a result. Supporters of the disc format and its 30GB capacity include companies like NEC, Toshiba and Warner Home Video.

While the porn industry may influence the format war, it got me to thinking about another issue.  I’ve heard that HD really brings out details and any flaws will be magnified tremendously.  I wonder if HD is really such a good thing for this industry….