Samsung expects Sony’s Blu-ray technology to be superseded within five years, despite winning the high definition format war in February. “I think it [Blu-ray] has 5 years left, I certainly wouldn’t give it 10″, Andy Griffiths, Samsung UK’s director of consumer electronics, told website Pocket-lint.

The 24-hour channel, MTV Network HD, which includes a Nickelodeon-branded block, is to launch in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Poland and Sweden. Territories in Asia are expected to follow later, although at this stage there is no specific date.

In a demonstration to reporters last week, Toshiba played the same DVD in an XDE player and a standard, $US70 upscaling model on side-by-side LCD HDTVs. The new player produced a subtle but noticeable sharpening of the image.