In June 2005 BD/HD DVD format unification talks continued even while both sides did not want to give in with regard to their key features of formatting. Because the CE groups could not reach a compromise, they tried to get studios onto each formatting side. The new marketing name for the MLP lossless audio format was proclaimed as Dolby TrueHD. Dolby Digital as the marketing name for the AC-3 audio format was likened to this.

In April 2005 both camps continued talk about the availability of players and discs by the year’s end. Yet the specifications were not final and copy protection was still under work at the time.

In November 2004 New Medium Enterprises announced the launching of another contender for next-generation DVD: VMD (Versatile Multilayer Disc). The VMD adds additional layers to standard 1- or 2-layer DVDs to store 15, 20, 25, and 30 GB on a disc.

In August 2004 the VC-1 (Microsoft's WMV9) and H.264 were chosen by both the DVD-Forum and the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) as advanced video codecs.

In November 2003 the blue-laser HD DVD standard was approved on specifically November the 19th by the DVD Forum steering committee.
The Christmas launch of the EVD (enhanced versatile disc) was announced by the Chinese government. The enhanced versatile disc was developed by the DVD Forum and CE companies in Japan as a "homegrown" alternative to DVD technologies. It uses its own optical disc format along with proprietary video compression technology (VP5 and VP6, developed by On2 in the U.S.). HD resolutions up to 1920x1080 may be supported by an EVD, yet it will not play in a standard DVD players. Compared to the price of $80 for a DVD player, EVD players in China will range from about $250.

In March 2003 5 candidates for high-definition DVD came out
1.    HD DVD-9 (aka HD-9).
2.    Advanced Optical Disc (AOD).
3.    Blu-ray Disc (BD).
4.    Advanced Optical Storage Research Alliance (AOSRA), Blue-HD DVD-1.
5.    AOSRA Blue-DVD-DVD-2.

In June 2002 a blue-laser miniature pre-recorded optical disc was demonstrated by Philips. The prototype drive to read the disc measured 2.2 x 1.3 x 0.3 inches (5.6 x 3.4 x 0.75 cm). The 1.2-inch (3-cm) disc holds 1 Gbyte of data.