The Japanese electronics giant said it had received separate commitments of support from Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, New Line Cinema and Warner Brothers Studios for the HD-DVD, which is expected to see mass-market release in late 2005.

Hollywood's support is critical in the battle for the next-generation DVD standard as customers could choose to buy advanced DVD players on the basis of which can play the most titles.

Toshiba's competitor Sony backs the rival Blu-ray format, which is not compatible with HD-DVD.

"Endorsement of HD-DVD by these leading Hollywood studios is a great impetus to assuring the timely launch of HD-DVD and to assuring that consumers have a range of attractive choices in both hardware and software," Toshiba Corp. President and CEO Tadashi Okamura said in a statement.

Next-generation DVD players use blue lasers to give a shorter wavelength than the red light used for current DVDs and CDs, allowing the storage of up to six times as much data -- meaning DVD quality similar to high-definition television.

The extra data space could also be used to develop more features, such as creating video games with the look and feel of cinema.

Blu-ray is expected to store more data than HD-DVD but also to be more expensive to manufacture, at least in the short term, as HD-DVD can use the same production lines used to make current-generation DVDs.

Sony is expected to use Blu-Ray for its next-generation PlayStation home video-game machine to be unveiled early next year.

Blu-ray is also backed by Dell and Matsushita, maker of the Panasonic brand, while HD-DVD enjoys the support of 13 companies including Toshiba and

Blu-ray seemed to win a boost in October when Hollywood titan Twentieth Century Fox said it was on the format's promotion board but Fox later said it also remained on a similar board for HD-DVD.

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