According to the Nikkei Journal, Sony and Toshiba are finalizing plans to develop a unified disc format. The newspaper reported today that the two companies have agreed to combine Sony's 0.1mm protective layer and Toshiba's interface software. The reported agreement could be revealed as early as next week, says the paper, but both Sony and Toshiba are vehemently denying that any compromise has been reached.

Despite these denials, the Journal offered up some specifics on the alleged new format agreement. Chief among them is the supposed decision to adopt the Sony Blu-ray's 0.1mm protective layer.

Normal DVDs have a 0.6mm protective layer of plastic spread across their data-bearing surfaces, but Sony's Blu-ray disc format sacrifices durability in favor of more storage space. Use of this 0.1mm coating would require disc manufacturers to purchase new equipment, whereas Toshiba's 0.6mm coated HD-DVD discs can be laminated and polished with existing equipment.

The Nikkei Journal also alleges that Toshiba has agreed to create the software and copy-protection schemes to be used in the compromise disc format. If true, this means that Toshiba would author the code that tells disc drives how to read and write the data encoded on the discs.

But despite the Nikkei Journal article, both Sony and Toshiba have issued statements denying that any agreement has been reached. "We are still continuing our discussions for a unified disc format that will benefit our users," said a Sony spokesperson. "Although a single format would be ideal, there has been no significant progress since [the last coverage by the media on] April 21. There has been absolutely no decision made for the 0.1mm [Blu-ray] format to be adopted [for the unified next-generation disc standard]."

"At this point," said a Toshiba spokesperson, "nothing has been decided, and absolutely no decision has been made for unification on any basis. The indication that a unification agreement on the basis of a 0.1mm disc system is imminent is unfounded and erroneous. Given this, Toshiba does not intend to make any proposal on unification to the members of the HD-DVD Promotion Group."

Both Toshiba's HD-DVD and Sony's Blu-ray formats have been gearing up for battle since 2002. The formats have since divided the film, software, and game industries for what was expected to be a holy war between the two formats. In February, it was announced that Sony and Toshiba were meeting to discuss the creation of a compromise disc format that would avert such a war and prevent format war akin to the Betamax-versus-VHS video cassette conflict in the 1980s.

Sony and Toshiba have both acknowledged that a uniform standard is essential for market penetration. Media outlets, including GameSpot, had reported last month that the two companies were close to making a deal, but as yet, none has been announced.

Both Sony's and Toshiba's next-generation discs use blue lasers to read and write the data. Until now, most reflective disc technology has relied on red lasers, but that color has a relatively large wavelength (605 nanometers) when compared to colors further down the spectrum. Blue lasers offer a wavelength of only 405 nanometers, allowing the bumps that make up the ones and zeros on a disc's surface to be smaller than those on a red laser-read disc.

Sony's Blu-ray discs are said to offer 25GB of storage space in their single-layer form and are supported by MGM, Sony Pictures, and Disney, although Disney's agreement with Sony is nonexclusive. Blu-ray discs are also designed to work with the PlayStation 3.

Toshiba's HD-DVD format can hold 15GB of information in a single layer. The format is supported by Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., and New Line Cinema. While some rumors say the Xbox 360 will use HD-DVDs, no announcement has been made about the console's media format.