According to an article and follow up at xbitlabs.com, a sceintist from Lucasfilm owned THX recently spoke out about the medium that has just claimed victory over HD DVDs. In the initial article, the scientist, Laurie Fincham, seems a bit skeptical about Blu-ray feeling that we will be moving past the format once it finally take a foothold in the market.

'"By the time Blu-ray really finds a mass market, we will have 128GB cards. I would guess that getting studios to supply movies on media cards, or offer downloads, will be a lot easier than getting them to sign up to support a disc format," said Laurie Fincham, director of research and development for the THX division of Lucasfilm, in an interview with Home Cinema Choice Magazine, reports DVDTown web-site."

Laurie continues...

"In the future I want to be able to carry four to five movies around with me in a wallet, or walk into a store and have someone copy me a movie to a USB device. Stores will like that idea, because it's all about having zero inventory. I don't want to take up shelf space with dozens of HD movies."

Apparently the views of Mr. Fincham don't jive with the company line as the following statement was then released from THX:

'?Neither THX nor Mr. Fincham have ever stated that ?Blu ray has no chance? or is on the demise. Quite the contrary, THX is dedicated to supporting Blu-ray with many new technologies, certification programs and other initiatives. Mr. Fincham was simply discussing the future of movies on downloads, optical discs and other emerging media,? said Graham McKenna, senior manager of global public relations at THX.'


Whether Laurie Fincham's opinion bears truth remains to be seen but it's certainly food for thought. Click here for the original article and here for the update with THX's official response.