The Cutting Edge: COMPUTING / TECHNOLOGY / INNOVATION : Sony, Philips Re-Weigh Pursuing Disc Format

Backed against the wall by a formidable coalition of rival digital videodisc developers, Sony Corp. and Philips Electronics said Tuesday that they will reconsider pursuing their own videodisc format.

The statement from Sony and Philips was music to the ears of the all-star throng of consumer electronics and entertainment executives assembled in Beverly Hills to voice support for the Toshiba Corp.-Time Warner Inc. technology. The executives want to avoid a format war so they can get on with making money on the new discs.

The rival teams have been vying for months to create an industry standard for digital videodiscs, which can store full-length movies, music and computer software. The Time Warner-Toshiba disc is two-sided and can hold 135 minutes of a movie on each side.

The discs are far cheaper to manufacture than videotapes and will probably sell for about $20. The players, which many believe will replace the VCR, may be available as early as this year for about $500.

As expected, the list of firms announcing support for the Toshiba-Time Warner format Tuesday included Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Thomson Consumer Electronics, Hitachi Ltd., Pioneer Electronic Corp., MCA Inc. and MGM/UA. Toshiba and Time Warner said JVC, Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Turner Home Entertainment and Nippon Columbia Co. Ltd. have also announced their support.