SAN FRANCISCO — In the battle over next generation DVDs, pornography could prove to be the XXX factor that helps determine a winner. Thirty years ago, VHS toppled Betamax in part because of the adult film industry, and now some see blue movies playing a key role again as backers of HD-DVD and Blu-ray maneuver to make their formats the standard. The stakes are high. As prices of high-definition televisions and DVD players fall, backers of the rival - and incompatible - formats are looking to tap a home and rental DVD market approaching $25 billion. Yet so far, neither next-generation format has been able to land a knock-out blow. James McQuivey, a principal analyst at technology research firm Forrester, said in the VHS-versus-Betamax war, porn provided a significant boost for the winning format. He also noted the adult entertainment industry has often paved the way with new uses of technology - such as streaming video on the Internet - and said porn could help tip the scales in the current DVD format battle. ‘If the porn industry wanted to break the logjam of HD-DVD and Blu-ray, it could,’ McQuivey said. ‘If they said […]