Do you remember my blog some months ago about the the on-going war between the two types of next generation high definition DVD players? If you don't remember, the two types are Blu-Ray and HD-DVD...the former supported by Sony and the latter by Toshiba. For many month, it was unclear which format would win the battle for high definition supremacy as the lead switched back and forth a few times.
Most tech writers, including myself, advised consumers not to purchase either type of machine until there was a clear winner. We are only days away from having an absolute clear winner, but there is very little doubt now who it will be.
And the winner will be....Blu Ray!! Several events have occurred just recently that indicate that there is little or no doubt about the final outcome.
This was a strange war that hearkened back to the battle between BetaMax and VHS in the early days of video tape recorders. The big difference in this new war was that the major motion pictures studios chose to back one format or the other for their new releases, which I always found strange. Back in the early video tape wars, studios released their movies in both formats.
As for retailers, the majority have been carrying both types of DVD players, also waiting to see who will win. Now, that is all changing.
In the last few days, both Wal-Mart and Best Buy announced they will only carry Blu-Ray players and disks. Meanwhile, Netflix and Blockbuster, the two competing kings of video rentals, announced they will no longer carry HD-DVD titles...only Blu-Ray from here on in.
As for the major motion picture studios, Warner Brothers recently switched over to Blu-Ray, leaving only Universal and Paramount as the last two hold-outs for HD-DVD. Expect to see both those studios switch shortly because of retailer's decisions to carry only Blu-Ray. Sticking with HD-DVD will cost them millions of dollar of potential revenue. Interestingly, Paramount switched from Blu-Ray to HD-DVD just last year. You have to think that heads will roll over that decision.
If you have a high definition TV and you have been waiting to see which type would emerge victorious, you probably can run out now and get a Blu-Ray machine, although you will still pay a fat price for it. Like everything, prices will be dropping. If you didn't take my advice to wait and went out and bought an HD-DVD player, be on the lookout for some incredible sales on movies in that format as retailer will be dumping their inventory. I would buy as many as you can as they won't be available much longer.
Who did I think would win? Actually I predicted that Blu-Ray would win...not because I had any great insight or studied the market in depth. No, my reason was that Blu-Ray was a much cooler and sexier name than HD-DVD. It has a good ring to it. A cool name means a great deal.
Remember, Adolph Hitler's name by all rights should have been Adolf Schicklegruber. Can you see anyone running around in the 30's and 40's lifting their right arm in salute and saying "Heil Schicklegruber?" I don't think so. A cool name can make all the difference. And Blu-Ray is really cool.
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