home  pluginblog The 21st Century Format War: Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD
|
|
The 21st Century Format War: Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD |
|
|
|
|
Written by tom
|
In a re-run of the 80s VHS vs Betamax (which Betamax lost) former Betamax allies Sony and Toshiba are now engaged in a battle for control over the next generation of DVD formats, Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD. In the red corner is the HD-DVD camp , as well as Toshiba are many others such as Sanyo, NEC and Mircosoft (who used HD-DVD with the xbox360). In the blue (of course) corner is Blu-Ray with Sony (and their PlayStation 3), Disney and Sun Microsystems and others. (Some companies are hedging their bets and are listed as supporters of both.) Earlier in 2005 Sony and Toshiba held talks to try to unify the formats , but the talks failed and the war began in earnest. Later in 2005 research firm Forester declared Blu-Ray the current winner. More bad news followed with Warner backing Blu-Ray and rumours of Apple jumping in with both feet . Toshiba responded by cutting the cost of an HD-DVD ;
"Toshiba America Consumer Products said it cut prices of its HD DVD players effective January 13 to boost market adoption of its next-generation DVD players by mainstream consumers after what it said was a successful fourth quarter in unit sales....Toshiba's players will now start as low as $149 going up to $399 for the top-of-range player."
Things were looking bleak as reports circulated that the HD-DVD group has cancelled many of their meetings at the major consumer electronics show CES. However, it is of note most people in the industry recognise that this technology is a transitory stage in the process;
"We can use HD discs to train consumers to move into digital, but it's a transition," said Dan Silverberg, vice president of high-definition media development at Warner Bros. "Downloaded content will come, but the consumer will get quicker tutorial into video-on-demand, etc. by owning a Blu-ray player or HD DVD."
If the industry knows this is a temporary stage, will consumers see that too? Mike McGuire, a vice president of media research for Gartner noted ;
"Just as we've seen with audio, where audiophiles tend to prefer analog LPs or tape to digital downloads, we could see Blu-ray or HD DVD discs being the province of cinephiles..The problem with that is the cost associated with maintaining a niche format. Ultimately, though, downloads and streams [will likely] win out, and I think what you find is that the majority will opt for the temporary ownership of a movie or TV show.."
As more and more people spend less and less time watching TV and more time integrating games and the internet into their home systems as well as the ever-increasing media in portable formats such as mobile phones, is this a pyrrhic war that will costs the combatants huge sums but leave a tiny crumbling kingdom of physical discs eclipsed by the always on-line systems now emerging and dominating? As one blogger noted ; "...it is only a matter of time before Blu-Ray and HD DVD are both obsolete."
|
|
