Sep

7

Why the current DVD format war doesn’t really matter

Posted by Todd

September 7, 2007 |

There is no doubt there is a format war going on between HD-DVD and BluRay. Do a Google search and you will find volumes of information relating to it. The simple fact of the matter is that right now, at this very point and time it doesn’t matter all that much for the average consumer. It matters to the companies and studios involved, but its simply entertainment for us, the general public.

Both formats are currently posturing and talking about how great they are at the CEDIA EXPO which is going on as we speak. Sony is boasting how much more dominant BluRay is when compared to HD-DVD sales, but if you look at these snapshots on Anandtech, you will notice that sales seem to be dropping rather quickly for both formats.

What is actually happening is that people are just confused. With player prices ranging anywhere from $300 all the way to over a grand, nobody in there right mind is really going to get behind a format. It’s just not worth it right now. The other option is the new dual format discs developed by Time Warner which are set to debut in 2008. These discs feature an HD-DVD on one side and a BluRay disc on the other. The problem is the BluRay disc is about half the capacity of current offerings. This will more than likely just add to the confusion that already exists.

Standard Def DVD’s are still outselling High Def discs at a massive pace. That much is clear. What is also clear is that eventually HD is going to go mainstream, just not yet. As more and more high def tv’s make it into consumer’s homes, they will begin to realize the value in better quality video. Better screens simply bring out the flaws in regular DVD. Right now though, it seems as if the majority of the population just doesn’t feel the need to switch.

By the time people are ready to embrace the technology, this format war will hopefully be a thing of the past.

Source: EETimes


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