......so is it fair now to declare Blu Ray the winner of the Format War?

[Catharsis147]

With Warner now exclusively in the Blu Ray camp, do you guys think it is over? I am thinking that HD-DVD will not be able to recover from this devastating blow. Then again, you never really know.

I sill could care less who wins, as long as one of them DOES win. Either way we all benefit from better pictures and better sound, and I am actually just praying that physical media remains a real option.....

[Kynergy]

Maybe one will win completely or the two formats coexist but just battle for relative bigger share of the pie of the market. In a year or two a decent player of any format will be less than $100 and continue to drop and everybody can have both players or a universal one. To consumers, it does not matter much who wins. The only drawbacks for consumers is the availability of a certain movie in a format because each individual company in the movie industry will likely to choose only one format. Will all the parties agree on making movies available in both formats? Unlikely on the business sense.

[damonrpayne]

I say BD wins, some here will disagree with me. The software sales are now 85% in Blu-Ray's favor.

[DrWho]

I don't understand the resistance against universal players that started at the very beginning of this format war....I think it would make a lot of sense to have players that don't care what formats you use and to make them capable of working with future new formats too. Heck, computers already do it...

[damonrpayne]

I think there was a narrow window for that idea to end the format war. When the universal players came out, they cost MORE than you could get 2 individual players for so the value proposition was not there.

[mas]

Blu-ray may have won the
war over HD DVD. Yet in the end its likely not going to
matter with the advent of HD downloads. The only thing the battle may
have yielded is enough time for streaming HD to become a viable option.

[Colin]

I think the iPhone and Squeezebox is going to be the winner...

[oldbuckster]

NO .......... a few months from now the "Next Big Thing", will be out in the market, and we'll do this HD vs Blu Ray again, just different names !!! Even when this started as VHS or BETA , the same scenario is in play here, and will always be in play ................... never ending story $$$$$$$$$$

[Mr. RF62]

HD-VHS vs. BETA Blu-ray...Just kiddin'... or has that been done and I missed it??[]

[mas]

Poor Buck...he never has recovered from the development of the automobile, indoor plumbing and electricity...Oh to be stuck with all of those belly bands and mullen leaves![]

Gee, to think thet technological capability enables (or pushes - depending upon your POV) the market.

Duh!

Yup, it all a reason for lament.

ROFLMOA. Of course while its bad when others want more money as a result of increased costs and inflation, etc., its bad! But I doubt anyone here (as an employee) has ever voluntarily turned down a raise in the noble effort to constrain costs! Gee, now why do I get the feeling that he would be in the lead crying for them? Oh, because its so easy ignore your own role in the schema of society as you simply talk about about what others are doing and how others should change.without ever once applying the same concepts self-referentially.

Yup, so market competition is bad. Its amazing what you learn here! After all, we certainly wouldn't want anyone to think or to excercise their choice - which also includes the option to wait! Nope, we don't want the lemmings to become confused.

Buck, your rants sound just like the Unibomber's tirades withthe overly simplistic references to Big Business and Big Labor.

I frear the notion that one is all bad and the other all good is a bit overly simplistic. Rather they are too often 2 sides of the same screwed up selfish coin.

[][] []

[dougdrake]

NO .......... a few months from now the "Next Big Thing", will be out in the market, and we'll do this HD vs Blu Ray again, just different names !!! Even when this started as VHS or BETA , the same scenario is in play here, and will always be in play ................... never ending story $$$$$$$$$$

You are exactly right - when streaming starts, it'll be a pissing match of which streaming format is superior. Round and round it goes!

[oldbuckster]

Yo mas, Somebody has to stand up for the working man around here ............. Ah forget it, nothing I can say will ever be good enough for Mr. mas. I'm just a dumb ol' N.Y. backwoodser not up to the task of sparring with mas, sorry, please forgive me, I know not what I do ! ...... Peace on Earth !!!

[erickoegle]

I think the debate is still on going. Sure WB did get signed to Blu-Ray exclusively, but that is just a contract. I do not think that the contract is exceptionally that long anyways. I also heard that Disney's contract with Sony is running out and that HD-DVD is going to pursue that. I have a feeling that this is long from over.

My 2 cents.

[oldtimer]

Mas, don't take me for disagreeing with the theory of your informed opinion and observations. There is to me no real argument there. Except, while yes, none of us would turn down a raise, many of us have had their pay cut, while executives (who are way less smarter than you and many more of us here) continue to live shall we say quite large. So a rational being (usually not an executive) should expect a certain amount of unrest and disgruntlement over their general situation.

This would be the case whether or not they had indoor plumbing. (Electricity can be produced without being connected to the grid so much more easily and good used cars are cheap)

[el jopez]

I don't understand the resistance against universal players that started at the very beginning of this format war....I think it would make a lot of sense to have players that don't care what formats you use and to make them capable of working with future new formats too. Heck, computers already do it...

I don't believe it was resistance on the part of consumers but rather the consortiums
of the rivaling factions. In order to have a co branded player I'm sure
massive fees would had to have been laid out at the door steps of the respected
parties. I remember reading that according to the terms of the HD-DVD consortium,
no HD-DVD player could be co branded with Blu-Ray. For that reason the first
dual format players were Blu-Ray branded yet was a fully functional HD-DVD
player that simply lacked the official logo.

[mas]

Blu-Ray licensing explicitly forbids dual players.

And changing econok=mic and business models have nothing to do with how much compemsation a CEO makes. The advent of the Internet and online business could care less about CEO compensation. In fact, the only thing that exorbitant compensationdoes is to put that company at a competitive disadvantage.

So this rant about pay or the little guy has little or no bearing upon basic business and E-Commerce models and shifing economic environments from local to global, from brick and mortar to online, and to ubiquitous high speed online access.

You can either complain and assume the role of the victim or you can understand it and hopely use it to your advantage.And liking it or disliking the changes, it really doesn't matter...the changes are occuring anyway, enabled and accellerated by advances in technology.

[el jopez]

Dual players or Dual Branded players? Since we have had dual players I beleive it would be the branded aspect that has kept more player from market.

[mas]

Dual players or Dual Branded players? Since we have had dual players I beleive it would be the branded aspect that has kept more player from market.

Yes, while I doubt anyone could force someone to stop making a player that is simply capable fo playing a format (who knows, maybe they can), but I suspect that the stipulation is that the player cannot be considered an "official" player that is stated to be compatible with the standard nor advertised as such.

Edit: Asking a few folks I know, the concensus seems to support the notion that since the DRMA disallows any attempt to defeat copyguard of copyrighted material, and since DRM is an integral part of each formats' schema - unlicensed players or equipment capable of defeating this technology would be illegal if either of the licensing bodies choose to pursue their rights under the law - just like De-CSS was ruled illegal.

But to my mind, to do so will simply create more disincentive to invest and for manufacturers to enter the market with such a risk hanging over them. Thus I think what you are seeing is that neither camp is exercising their legal rights as long as the prices for the players remains sufficiently high compared to either format's individual players.

[MrMcGoo]

And the winner is..............SD DVD. Player and media prices are too high for Blu-ray to replace SD DVD. Blu-ray is destined to be a niche product unless prices fall soon.

Bill

[jbsl]

Can Blueray players play SD dvds? From what I've read they don't but not sure.

I know HD dvd players can so that is the only reason why I am leaning toward HD dvd players. The Toshiba HD AX2 reviews say it's SD playback is the best of any type of dvd player they have seen so may just buy a AX2 or the HD AX3(guessing at the AX2 replacement) and keep buying SD dvds.

I have 250-300 SD dvds and do not want to replace them for at least another 5 years which will let prices go down on whichever one wins.

Of course by then there will be the new format MEGA PERFECT SUPERIOR DVD! [:S]