Blu-Ray Wins: HD DVD Dead

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Huh. I was a bit surprised by this news. Toshiba is cutting its losses, and admitting defeat of its HD DVD to Sony's Blu-Ray. I have no personal investment in either format, but you'd think just the branding would have worked in Toshiba's favor. I mean, if you asked 100 Americans what Blu-Ray is, I'd wager a large percentage would have no idea. They probably wouldn't even know it's a video technology.

But quiz them on HD DVD, and you don't have to be a rocket scientist to put 2 + 2 together. "HD" = High Definition and "DVD" = little silver discs that play movies. Ergo, high def movies. And you just know that people will still call Blu-Ray discs "DVDs" for years. Oh well. In the long run, this will fall into nostalgia like the Beta vs. VHS battle. We'll be downloading all of our movies, or something even further along, and it will all just be ancient history. I'll give it 4 or 5 years before we can expect the next epic battle. Downloading? Streaming? Telepathy? Matrix-style computer jacks in our heads? We'll know soon enough.

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Investors cheer as Toshiba nears HD DVD surrender

Shares of Toshiba Corp jumped 5 percent on Monday as analysts applauded the company's expected move to abandon its HD DVD format, leaving Blu-ray technology backed by Sony Corp to become the standard for the next-generation DVD. . .

Read more at: Reuters

Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD: Score Another for Blu-Ray

Image from source, AVRev.com

I'm so glad I haven't invested in either technology yet, to tell you the truth. I'm still waiting for a cheap combo player. But by the time a full-featured player that plays everything gets into my price range, HD-DVD might just be dead.

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Netflix sides with Blu-ray format in high-definition DVD battle

Netflix. (NASDAQ:NFLX) com Inc. Monday said it it would only carry high-definition DVDs in the Blu-ray format, citing 'a clear signal from the industry.'Four of the six major movie studios only release high-definition DVDs in the Blu-ray format. Netflix said it would phase out the other major high-definition format, HD DVDs, by the end of the year. . .

Read more at: CNN Money

Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD, the Battle Continues

Image from source, AVRev.com

I have a reputation as something of a techie among my friends and family, and I get asked all the time, "which is better, Blu-Ray or HD DVD?" I then have to bashfully admit that I don't know. I'm still hedging my bets on an affordable combo player that will play both formats and my old DVDs. I've gotten burned before, and am not ready to go through it all again.

I used to have a fairly impressive library of VHS tapes, having wisely opted for that format over the Sony Betamax. Later, when LaserDisc players became more affordable, I began replacing my favorite titles with LaserDiscs. For those to young to remember, LaserDiscs were essentially 12" DVDs, but you needed up to 6 platters (both sides) for high quality and special features.

Anyway, after I'd amassed a considerable collection of LaserDiscs, my player pooped out. At the time, I was financially strapped, and never got around to getting in fixed. DVD players rode to the rescue, when the player became affordable, and the format hit critical mass. That was about 10 years ago, and since then, I've purchased or been given about 300 DVDs.

Enough! I'm not replacing them again! I want a player that will play my collection, and Blu-Ray, and HD DVDs! Because by the time this all plays out, we'll probably be getting all of our movies digitally--with no tangible media.

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HD Disc Format War Not Over By a Long Shot

Upon the release of recent news on Warner Bros. shifting its HD home video support from both formats to only Blu-ray, many of the mainstream media outlets quickly jumped to the conclusion that “the HD format war was over.” The idea of the format war being over couldn’t be further from the truth, although Sony’s Blu-ray is without question picking up supporters. . .

Read more at: AVRev.com