High Definition DVD Format War Over

The war between the two competing high definition DVD formats ended today, when Toshiba Corporation formally surrendered. Blu-Ray is the winner, over HD DVD. Consumers will no longer be faced with a "VHS vs. Betamax" type dilemma over which of two incompatible formats to choose. Movie studios too had been divided about which format to use when releasing new and old titles, but starting soon all new high definition DVD releases will be in the Blu-Ray format.

The bad news is that Blu-Ray players are still pretty expensive, with many of them selling for four hundred dollars or more, although some cheaper models are available. Prices should continue to come down in the coming months, and newer players will have more features too. Of course, to actually see the high definition picture, you also have to have a high definition TV set, and those aren't cheap either.

The good new is, if you have a PlayStation 3, you already have a Blu-Ray DVD player.

Meanwhile, DVDs are facing increased competition from other source of home video. Cable companies are offering video on demand, and online downloads of movies, from various sources, are just starting to catch on.

Personally, I like DVDs, and I like high definition TV, so I'm glad the format war is over. But, I don't have a high def TV set, and I'm not gonna get one right away. Some day, though, I hope to be sitting in my living room watching a movie on a Blu-Ray player. Or at least, in somebody's living room....

The price of blu-ray players should start falling now. Everything i was reading, most of the big manufacturers were holding off creating any type of player because they weren't sure which ones were going to be used.

Sony was, not only the creator, but the biggest backer, they took a huge gamble putting a blue ray player on the PS3, Sony studios only used blu-ray but then Warner Brothers started backing blu-ray, Walmart dumped HDDVD sales, NetFlix picked up the blu-ray not HDDVD, and eventually the Japanese Porn makers all went Blu-Ray. So that was just a sign of the times.

And just so you know "the war" has been over for about two months now, Toshiba is just finally admitting it.

I really don't want to watch porn in HD. What a horrible idea, Japan!

I'll eventually go with Blu-Ray, but for now, I'm just not going there. I can't afford a Blu-Ray player. I'm poor.

Here's a News thread on this subject in the Current Events board: Goodnight, Sweet Prince: HD-DVD is dead.