Gizmodo has a really good article about the aftermath of the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray format war.
Whole Blu World: The Format War’s Bloody Aftermath
For those of you who thought that there is a definitive winner is this debacle and that the prices of everything are going to drop, think again. This isn’t like the VHS/BETA war of 20+ years ago. Back then there wasn’t an already entrenched excellent alternative (DVD) when that battle was going on. Now that Sony has won (at a very large expense) they have to move and fight ANOTHER battle to get the HD train moving for all consumers.
An aside to this; I’m not big on AV Tech. I stick more to the computer gadget end of the spectrum. I’m also not a movie/sound buff. Never was and doubt I will ever be. I am the consumer that waits until the prices drop and the market has good saturation before I go and drop some cash on AV. So I probably won’t have a Blu-Ray player for at least 3 years, from what this article states. (I don’t even have a decent 5.1 system)
I am also the consumer that Sony has to CONVINCE to move to HD and buy their over priced shit. I already dislike Sony for their arrogance and shoddy equipment…why should I listen to them?
It’s a good thing the Wife and I didn’t buy a Blu-Ray player when our DVD/R player crapped out on us recently. (Which I dismantled, diagnosed the 2 issues afflicting the POS, fixing one and jury rigging the other!) We’d have to buy A COMPLETELY NEW ONE in 3 years time.
Good use of the Bush ‘Mission Accomplished’ photo as well. Yeah, they might have unseated their opponent (Toshiba and HD-DVD), but now they have to dig out the insurgents (DVD and his drinking buddy Joe Schmoe Consumer).
And let us not forget the Rebel Alliance (The Internet, PPV Streaming Movies, and Pirated copies)….who’ll be there to pick up the winners trophy if the others battle themselves into irrelevancy.