There are currently two major players vying to replace the only decade old
technology of the DVD as the industry standard. Blu-ray, which is backed by
180 companies involved in consumer, personal computers and various media manufacturers,
and HD DVD which is being endorsed by more entertainment and software related
companies than Blu-Ray. Overall, Blu-Ray seems to have the lead mainly due to
the support of electronic manufacturing giants churning out more Blu-Ray players
than HD DVD.
There are actually no differences in quality between the two, Blu-Ray is just
more expensive while HD DVD responds more slowly and require a lag time before
playing a disc. With the playing field more or less level between the two, the
real winners seem to be the industry itself while the real losers in this pathetic
tug of war are the consumers.
Let's say you have two entirely different yet equally flawed home theater
systems to choose from. Both deliver the same quality of high definition imaging,
which is what you came here for. But only one will be readily available on the
market, which just happens to be the more expensive Blu-Ray, no thanks to the
backing of industry giants in the business of manufacturing these babies.
Then after you bring your Blu-Ray system home, the next step would be of course,
to buy your very own wad of hi-def movies for your viewing pleasure. Instead,
you walk in to any mall and almost every movie even worth watching is in the
HD DVD format, an unfortunate consequence of Universal Studio's decision
to support the HD DVD format.
So you happily comply with what's out there, minding your own business
and basically just feeding your own appetite for a little home theater action.
Before you know it, you'd have doled out more money than you initially
hoped for, just to be able to watch a decent hi-def movie. And just as you get
into the groove of high tech things, the real winner will have emerged. Now
what are you supposed to do with all the losing side's now obsolete gadget?
And if you think you would be doing okay for having picked the right winner
in the formatting war, the next thing you know a brand new formatting industry
would once again emerge, declaring all electronics of the previous year hereby
resolutely obsolete with the accompanying punishment of anyone caught still
harboring these now legally obsolete systems to be subject to ridicule and humiliation
of not keeping with the times.
Sound familiar? Yes, it ought to be, as this was You just yesterday. With the
trends in technology surpassing each other at the speed of light, the consumers
who would have to dip more times into their pockets for the same experience
will emerge as the losers. And the winners? The companies that make these systems,
they are still going to get rich at our expense no matter what.
It would be safe to say that with either Blu-Rays or HD DVD's technologies
still at infancy, it would be best to stay at the sidelines, biding our time
until the industry leader is announced and their technological potentials fairly
established. Of course, there's nothing we can say to enthusiasts to change
their minds and save them from themselves. May all your gadgetry rest in pieces.
