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I was jumping around again on the internet and found I guess you could say an editorial from the editor in chief of HDDVD.org, as you read it speaks out a little bit of opinion, yet makes a lot of sense, here it is:
"...The two formats fighting for supremacy as the next-generation videodisc format are HD-DVD (developed by Toshiba and NEC) and Blu-ray (developed by Sony). The DVD Forum supports HD-DVD, but this does not mean that HD-DVD has won the format war.
Blu-ray has Sony-owned Columbia Tri-Star behind them, plus Sony just bought 20% of MGM. Twentieth Century Fox and Disney have also committed themselves to Blu-ray, but a high-ranking executive at Disney has said that they still hope and would argue for a unified format. HD-DVD is backed by Time Warner (Warner Bros., HBO and New Line), Universal (DreamWorks), and Paramount. At this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the HD-DVD camp announced that they will be releasing a slew of titles on HD-DVD before year's end, including "Batman Begins," "Braveheart," and the ?Harry Potter? series. However, the launch now have been delayed until February or March.
Both formats look strong and, sadly, it looks like a format war is unavoidable. But a war can be tough on the success of high-definition content on DVD and may create hesitation on the part of consumers eager to invest in it.
Now, who deserves to win? Who has the best format? A very hard question to answer. Many Web sites have been quick to announce Blu-ray the winner because Blu-ray seems to be the strongest of the two. I don?t agree and feel these sites have been caught up in Blu-ray?s publicity machine. A format should not be judged on technical specifications alone. It is an important factor, but in the case of Blu-ray and HD-DVD, the two formats will both be able to deliver the best-looking HD content possible. So one should also look at the cost for implementation and manufacturing. Here HD-DVD is much cheaper and faster to produce. Another thing that many people forget is the power of a name. Ordinary people know what DVD is about, and they can easily understand that HD-DVD has the benefits of DVD, but with HD content. With Blu-ray you have to explain all over again that it is like DVD, only better. Then, ask the public, why don?t you call it DVD?
No, I don?t think that Blu-ray should just roll over and play dead, but I think that Sony (the main company behind Blu-ray) should have tried harder to work with the DVD Forum and to work toward a unified format instead of simply believing that whatever they came up with would be the best. Let?s pray for a miracle and that a unified format is still possible.
The last word has not been said in this saga, and we will continue to follow the developments closely and give you all the stories as they happen. So as they say ? Stay tuned."
Henning Molbaek
Editor-in-Chief
HDDVD.org
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 23. March 2006 @ 06:29
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