My choice in the HD DVD format war
April 7, 2006
I’ve followed the hi-def DVD format war for roughly 22 months now and after all the posturing, rhetoric and fleeting dreams of unification we’re right back where we started from, with two formats. Its time to lay it on the line and state my case for which of the two competing high-definition DVD formats I’m backing.
I want to get one thing out of the way right off the bat, a dual-format player doesn’t solve the underlying problem, it only offers a temporary band-aid to the situation. Without a clear winner neither format will reach its full potential of replacing DVD and even SACD, DVD-A and Dual Disc. That’s right, there’s more at stake here than just prerecorded high-definition video.
The real goal here should be overwhelming consumer acceptance of one format over the other; this is what we need to end the format war. If either of the competing formats could say we have firm commitments from all studios to release their entire back catalogs and all new releases on our format immediately, there would be no format war. But as we all know this is not the case.
We as consumers are being held hostage in a sense. We deserve one disc that offers high definition movies and or high resolution music, but because these huge consumer electronics companies couldn’t see eye to eye (shocker) we’re left with a splintered assortment of may-haps for the years ahead.
Let’s take a stand and remind these conglomerates we deserve better. We don’t want this fractured un-format shoved down our throats, we want ONE high capacity format that can handle all of our pre-recorded needs with one disc. I want to be able to buy a HDTV/Hi-Res Audio disc knowing it’ll be around for years to come and that I won’t have to rely on a dual-format player to play it.
Whoa, ok taking a deep breath. Alright back to my case. Overwhelming consumer acceptance of one format is what will end this, not Toshiba’s or Sony’s graciousness. With the format war over; the media companies can get down to what they should really be doing, ramping up production for both HD movie and high-res audio discs. But first the format of choice has to rise to the surface. How will this be decided?
Let’s look at what generally moves a new format forward:
(1) Fills a Need
(2) Price
(3) Brand Recognition
(4) Ease of transition
(5) Accessibility, getting the product in front of people
For point (1), we only need look at the void left by standard definition DVD and the ever growing sales of large screen, high definition displays. Admittedly both formats win on this point alone, but anything better than DVD would by default.
As to point (2), no real question that HD-DVD has a huge advantage here, not only for early adopters but down the road as well. HD-DVD players will be as cheap as $500.00 at launch; it would be hard to describe the initial Blu-ray players at $1000.00 a bargain. Sure the first DVD players commanded a similar premium, but DVD’s acceptance wasn’t hampered by a format war. The manufacturers had a captive audience (ready to move on from VHS) and time was on their side.
Ok to point (3), consumer awareness is generally high on both sides with those who are tech-savvy to begin with, but HD-DVD has an advantage with folks who don’t spend their free time reading up on the latest and greatest electronics. I mean hey it’s called HD-DVD. What’s not to get? HD-DVD tells you what it is with its title alone, Blu-ray sounds like something out of a science fiction movie. Obviously you and I know what Blu-ray is, but will that typical Best-Buy shopper looking for a gift for their in-laws know what it is? Don’t discount this point. Easy, concise branding is paramount in marketing to the masses.
With point (4), the ease of transition argument might be obfuscated by point 3 (price) but that’s really not what were talking about. Toshiba is making sure to embrace both legacy disc formats with their first players (CD & DVD) and Sony is not. Oh wait, were you unaware that Sony’s first Blu-ray player set for launch in the United States doesn’t even play CD’s?
Both Sony’s BDP-S1 and Pioneer’s BDP-HD1 can’t play CDs although Samsung’s BD-P1000 will. Confused? I’m guessing the consumers will be as well. I find it odd that this isn’t more widely known, possible intentional omission from the marketing department? I’ll grant you that the ease of transition problems (if any) can easily be remedied by the manufacturers, but Sony’s first glaring omission in their 1k dollar player doesn’t exactly have me clamoring to give them my hard-earned dollars.
Lastly point (5), just getting the product in front of as many people as possible. Walmart is selling the Toshiba HD-D1, thats a lot of people.. (The D1 is an all black version of the HD-A1)
My Pick in the format war is…
This post may alienate a few of you, regrettable as that may be I feel to stand back and wait this out without as much as stating my case would do a bigger disservice to my readers. I say that because as I’m typing this I’m glancing down at the results of our little informal format war poll and I can see that Blu-ray has a small lead over HD-DVD.
I’m going with HD-DVD. Yes, yes I can hear the growls from the technophiles now, ‘Greenway must have gone off his rocker to support that loser format!’ But as I continue here hopefully you’ll at least see where I’m coming from, even if we still disagree at the end.
First make no mistake, I completely understand that Blu-ray is supposedly a technically superior format and to that I say, so what? The consumer electronics landscape is littered with the carcasses of technically superior formats. Let me name a few:
BetaMax (dead)
MiniDisc (dead, in the U.S at least)
SACD (dying, just wait)
Sony’s CD Root-Kit (not technically a format, but a debacle nonetheless)
Universal Media Disc (on its death bed)
See any similarities in those examples? Yes they’re all formats or technologies invented or pushed by Sony. I’m not advocating that Sony is inept or foolhardy with their developments, these are just a few of the examples that came to mind when I thought of CE failures. Obviously there are plenty of others.
But you say, Blu-ray holds more data! Again I say so what? Toshiba’s HD-DVD disc tops out at 30GB (dual-layer) and I submit to you that this is more than enough for high definition movies and surely more than enough for high resolution audio.
A friend of mine has a copy of a 1080i movie on his hard drive with a run time of 116 minutes; this particular file is 12GB. 112 minutes times 12GB comes in around 6GB per hour, which is more than enough to pack in even the biggest epic with menus on a single HD-DVD disc.
But Blu-ray has more studio support! Ok let’s see, HD-DVD has Warner, Universal, and Paramount where Blu-ray has Fox, Disney and MGM. Granted Blu-ray has some cross studio support as well, but again I say so what?
If you think for one second any of those studios won’t jump ship to whichever format is selling more hardware, I have a bridge to sell you. The studio support argument is a misnomer in my opinion. No* publicly held corporation wants to explain to their stockholders, yes we could have earned more on your investment but we were fighting a format war! *Hooray for gross generalizations
Lets get real. The studio support will go where the potential sales are. More xyz players sold means studio 123 releases titles for that format, although if Sony wants to be stubborn they can withhold MGM titles as long as they wish.
Others might argue, but Blu-ray is better for computers because we can store more files on the recordable discs! Recordable formats evolve from their pre-recorded counterparts, not the other way around. For example, the CD came before the CDR and the DVD came before the DVD-R. Computer platforms are much easier to update than stand-alone CE gear.
I have no doubt that if widely adopted, HD-DVD blank media storage capacities will increase accordingly. Although I will admit we may be limited to the initial format constraints for PC to HD-DVD player playback, but that doesn’t negate my point.
Let’s not forget about the Playstation 3 and its supposed killer app influence on Blu-ray. I still assert that stand alone CE playback devices rule the world of movies and music, not game platforms. The video game generation is aging and games do matter, but there is still a larger base of movie watchers than game players. And as long as that remains true, a game platform won’t tip the scales either way in mass acceptance.
Summary
In the end what it all boils down to for me is this: what do I want out of either format? I want to buy high definition movies and high resolution audio for playback on a single player, not two players or dual-format player. In addition I want to ensure the ones I do purchase are viable years down the road.
Which format gives me the best shot at accomplishing my goal? I believe HD-DVD does because I feel that the majority of other consumers with my needs will make the same decision, thereby pushing my chosen format even farther along. Any format with enough consumer support will force the studios and labels to get on board.
The format war wasn’t my choice, but hopefully my choice will help end it.
Posted by B.Greenway | | Filed Under Blu-ray & HD-DVD
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