The war is over. Well, that's the buzz from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where everyone's talking about Warner Bros' suspiciously timed decision to dump HD DVD and become a Blu-ray-only studio.
The announcement came on Friday -- two days before tech journos from all over the world rocked up to CES to hear Toshiba extol the virtues of the HD DVD format. To add insult to injury, the free backpacks given to members of the press feature an HD DVD logo, and Vegas is currently plastered with HD DVD advertising. You notice it as soon as you step off the plane: a giant poster adorns the luggage carousel.
While it's too early to immediately call it a win for Blu-ray, HD DVD will struggle to survive without the support of Warner. At Toshiba's press conference this morning, there were no words minced. Jodi Salley, vice president of marketing for digital audio and video products, summed up the disappointment in saying "I fully expected to come here this morning to share with you the successes of the last year of HD DVD; the events of the last few days have shifted the focus of my comments."
On the flip side, Blu-ray product manufacturers are grinning. In their press conferences today, reps from Philips and Panasonic were especially enthusiastic when unveiling their new players.
Warner becomes a house of Blu-ray by the end of May this year. The fact that the studio was initially exclusively committed to HD DVD -- before supporting both high-def formats, then finally jumping on Blu-ray last week -- sends a strong message to the media and consumers. Will the format war still be raging at next year's CES? Either way, the HD DVD side has suffered critical injuries.
rockinrors
16/01/2008 09:28 AM
I hope Blu-Ray Wins... Everyone Says That 'It Costs A Lot More'... But Standard DVDs Cost A Lot When They First Came Out... You Just Have To Be Paitient...Prices Will Drop...
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itchy_BM
20/01/2008 07:50 PM
To be honest I dont care that much who wins (both have +/-) I just want it to end so I can start buying movies again. So Warner's aggressive decision to choose BD and cause max damage to HDDVD is a bold and clever move and should be respected. Personally, even though HDDVD has some cool features I've slightly favoured BD due to its higher capacity which I believe will increase the formats longevity. Even tho' I have neither player I have made my choice and will be buying a bunch of BD's when I fly over to the states in a few months. I'd say the only thing holding me back is Transformers is HDDVD only once this comes out on BD then its a no brainer...besides BD will get LOTR which seals the deal anyway :)
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Phantomzzz
07/02/2008 10:30 AM
Are those lying bastards at Warners going to compensate us for investing in the technology they so heavily suggested was the better format to support... Those turncoats should be shot...
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