It was with great trepidation and concern that I bought an HD DVD add-on for my Xbox 360 last year. I was well aware of what lay ahead with two different formats (Blu-ray and HD DVD) competing for the entire high-definition video market. I also knew that it would make me a certified “early adopter” and prone to doubt and worry over the purchase and investment I had made. What I didn’t expect is how dirty and shameless the debate would become among consumers.
Now, at the core of this HD format “war” are two corporations, Microsoft and Sony. Each has a large stake in their respective format—Microsoft has invested financially in HD DVD, Sony almost single-handedly built Blu-ray—and could stand to control a good-sized portion of the optical disk media industry, not only with home video sales, but also in music sales and computer hardware and software markets. Separately, the two formats would split those markets and have to co-exist, but history has shown that mainstream consumers don’t want multiple technologies that can essentially do the same exact thing. So, for the average consumer, one technology will almost always be enough, and therein lies the need to compete and “win” for these two camps.
(more…)
