Taps for HD DVD as Wal-Mart Backs Blu-ray – New York Times
That’s it! The battle of the high definition DVD’s is over! Back in the 80’s, the war between VHS and Beta Tapes was the talk of the town. There were many different factors concerning that battle, but the final blow came when the porn industry went with VHS. The porn industry made up over 40% of the home video industry back then and it was big enough to kill off Beta.
So what was the blow this time? The porn industry again was a factor, but it didn’t play such a main part this time. The internet is still the main drive behind porn, but they did choose Blue Ray still. Other main factors were film studios, like Warner Brothers. Also, a a few retail giants, the latest of which was WalMart, and Toshiba.
In 2007, Blue Ray players outsold HD DVD Players 2 to 1. PlayStation 3 consists of a Blue Ray payer. Even though in 2006, the release of PS3 was delayed twice because the Blue Ray players were not ready yet. Many considered this a huge sign that Blue Ray might not be able to handle the upcoming battle against HD, but not it seems that they made the right decision.
So what does this mean to the consumer? Well at first, the initial price of Blue Ray players should dramatically drop. With the backing of several major players in the industry, the margin will be transferred towards the discs themselves, and other companies will profit by trying to tap into the Blue Ray player market. Although HD DVDs are not entirely dead, there might be some lingering deals to be made if you want to try and get some of the clearance items. The war still has a few months to linger, and there are most likely a few more tricks the HD DVD companies will try and pull.
So batten down the hatches, look at some Blue Ray players, and try and convince your significant other that it’s time to invest in a media room!
The Finance Pig, LLC 