Blockbuster goes Blu-ray, HD DVD=beta?,

since walmart represents 40% of all video and audio sales in north america, they are the linchpin for any format, if the studios want to eventually have the format succeed. i agree, its not their nature to be on the cutting edge, but if they decide on 'just one' of these formats, the other is a goner.

Never heard of 1020i, but I own a 1080i, and it is being replaced by the newer 1080p this year. I think you were referring to this, were you not?

The local BB store @ Chatsworth and Zelzar carries BOTH--(LA,Sanfernando Valley) Blueray just seems to have more studio support;and THAT makes a difference. I have both formats.---Further,I rent from Netflix and they have both.

Jaybo, The question is who is "they". Walmart is unlikely to make an arbitrary decision. Either Walmart will receive an offer they can't refuse or the customers will vote with their wallets. If sales are uneven enough Walmart may drop one format. And that will be bad for that format and hasten its final days but it may only be an indicator that the format has already lost, not the actual cause.

By offer they can't refuse, I mean some exclusive deal. But who in either camp (HD DVD or Blue Ray)is big enough to make an exclusive deal to the exclusion of the other? I do not understand the distribution model but is there a single distributor of either format that is large enough to create an exclusive deal with the big "W"? That sure wouldn't make the other retailers happy.

Snooker14, I think that I screwed up...was it 720p, now going to 1080i? And I thought that the maximum HD channel bandwidth allowed for either 720p or 1080i, but NOT 1080p.

After some research, I found these interesting websites:

1080i vs. 1080p #1

1080i vs. 1080p #2