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

Shadorne, you make an excellent point about prestige ownership vs mass-market consuption. The accelerated race to zero for HD-DVD is troubling when you compare it to the more gradual price compression of DVD. By comparison, the decine of the price of CD players was graceful and stately over a ~30 year period.

The accelerated race to zero for HD-DVD is troubling when you compare it to the more gradual price compression of DVD.

When competitors fight brutally on price...the only winner is their customers. Even stores like Best Buy and Circuit City will logically prefer to sell a higher price Blu-ray over a Toshiba player...even if the markup (which is very small on electronics) is the same then the higher priced item will yield more to the bottom line. Currently they need to sell two HD-DVD players for each Blu-Ray player to make the same net....although a lot of profit comes from selling the "super duper" expensive cables and other accesories ( accesories were a big factor that drive iPod's also...just as replacement plastic cell phone belt clip holders cost $30 !!! )

For sure. In the case of the iPod, the accessory market is critical for retailers because the dealer markup on iPod is <10%. But I digress.

07-05-07: Shadorne
Currently they need to sell two HD-DVD players for each Blu-Ray player to make the same net....although a lot of profit comes from selling the "super duper" expensive cables and other accesories...

Yeah. Unless you get a special edition DVD player from Costco or Sam's, hi-rez DVD players *never* come with the HDMI cable. Circuit City sells the 6' Belkin HT HDMI cable for around $100. You can get the identical cable in identical packaging at my local Sam's Club for $22.

The computer printers are the same way. Get a Lexmark printer for $99, but it doesn't come with a USB cable. USB cables at Circuit City and Best Buy are around $60, but you can pick up a 3-pack at Sam's for $15-20.

Actually there is more overall content available on HD-DVD than Blu Ray- there is almost no adoption of Blu Ray among European studios, and none in Asia as well. Blu Ray is actually inferior technology; The disks are more difficult to author ( thats why there are so few game titles for Playstation three). Also, the generational steps of Blu Ray hardware is causing early obsolescence among early adopter Blu Ray player buyers. A very expensive waste for them. Blu Rays hunger for hard drives space and processing is a burden and factors directly into its higher cost than HD-DVD. Its not better- its just more expensive to build to do the same thing HD-DVD already does.

The lower production costs of HD-DVD players is the reason they cost less- nothing else. AS far as studio adoption--its a 60% vs 90% issue among American studios. Its more about which studios have the more popular movies- not who theoretically can make the most-- both sides have large catalogs and can produce mass numbers of Hi Def re-releases for years.

The lower production costs both for players and disks means HD_DVD will win this in the end, and the lack of any international support for Blu Ray to speak of seals the deal.

I am all for a bunch of dual-format players. That makes it easy---but it will be a bit too late before that becomes ubiquitous among offerings. Barring unforeseen change ( which could happen)- its HD-DVDs game to win come Christmas and the Walmart adoption of lower cost chinese made HD-DVD players. There are no blu ray licenses in China for Hardware-- and that dog dont bark-- as they say.

If you can't make electronic in CHina, then you cant compete on price, and you wont succeed in the mass market.