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

OK this does not make me happy with the Toshiba HD DVD player I bought. About 5-6 weeks after sending coupon and bar code p-o-p for the 5 free HD DVDs, I received a notice stating stocking problems that will postpone my DVDs a few more weeks. This is not the part that pisses me off. Heres the kicker: They graciously included a form I can send in that "cancels my order" (for free DVDs!) if am annoyed by the added wait.

Im very satisfied with the D2 player, but 5 free HD DVDs was a real incentive to purchase. This delay and offer to decline the free DVDs sounds so incredibly BOGUS, I find it insulting. Not a smooth move for HD DVD format or for Toshiba.

This saga never seems to end.

Now Paramount has dumped Blu-ray, at least for now.

Well, looking at overall titles before this change, 90% would be released on Blu Ray and 60% on HD-DVD from American Studios. European studios were in HD-DVDs favor technically.

With this change I actually think its slightly in HD-DVDs favor as far as total titles and American studio support. Pretty major stuff really, in the minor world of Hi Def DVDs.

08-21-07: Rysa4
Pretty major stuff really, in the minor world of Hi Def DVDs.

That's just it, isn't it? I've still got a nagging suspicion that this is a tempest in a tea cup, and this particular format war will end up with NO winners.

Many people, myself included, have older HD monitors that have neither HDMI nor DVI inputs. People with 720p or 1080i displays, by far the majority I would guess, have also been dealt out of the high definition game. Is there any reason why people in this situation should even consider purchasing an HD or Blu-ray player? This situation is not unlike SACD vs DVD-A. Leedistad is probably right: there won't be any winners, but the sure losers are the early adopters in any format war. Corporate greed is likely to sink all the boats in the harbor. If high-speed, high-resolution downloads to a hard drive ever become feasible, and if the selection of HD films ever expands so that it rivals the vast number of titles available on DVD, the game will have ended. The studios have the content, and they will dictate the outcome.