HD DVD vs. Blu-Ray: Will this 'war' ever end? [View All]

[mcscajun]

I'm fed up. I want a single format. I don't much care which one; let's get ON with it!

Paramount, Dreamworks back HD DVD, drop Blu-ray
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG will offer next-generation DVDs in the HD DVD format and drop support for Blu-ray, further complicating the race between the competing technologies.

-snip-

Movies directed by Steven Spielberg, however, will continue to be released in both formats.

-snip-

Until recently, many consumers were able to defer the choice because players have been so expensive. But prices have been slashed by about half — Sony's Blu-ray player now sells for $499, and Toshiba's cheapest HD DVD player sells for $299, with both likely to include as many as five free movies as an incentive.

-snip-

Rob Moore, president of Paramount Worldwide Distribution, said market data shows that people who own gaming consoles buy fewer movies than those who invest in a movie-only player.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2007-08-20-paramount-dreamworks-blu-ray_N.htm

I know I'm not the first to say this is VHS vs. Betamax all over again, but it certainly is, plus shades of the old browser wars between IE and Netscape, with the percentages shifting from one year to the next. We all know how that worked out, but for the record, I use Firefox.
:evilgrin:

When the big boys were all lined up on Blu-Ray with little firepower behind HD DVD, the choice seemed a no-brainer, but most were still wary and many consumers have been waiting on the sidelines, not wanting to wind up holding the 21st Century's Betamax. There was even an article earlier this month blaming consumers(!) for the failure of one format to win out over the other. We're supposed to decide, and bear the cost if we wind up making the wrong choice and get stuck with the wrong equipment and/or have to buy DVDs all over again.

So, here we have the latest lineup: Paramount and DreamWorks join Universal, which is totally behind HD DVD and will only release in that format, while Sony, 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney and MGM will only release in Blu-Ray. There was a point early on when Sony was the only Blu-Ray backer, and it seemed an easy choice to go HD DVD. Time Warners' Warner Bros. is now the only studio left committed to releasing movies in both formats. Fun, huh? It gets better (or worse, depending on how you look at it). Blockbuster plans to only stock Blu-Ray, and Target plans to sell only Blu-Ray players. Dual-format players are still prohibitively expensive, the HD DVD seems like the better deal for movie loving consumers; where does that leave us?

I just want a DVD player that will work with my HD TV. I got one as a gift last year, and while I have an HD cable box, I can't play my DVDs or VHS tapes right now. I have a combo unit and this older model doesn't cut it, at least, not for me; I get black and white picture and no sound, or sound but no picture. Yes, I'm running separate cables for the audio and video, but I can't for the life of me get it to work, and I'm frankly, fed up. As my patience has worn thin (*and my pocketbook, buying cables only to find out they're not what I need*) I want a player with an HDMI connector, so everything, color picture and sound is carried on the one wire. Do I buy a non-HD player that upconverts to 1080i now, wait until this seemingly endless war comes to a resolution, or jump in with both feet on HD DVD and hope it wins?