Video Asylum

Another blink.

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This Post Has Been Edited by the Author

In Reply to: RE: Wow posted by Jack G on November 09, 2007 at 09:08:14

I suspect that this won't officially be over until the price of dual format players is the same range as the under $100 loss-leader HD-DVD players (not beyond the realm of possibility within a year or so). At that point it won't matter much which software folks buy and the format war will become meaningless exercise. Initially I did not want to see any format war because I thought it would negatively impact player sales and release of titles. In fact, some studios have resisted releasing double inventory items as no one wants to be seen as the bad guy to potential customers as a result of depriving them of favorite titles on their format of choice, but not as many as expected.
OTOH, as unit prices have come down on players and as discounts applied to titles both formats have become more competitive with standard definition releases price-wise it makes high resolution video more attractive to the average consumer. It's becoming clear that the competition hasn't hurt the high definition marketplace too much and my gut feeling is that as analog TVs are replaced by HD digital sets (as mandated) that high definition formats will not remain niche products for long. As I see it, standard definition and up-conversion will be satisfactory for some things, but those films made in HD or mastered to HD resolution will eventually catch on and be demanded by the general public.
Just my opinion; what do you think?
Cheers,
AuPh

Edits: 11/09/07

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