HD-DVD Vs. Blueray and Why Nobody Really Cares Who Wins

After reading several interesting posts from the usual suspects regarding the recent studio defections from the HD-DVD camp to Sony’s Blueray format I started thinking about what this means for the average user and came to the quick conclusion that most folks don’t even care. Why? It really just boils down to a lack of demand for what many view as a luxury format that is very likely going to be quickly replaced with pure-play HD downloads over high speed internet connections. Average users just don’t care because DVD still offers high enough quality to satisfy them while HD-DVD or Blueray both look a whole lot like solutions looking for a problem.

Technorati Tags: blueray, HD-DVD, microsoft, DVD, sony

Making matters even worse are the ongoing efforts by the media giants to keep pushing DRM into every new format that comes along which usually does nothing but confuse the average consumer. It’s no wonder that many consumers (and even technology folks such as myself) have been waiting patiently on the sidelines for either a winner in the HD format war or the now obvious transition to digital downloads using services like iTunes.

Ultimately my gut feeling is that we are only about a year or so away from having almost 80% of all content available for download through legal methods online anyway. I already use mostly iTunes and other online services for 100% of my video needs and the occasional DVD is more than enough to satisfy my desire for a “home theatre” experience.

One humorous new item was just how excited Microsoft got when someone insinuated they might also be jumping ship to Blueray. Of course this turned out to be completely false, but it sure was fun to see the folks at Microsoft squirm as they were promptly called on the carpet for the quoted comments. My prediction: Three months from now they switch anyway.

While Blueray’s recent coup against HD-DVD seems to be putting Sony in the winner’s circle I would still keep my money on digital distribution in the long run. That said, I am not one to often turn my nose up at the latest tech to come down the pipe but this time around I really can’t see any solid reason for running out and getting a Blueray player, even if it does end up winning out over HD-DVD.