It's somewhat amazing how quickly the hi-def disc war between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray has been resolved. As recent ly as -- well, whenever Lance Ulanoff wrote this 2008 look-ahead for PC Magazine for the February 2008 issue -- things seemed to be at an annoying stand-still:
Event: The HD DVD vs. Blu-ray Battle Stalls
The seesaw battle between the Sony and Toshiba camps resulted in no true gains for either side. Both have committed partners and strong sales for certain titles, but nobody ran away with the HD crown. Finally, the two sides settled into a prolonged state of inertia. They're moving forward, but no one knows how to end the war, and neither side is prepared to give an inch.Prognosis: 2008 will mark the year we stop caring about Blu-ray or HD DVD. There will be a proliferation of dual-format players in PCs and set-tops. Consumers will buy whichever format they prefer (soon discerning that there's no appreciable difference), and the world will move on. In 2009, the teams will merge and start selling dual-format discs. By 2010, there'll be one HD optical disc format with an entirely new name. I vote for "H-ray."
Before those two paragraphs left the printing press, it was all over. Warner Bros. declared for Blu-Ray, and the avalanche was underway, despite Toshiba's best efforts to desperately put a pleasant face on the whole thing. (Note to self: technology preductions are for suckers.)
Me? I don't really care, except I'm glad a single format has finally won the conflict (with the possible exception of a split between the computer world and the video world). I don't plan on buying a hi-def video system any time soon -- but when I do, I'm glad I won't have to decide which way to jump (especially since, given Sony's track record for competing standards, I would have bet a small amount of money that Blu-Ray was doomed).
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