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Is This Really News?

BlackDots

Shared on Wed, 01/09/2008 - 20:06

Observe.


I know that we are, apparently, neck deep in the HD format wars. The stakes are high, I guess, and allegiances have been made, or in the case above, broken. Despite the prevelance of this conflict, I've had a hard time developing any interest in it. It all seems like DVD 1.5, not a true step forward into the future of home movie media. At the end of the day, you are taking a physical disc and placing it into a physical box. In the era of digital downloads (which already includes movies in some instances), it all seems very quaint.

Isn't that what the next big step in this area is going to be anyway, the elimination of physical media? Granted, it won't be overnight, but that's where it's all heading. I can't understand why anyone would spend the money on HD discs and players now, what with several download services on the horizon. HD discs don't offer any fundamental differnces with DVD. DVD was a large step forward compared to VHS. The superior picture quality was evident no matter what type of TV you have. The sound was also far better, even if you didn't have surround sound (I will never forget the warbly music on all of the heavily watched tapes of my youth). Oh, and "commentary tracks", "special features?" That was completely new.

The big selling point on HD discs is the increased visual quality. Unlike DVDs, to get what the HD formats offer, you need the right TV, specifically a widescreen that supports at lease 720p resolution. Despite the ubiquity of HDTVs in circulars, most people do not have that type of set in their homes. Therefore, they cannot benefit from the increased visual quality in an appreciable way. So it seems that the market for HD discs are relatively small. I think the marketing term for that demographic is "people with lots o' money." I'm willing to bet that the vast majority of that treasured demographic are people also have computers and broadband internet access. If a reliable download service could be developed to deliver high quality content directly to your TV without any discs to store or manage, wouldn't that be a more convenient application? You know, something like this, or this. DVD was a progression over VHS technology. High fidelity digital downloads will not be a progression but a revolution; and I mean "revolution" in the fundamental sense. Digital downloads will completely change the method by which content reaches consumers.

With Warner moving to Blu-Ray, it looks like Sony might avoid the curse of Betamax and win the format war. Unfortunately for Sony, that victory might be in a war no one will remember.

Comments

hilskie's picture
Submitted by hilskie on Thu, 01/10/2008 - 10:52
I have always felt like the DVD/ HD DVD thing was a bit like the Beta/VHS thing...No, I'm not gonna buy a HD DVD Player, or discs....or the drive for my 360...not gonna do it!
brandonjcarr's picture
Submitted by brandonjcarr on Thu, 01/10/2008 - 10:23
I think it counts as news, especially to those of us who remember the previous VHS/Beta war. I was fortunate enough to live in a peaceful home in which the VHS and Betamax players sat beside one another in harmony. I could go back and forth, wearing out my VHS copy of Ghostbusters or my Beta version of...well...Ghostbusters. But I was aware there was a battle raging out there. It seemed early on it was inevitable that Sony would lose AGAIN in the proprietary format wars. Betamax lost. Minidisc never trumped CDs. And the idea was that Blu-Ray (which, if nothing else, has a stupid name) would fall to HD-DVD. But you're right...15 years from now when I'm downloading National Treasure 9 to the digital entertainment system in my kitchen, I'm going to look back at my days of physically inserting media (and the idea that different types were even available) with a chuckle. b

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