Your Home Theater Design:
Warner Makes Major Announcement to go Blu Ray All the Way
The Blu Ray and HD-DVD pendelum swings yet again...I hate to open this article with this analogy, but like porn was to Beta, so too might Warner Bros. be to HD-DVD.
Is the death of HD-DVD Upon Us? Or are both formats doomed?
Perhaps Sony learned a lesson back in the late 80's when their Beta format sunk out of contention in the format war when the adult entertainment industry declared their support of the VHS format.
Needless to say, HD-DVD took a major hit when Warner Bros. announced that they were exlusively going to distribute via Blu Ray, a auspicious announcement on the heels of the annual 2008 CES convention being held in Las Vegas. You can read the announcement in full by clicking here.
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Warner was the last of the major Hollywood studios who were releasing media on both HD-DVD and Blu Ray formats. That gives Sony a total of 5 major studios, leaving Toshiba with Paramount and Universal in its corner. On Warner's site, they note that they own 19.7% of consumer spending within the video market (as of September 2007). In many circles, some are making (albeit unsubstantiated) claims that Sony will now hold roughly 70% of the market share with the addition of their new best friend. That's a huge swing in the pendelum for Sony any way that you look at it.
What does this mean for the home theater enthusiast? Unfortunately, if competition to Blu Ray wanes then the amazing price war we've seen recently may be all but history. It could mean that we might make a pit stop to your neighborhood DVD retailer and see if they have any trade-in deals going on. I hear the F.Y.E. franchise is offering an additional 20% over and above their normal trade in values!
On a positive note, it could mean less confusion for those who have been deciding whether or not to upgrade some of their favorite movies. It could mean saving money for those contemplating making a future investment in an expensive dual format player.
One thing that isn't being considered as much is does any of this really matter? Some think the advent of the capabilities of downloading HD content from the Internet via a broadband connnection may spell the doom for both, eventually. Who needs to fill up a wall with physical discs when you can have a little hard drive holding the same library for you?
We'd like to hear your thoughts about this latest news -- and ultimately how it may impact you. Click here to send us your comments -- we'll post them here as soon as we can.
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