BR vs HD DVD Showdown

[Chad Varnadore]

Future growth is a viable argument for the BD and the PS3. Both have that potential, but it's up to the studios and developers to implement. If neither sees mass adoption, we'll probably never know just what they were capable of. It seems some game developers are more interested in making a buck than really taking gaming to the next level. The PS3 at least gives them more possibility if they want to advance their art. Though, right now, for some, in what I'm told is a very competitive market, going the extra mile isn't an attractive proposition, just like it's not for Warner and Universal at the current market penetration and the belief by those studios that it won't ever grow to DVD levels.

Sony didn't design BD overnight. They didn't tweak an existing technology to try to do more than it was designed to. They asked studios what they wanted and built a format with the goal of satisfying the demands of an evolving market for the next ten years. HD DVD was designed solely to compete with BD in the hear and now, which is why it's already tapped out.

It's obviously an inferior technology in more ways than disc capacity. To reference Smallville again. It took the online vendor where I bought Smallville three tries to get me a copy that had all of the discs intact. There was one, in the first three shipments that was always loose and arrived all scratched up, despite being very well packaged by the vendor. Sony sent Rescue Me in a flimsy oversized UPS bubble wrap envelope along with a couple other BDs, as per the norm for studios. Yet still none of the discs were lose. But, it wouldn't have mattered even if they were, as BDs don't scratch easily. I've had a number of BDs shipped from studios arrive loose in a busted case due to the packaging and handling. But none have been scratched. Not a single one. Like DVD, HD DVD scratches even when you clean it with a 100" cotton cloth. The rental market should love BD!

As evidenced in their past statements, all BD exclusives backed the format because of what it offers long term. And by the time the market is ready for a high definition medium, it'll be there, if given the chance. But what HD DVD is doing today, is the best it likely ever will even if it were to survive.