Is BLU vs. S-DVD the new format war?

[Ernest Rister]

Being a Disney fan, I came across this at UltimateDisney.com...9 pages of wrangling about Blu-Ray killing DVD.

http://www.ultimatedisney.com/forum/...=422641#422641

I made a post here a few months back asking why Ultimate Disney seems so anti-Blu-Ray (no Blu reviews, and describing Disney's ads for Blu-Ray as "propaganda"). Joe Cain mentioned that the boards were particularly anti-Blu, and the thread above might be the proof. It seems S-DVD owners are starting to feel the same kind of heat the HD-DVD camp was feeling after Warner's chose their side. The writing is on the wall, but they don't want to admit it.

My personal feeling is the same as it has been since 1998 -- DVD is a transitional format, it always has been. It was doomed to obsolescence from the get-go as the digital conversion was set in stone under the Clinton administration (and yes, I know that digital TV isn't the same thing as HDTV, but it seemed the logical next step).

In say, maybe four years, you may not be able to buy a S-DVD only player. It will include Blu-Ray functionality. So those with S-DVD only collections will eventually become Blu-Ray owners when their existing players break and they go to buy a new player. The arguments the S-DVD camp are making are so familiar to arguments I heard in the late 90's -- HDTV isn't that great, it's a luxury, it won't catch on...and yet HDTV is steadily becoming the norm in America. Blu-Ray will follow suit. The adoption won't be as fast as S-DVD was, but the adoption is inevitable. Where we go from there is the source of much debate and specualtion...but I think we've clearly left S-DVD behind, and the anti-BLU S-DVD collectors need to accept it.

Check out that thread, Blu owners should get a chuckle or two.