When the HD DVD versus Blu-Ray debate is brought up it tends to take on this puzzling deamonor. No one really knows who is ahead in the race to capture the pocketbooks of the modern consumer. Some merely recite technical specks which we can take a look at:
|
Capacity |
Blu-Ray |
HD DVD |
|
ROM Single/Dual Layer |
25GB/ 50GB |
15Gb/ 30GB |
|
RW Single/Dual layer |
27GB/ 54GB |
N/A |
|
Highest Test |
100GB |
45GB |
|
Theoretical Limit |
200GB |
60GB |
From a purely technical aspect I would be inclined to pick Blu-Ray because all techies love the newest, biggest and greatest. After all who can argue with media that can record up to 100GB’s on a single disc over 45GB’s. To some though that is not the only factor that goes into there equation, a number of people are interested in availability, for example over the last war over Betamax or VHS I am sure the early adapters who went out and purchased Betamax players were not very happy when Betamax tanked and went under. To have a technology that is no longer supported is practically useless, so consumers are more cautious now, wary to buy a platform that could disappear shortly. If the movies available for either platform are in short supply like they are now you see a tendency for consumers to stay away. I mean common sense tells you that if you have a format, DVD which has players as low as $25 dollars and enumerable titles many in the $10 dollar range then what is the emphasis for the consumer to spend $500 plus on a player with a limited supply of movies. Now I am approaching the point where I can see myself giving one a shot and seeing what all the hoopla is about. The reason being is that it comes down to simple dollars. To most guys, you know us dudes who sit on the couch belch and swig beer the main foray into either platform would be the Xbox 360 (HD DVD) or the PS3 (Blu-Ray). The pricing on the two systems though is still higher then most people are ready to spend on a gaming console. Sony this week just announced (second article) a drop in price of the PS3 by $100 dropping the price to $499. The Xbox 360 comes in at $399 and offers more games at this point then the PS3. The one breaking point for me is the offer from Toshiba, the Toshiba HD-A2 which I have seen advertised in the past month at $238, a fair price to enter into the early adapter arena with a budget HD DVD player. This price point is attractive to me and just might get me to take the leap I am interested in how others feel about the HD DVD versus Blu-Ray war.
For more in depth coverage check out HDDVD.org