Have we learned nothing from the VHS Betamax wars of decades ago? As HD TV’s quickly penatrate the market we now are faced with a new format war – Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD. Perpetuated by movie studios siding with one or another DVD manufacturer, we the consumer are now faced with choosing a format and thus limiting our movie choices. One solution was introduced at this years CES in the form of LGs BH100 combination HD DVD and Blu-Ray disc player.

I consider myself an early adopter. I owned one of the very early DVD players and I’m an avid movie watcher and collector. Like many I’ve come to love watching TV in HD and look forward to seeing DVDs with the same quality. However, even as an early adopter I refuse to side with either the Blu-Ray or HD DVD camp and purchase a Hi-Def DVD player. Anyone that does so now takes a gamble that their choice of format will one day be obsolete. This uncertainty among even the best of technophiles is sure to hinder sales. The manufacturers and movie studios should take a quick look back at the Betamax VHS debackle and start playing nice. Pick a format and run with it instead of confusing the novice HD customer and thoroughly annoying the savvy.

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 13th, 2007 at 3:30 pm and is filed under HD. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.