Goodbye HD DVD, We Hardly Knew Ya

Dearly gathered, let us mourn the loss of yet another media format. Add to the likes of eight tracks, minidiscs, laser discs, Jaz drives, digital audio tape, Betamax, and SmartMedia the latest in a long string of soon to be defunct media formats, the HD DVD.

I've been holding off buying a next gen movie player for quite a while, and I'm using my rule of thumb that I used for a DVD player: I'll jump on board when the player is $100, and there are discs aplenty at my local video store and public library. Quite frankly, before that happens, my regular DVD player and my TV set's upscaling are absolutely of high enough quality. For quite some time, I did think that this was the year that we would get a winner and affordable gear.

Is this death premature? After Black Friday '07, I was guessing at HD DVD as the winner, and Bill even bought a player. However, things turned quickly at CES, and Blu-Ray got all the buzz. With consumer outlets like Best Buy, Blockbuster, and online rental giant Netflix betting heavily on Blu-Ray, I think it has become clear. For better, or worse, Sony has emerged victorious, and Blu-Ray has been given the all important kiss of "the standard."

Is it all over that quickly? I'm not really sure, but based on what I've been reading over the last few weeks, it certainly looks that way. Pricing would also seem to confirm that. Right now at Wally Mart, the HD DVD's are going for around $150 (fire sale), and the Blu-Ray player is $370.

What to do? I'm sticking to my original plan: when I can find a Blu-Ray player for $100, I'll jump on board, and not any sooner.

Jonas

Feel free to discuss your plans below.