Your Take: The High Def DVD War is Far From Over

Authored by Jay Baage on September 17, 2007 - 4:16am.

If DMW’s poll last week is any indication, the high def DVD format war is far from over. DMW’s readers are clearly split between HDDVD, Blu-ray and disc-less Internet distribution as the way of the future. With HD television sets and players taking center stage at Europe’s recent international electronics show, IFA, it is safe to assume that this issue will also be front-and-center at CES in Las Vegas in January.

At the recent IFA show in Berlin with 1,170 exhibitors from 32 countries, the floor was packed with large flat screen television sets that showcased the uncompromising clarity and definition of HDTV, a technology that is delivering the promise of “home cinema”.

Electronics manufacturers also presented second-generation high def players and for the first time, hybrid players which can handle both formats, including Toshiba's and LG Electronics for example.

While the electronics industry is pushing forwards with marketing HDTV to the masses, Hollywood and the television industry is also hoping to cash in on the new technology through sales of high def DVDs and programming. And so far the public is loving the enhanced experience of watching HDTV - outstanding video images on flat screens or large projection screen with the full image display with 1080 lines, recognizable by the abbreviation 1080p in the specifications.

So far, all is good. However, there is no common ground on which high def DVD format will prevail. DMW’s recent poll show that 34 percent believe in HDDVD, 27 percent Blu-ray and 32 percent belive in VOD and Internet distribution.

Only 7 percent of the DMW readers that took the pool belive in that there is a market for both formats. However, Screen Digest (SD) predicts that the Blu-ray and HDDVD disc formats are set to co-exist with neither coming out on top in their most recent issue.

SD says that whilst Blu-ray Disc (BD) is selling more units than rival HD DVD at the moment, in the long term both formats will establish a viable user base, allowing them to co-exist for the foreseeable future.

With all this uncertainly in the market and the $ billions of revenue at stake, it will be very interesting to see what the take-away will be after the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. The industry will resolve this issue sooner or later, I’m sure (too much is at stake to keep on fighting), but expect a bumpy ride and lots of aggravation until that happens.

Joakim Baage

Flickr Image By kotofoto