HD-DVD Vs. Blu-Ray: What's the Consumer to Do?

It would be a lovely and greatly simplified world if manufacturer's battles could be resolved before bringing their competing products to market. That, however, would not be the "American way" that hinges on giving the consumer choices and letting their dollars determine which products succeed and which fail. The current battle for consumer loyalty and dollars between the two competing HD formats (Sony's Blu-ray and Toshiba's HD-DVD) are the most recent example of consumers being asked to gamble their money on which mode will capture the primary market and which will go the way of the 8-track tape.

While there are a few players that will handle both formats, they are few and quite expensive. The choices are to 1) go with one or the other, or 2) wait until the battle is fought and won - then buy what will be the new standard for years to come. I have chosen to wait. I believe, that under the current circumstances, this is the most sensible position to take and I encourage others to give it some serious consideration.

Now this will be hard for a lot of folks. Many people thrive on having the newest technology - and that includes, of course, HDTV. But the TV format is no longer the issue . That was settled by fiat with the Federal Government and the Television manufacturers in cahoots to change the basic broadcast standard to HD, thereby requiring, at some point in the coming years, everyone to purchase new television equipment. This is a seminal example of the manipulative brilliance of Capitalism in action. The issue is rather the standard for recorded HD media - and the two major competitors are far from reaching any type of compromise. They each have millions of dollars invested in the development and promotion of their own technologies and, while many of the major movie studios have committed to the Blu-ray standard, the war is far from over.