The last of the physical format wars is here! - A how to buyers guide.

Most can remember the battle between VHS vs. Beta(max)?  This is the same war its just newer technology weighing in to meet your entertainment needs.  What is the problem with HD DVD and Blu-ray Discs (BD) today?  By the time either of these two formats concedes, it will be end-game.  No more quarters, no more free continues. Done, over, finished.  If history teaches us everything, even the future (quote: Lamartine) this IS, the last of the physical format wars and WHO CARES!

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Last of the physical formats?  Yes, lets use some real examples here.  When audio was first cut onto vinyl for record players, it contained every bit of information related to the recorded audio and to this day is arguably one of the best listening formats available.  However, as we moved from Vinyl (yes even some before vinyl) to 8-track, cassette tapes, Compact Disc (CD), and now compressed audio formats like that of MP3 and WMA we reduced either the physical or information size to make it more portable, essentially maintaining a "good enough" value for listening.  You audiophiles might hate on me for this but you know its true, if it was not, the iPod would not be were it is today.  Video has had much of the same course in terms of format changes however just in reverse.   Size is becoming ever more important hence the direction VHS, DVD, next format, then the next,  needing more and more capacity for storage. 

"Good enough".  These two words are the most powerful right now in determining where this high resolution format war goes.

In a recent survey of HDTV owners by the NPD Group, a full 73% of HDTV owners reported that their current traditional-format DVD player still works well for them, so they do not need to replace it; while sixty-two percent said they are waiting for the prices of high-definition players to fall.

This is not what either side wants to hear.  When we (the consumers) and the industry made the jump from VHS to DVD, there was a sizable difference in terms of quality that a good majority of us could see and hear.  With this jump however from DVD to either of the two newer formats, the leap is not so large as that of the aforementioned, and even harder for the untrained eye to pick-up or point-out.  Up-scaling DVD players that boost audio and video quality are being seen as the smart savvy purchase of today based on price and it maintains your title availability.  Yes, there are dual-format players (players that will play both HD DVD and BD) soon to be on the market but price, just under $1,000, and availability around the holidays is difficult for consumers to bite off or even wait for.

While both sides are making their attacks and gaining ground with gaming consoles (Microsoft's Xbox360 and Sony's PS3), movie house and title adoption, distributor relations (Netflix, Blockbuster, and Wal-Mart) and that of hardware manufactures, this is all taking way too long and silo's these two competing formats into a future that may no longer involve them. 

Rapid innovation and technology convergence like the ideas of Mark Cuban and Bill Gates, will mean everything will be streamed directly or placed on a hard disk in the future.  Currently, Netflix and Blockbuster ship terabytes of data everyday via mail as its faster and cheaper than that of the Internet.  Verizon and Comcast both are promoting Fiber to the home (FTTH) services in several major cities.  Even in Idaho the new development phase of Hidden Springs has this service (via Cambridge Telecom (CTC)) making this potential an even more real and viable solution.  Even now many big display manufactures (plasma, LCD, OLED, front-projection, rear-projection, etc...) are wireless capable now (just missing the firmware) and will be in the foreseeable future.  I have several contacts working on these user-interfaces for these displays, making them easy to navigate the web while using the available content out there today.  Granted I am forecasting but this to me is the future - the YouTube.com generation does this now just not in the living room. 

So Mike, how do I buy?  Do so in just 5 simple steps

As the story goes, technology is fast and rapid.  We see this in the short time frame between VHS and DVD.  The timeline is shrinking even faster for the two new formats and they will be outdated before any one is announced the winner.  Go with whats "good enough" today and make the leap when it matters.

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Do I have it wrong? Feel free to comment (below). This is an open forum and all home related technology discussions are welcome and encouraged. If you have a question or would like more information on any of the topics discussed in this blog, email me-Media Mike @ mmartoccia -at- gmail -dot- com.  Find out more about Boise Idaho Home Technology (Home theaters, media rooms, whole-house audio, home healthcare, lighting and automation) at www.mydigitalauthority.com