I found a pretty interesting article about the war between blu-ray and hd dvd technologies... For some unknown reason I continue to find myself fascinated to see which technology will end up the victor and the end of all this. I'm only going to include a snippet here, and if this is something that is of the most remote interest to you, i'd urge you to go take a read through the article.
Studios and Retailers
HD DVD:- First Look Studios
- The Weinstein Company
- X Box 360
- Universal
- Viacom (Paramount, DreamWorks, MTV, Nickelodeon)
Blu-ray- Sony Pictures
- Blockbuster Stores
- 20th Century Fox
- Playstation 3
- Disney
- MGM
- Buena Vista
- Lionsgate
- Target will sell only Blu-Ray standalone players, but both formats in their DVD selections
On first glance, it may seem like Blu-Ray has a clear advantage here. But, It's important to keep in mind that
Paramont has the largest market share (16.81%) and the highest gross ($1,193,497,557) of all the movie studios in 2007. So getting an exclusive deal with Paramount is big for HD DVD. Also, New Line Cinema and Warner Brothers appear to be supporting both formats. Also noteworthy is that
pornographic dvds will not be available in Blu-Ray, which could be a deciding factor for some.
The other big decision to make when talking about high-def DVDs is not not only
what movies you will watch, but
how you will watch them. Here's a quick rundown of HD DVD and Blu-Ray players.
When comparing HD DVD and Blu-Ray players, you can quickly see that HD DVD players are more affordable than their Blu-Ray counterparts. According to products listed on CNET.com, you can get an OPPO DV-970HD HD DVD player for $149 on Amazon.com. Other affordable options are the Xbox 30 with an HD DVD player built in–you can find this for under $200 at several places online (v
iew a comparison of cheaper HD DVD players here). In addition, OPPO and Toshiba offer several other HD DVD players for under $300. On the other hand, Toshiba and LG have some
high-end options where you can spend almost $1,000 on an HD DVD player.
On the Blu-Ray side, you'll be
hard-pressed to find a standalone player for under $500. The most affordable option listed on CNET seems to be the
Samsung BD-P1400 for $469.99 at Circuit City.