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Why HD-DVD and Blu-ray Are DOA
mikesd81 writes "Slate has up an article on why both new DVD formats are effectively dead on arrival. Article author Sean Cooper cites internet movie and cable on demand services, the price of new hardware, and the inexpensive cost of newer hard drives as the reasons behind his argument. The article goes on to say buying movies online isn't there yet. Titles in standard-def are few, in hi-def fewer still. With five times the visual information of a standard-def flick, an HD download of The Matrix, were it even available, could take all day over the average broadband connection. But consumers are demanding change, and change will happen fast." From the article: "On iTunes an album costs about 10 bucks--as much as $8 less than some CD retailers charge, partially because of the reduced cost of getting music to buyers online. Look for the same savings when it comes to downloading movies. And then there's the fact that hard-disk storage capacities are pushing ever upward while size and price drop. In a few years, you'll buy every episode of The West Wing on a drive the size of a deck of cards rather than on 45 DVDs in a box the size of your microwave oven." Phil Harrison is already saying the PlayStation 4 won't use discs.
If dual format players and burners come out, and prices fall to current DVD price levels both formats will survive. Look what happened to dvd players and later on dvd computer burner drives.
Even if HD video content is available on line there will be a market for discs. Some people want to collect their video, not just watch it a few times. The former group currently BUYS their dvd's, the latter rents them. Blockbuster will be the one on life support when HD video download on demand becomes available. Also HD-dvd and Bluray will become the next computer back up medium when the -R and -RW versions become cheaply available.