Most Consumers Sitting Out The High-Def War

The New York Times notes that, despite the increasing variety of programs on the Blu-ray and HD-DVD formats, most US consumers are staying out of the DVD format war. This is a wise decision, the article states, because the two formats are essentially at a stalemate. "The two camps are victims of their own earlier success with DVD. The standard DVDs offered a quantum leap in quality from the picture and sound of VHS videotape, and for many that was more than adequate. In addition, DVD players that can convert images to near high-definition quality can be found for under $100, hundreds less than a true high-definition DVD player, further reducing the urgency to upgrade to one of the new formats."

Comments

How about "Phoning Home" and DRM?

[stretch0611]

The article fails to mention my reason for avoiding a new format: I do not want the extra features that the manufacturers put into the players., including:
1) DRM
2) The ability for the players to "phone home".
3) Any other "feature" that makes it more difficult for the consumer. By this I mean anything that forces the user to do something he does not want to like the PUOPs on standard DVDs. You can be forced to watch previews when you start a disk without having the option to skip forward or advance the track. I expect HD and Blu Ray to be worse in this matter.

Why should I pay a lot of money for a new player and shell out more money per movie? For the insignificant increase in video quality? Do I need that level of resolution to watch a tv series or most movies? Maybe I will like the difference on a few action movies, but until the price is under $200 for a player and the cost of movies is on par with standard def, I will not upgrade.