By now, the high definition format war has raged on for quite a while. Will we see a winner by the end of this holiday season? If Wal-Mart is any indication, it looks like HD DVD might take the cake. On November 3rd, Wal-Mart is rumored to start selling Toshiba’s A2 HD DVD player for a mere $198. This is a $201 dollar price drop from April of this year when the player went for a hefty $399.
But is HD DVD really the way to go? Here’s a quick run down on the two formats:
Format Founders:
HD DVD: Toshiba
Blu-Ray: Sony
Capacity (single layer/dual layer):
HD DVD: 15GB/30GB
Blu-Ray: 25GB/50GB
Price:
HD DVD: Less expensive per disc
Blu-ray: More expensive per disc
Number of Major Studios Supporting:
HD DVD: 6
Blu-Ray: 9
In the late 1970’s and 80’s, a similar format war was raged between Sony’s VHS and JVC’s Betamax. While Betamax was clearly a better format, VHS eventually won for having a longer recording length (1-hour vs. 3-hours) and being slightly cheaper to produce. If history repeats itself, HD DVD might win by a landslide and Sony, once again, will be left in the format graveyard.
As much as I want to wait for a clear winner, $198 does seem quite enticing. In fact, may tech blogs and reviewers seem to agree HD DVD’s picture quality is much superior to Blu-Ray’s despite its smaller capacity. I just need to stop persuading myself. Here’s to hoping not to find myself gawking at Wal-Mart this weekend.