I honestly think Microsoft is going with HD-DVD just to spite/compete with Sony,
I think so also...$$$$ also
Must be working. It was announced that Sony is shutting it's Connect digital music stores and their proprietary ATRAC format in favor of supporting Windows Media.
Or maybe not since Connect had problems from it's launch in 2004.
Actually, that battle was between Sony and Apple, really, and it involved digital music media.
The ATRAC format was going against the MP3 format. Outside of Sony, no-one was really using the ATRAC format and consumers were already invested into the MP3 format. So, there really was not a need nor a demand for Sony to introduce a proprietary format into the digital audio media market. They did try to force the issue with some of the MD players and recorders, but even there they relented and eventually went back to using MP3 format.
Connect was a challenge to the iTunes store. iTunes is actually one of the most unfriendly services ever shoved off on the public. It forces you into a long-term relationship with Apple because it demands you use their hardware to enjoy otherwise universally available media (music, and then movies). The one advantage iTunes offered people was the ability to purchase single tracks versus whole albums. But, the real hook for Apple was that there was a direction connection between iTunes and the very (insanely) popular i-Pod. Half of what makes the i-Pod so popular is the actual technology of it, but the other half is simply group-think frenzy ("It's cool! Everyone has one! I have to have one!"). The i-Pod is truly an iconic piece of technology. It isn't that there aren't other portable media players out there that do everything an i-Pod does media-wise and more, but none of them have the image brand, the popular hype, that the i-Pod does.
So, Sony created a proprietary format no-one needed or wanted, and they had no specific iconic piece of technology that everyone had to have that used that format, and so the ATRAC and Connect flopped. But, there was no real competition there in the first place. People who invested heavily into ATRAC were most likely already into Sony to begin with. There was no chance that Sony's foray into the digital music realm was ever going to have huge, global market impact for consumers or businesses.
However, with Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, the situation is much different. Sony this time has a strong position because of its large share of the console gaming market. Microsoft is the outsider to the console gaming market, but they are the undisputed heavyweight in determining the course of personal computer technology because of the ubiquitous nature of Windows. So, Microsoft is using its weight in personal computing by going with the HD-DVD format. If that becomes the dominant format, then it follows that an HD-DVD capable X-Box console becomes a more attractive product in the console market and gains share versus the Sony and Nintendo. Sony is betting that consumers will demand whatever is most immediately compatible to products they have now (i.e. if you already have a Blu-Ray capable console, then you will want a Blu-Ray capable computer, too). The risk in that gamble is, once again, Sony is trying to tell consumers that they want the new Sony product. Gamers being gamers, the PS3 will sell (eventually). But, is it something that
everyone will want? Is it as iconic and must-have a system as the PS2? Not even close. The less powerful Nintendo Wii is dominating the console market, and it doesn't have either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD technology.
So, again, the question remains: who and what will come out on top? I would look for the product that everyone wants desperately. Right now, you can get movies on either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. But, if there was a shift in that market, that could be a deciding factor. Likewise, if computer manufacturers join one camp or the other
en masse, that would probably decide the eventual fate of this battle. Or, if there was some piece of must-have technology to come out,
a la i-Pod, that would definitely decide the battle. Until then . . . it is still a bit up in the air.
The big difference right now is that HD-DVD is cheaper while Blu-Ray is more capable. If (big if) I had to gamble, I would go with cheaper over more capable. Don't get me wrong; at this early stage I am in favor of Blu-Ray over HD-DVD. But, people often are confused by technical performance details (where Blu-Ray is strongest), but they readily understand cheap (where HD-DVD is strongest).
Ah, the uninformed masses once again will decide the future of humanity. ;D
by freedomhays » Fri Aug 31, 2007 6:11 pm 
