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February 20th, 2008
It is official. Toshiba on February 19th officially ended its bid to
establish HD DVD technology as an industry standard. The Business Week
posting R.I.P., HD DVD raises some interesting questions about the
victor, Blu-rey.
MIDDLE-GROUND BATTLEFIELD
…six years after Blu-ray’s unveiling, consumers are being wooed by
ascendant technologies such as $79 DVD players that “upconvert”
low-resolution video recordings for giant-screen sets, as well as video
downloads from the Internet that may one day obviate the need for
physical discs and players. “Blu-ray now becomes the high-definition
packaged media of choice, but it now finds itself squeezed between
[cheap] upconverting DVD players on the low end, and digital
distribution in the future,” says Ross Rubin, director of industry
analysis for researcher NPD Group. Even the middle ground is becoming a
battlefield. Apple, TiVo, Sling Media, VUDU, and cable and satellite TV
providers are all rolling out equipment that lets couch potatoes
download high-definition movies directly to their set-top boxes. The
video is not as high-quality as a Blu-ray recording, but it may be good
enough to put a crimp in the format’s growth.
I’m thinking about augmenting my NetFlix account with Apple TV instead
of buying a Blu-ray DVD player. If Apple TV pans out, I may drop NetFlix.
Looks like “disruptive technology” is once again shaking things up.
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