Posted by Leonard Caillouet on 04/06/06 02:29

"asj" <kalim1998@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1144241239.711876.316950@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com...
> Research firms (e.g. Forrester Research) note that Blu-ray will most
> likely win in the format war:
>
> "Blu-ray has several advantages that will help it win the day, Schadler
> said. HD DVD is a one-trick pony for video playback, but Blu-ray is
> also designed for games and computers, he said. Indeed, its inclusion
> in millions of Sony's next-generation video game consoles is a factor.
> And when former HD DVD loyalist Paramount endorsed Blu-ray, it shifted
> the movie studio momentum. Finally, although Blu-ray manufacturing will
> cost a little more initially, it offers more capacity and employs a
> proven technology, Java, for interactive features."
>
> http://www.cnet.com.au/desktops/storage/0,39029473,40057660,00.htm
>
> Informal Polls show same:
> http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=451395
>
> I have informally talked to people as well. They note Sony lost betamax
> because it did not license it out. In this case, Blu-ray is supported
> by a large number of vendors. This is not just Sony. This is Panasonic,
> and Disney, Warner, Fox, and Sun, and IBM, and.....
>
> Also, people wondered why they would buy the much smaller Toshiba disc
> when the Blu-ray can hold so much more data.

I suspect neither will get the kind of market penetration that VCRs or DVDs
have, at least not for a long time. Toshiba is obviously trying to buy the
market with price points, and I suspect the return is going to be poor. I
would not be suprised to see Toshiba go the way of NEC and either scale back
consumer electronics severely or get out in favor of more profitable areas
for them. HD DVD has surely been a big load and if it doesn't pay off big
they may be hurting over the next few years. Most of their new CE products
are mediocre, with few standouts. Their support has been waning over the
last few years, and they have no single area of dominance or real prominence
anymore.

Leonard

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