I have been describing the Blu-ray / HDDVD format wars as the modern version of the VHS / Betamax format war of the 1980s. This morning on CNN I heard the same comparison made. It was part of a story where they were talking about a new device that will play both HDDVD and Blu-Ray. (Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn’t the PS3 play both formats too?) They also mentioned a new disc that can be recorded in both formats.
This device is being billed as a win-win for the consumer. The idea is that the consumer will be able to buy one device and one disc and they will not have to worry about the format. That is complete horse shit. Devices that play both formats are a win for the big guys and a loss for the little guys (consumers and independent content producers). I don’t want to be paying two incompatible patent holders every time I buy a disc, and I don’t want another multi-purpose device that becomes useless when one part of
it breaks.
Having every device and every disc support two incompatible formats will not only prove to be more costly for the consumer, but it will also limit the choices that they have available to them. I know that Sony and Microsoft don’t give a damn about independent and foreign films, but 8 out of 10 times that is what I prefer to watch. Do they really expect small publishers to put out discs in two formats? More likely films for the niche market will have to pick a format.
Of course, this whole debate will look rather inconsequential in a couple of years. Soon disc production will be done on demand. At that time you will be able to pick your format. Of course, chances are also pretty good that you will be burning the disc yourself since you will buy the movie digitally over the ether anyway.
So what will I be buying? The iTV. I will be on site at a client’s office during the keynote today (I think it is today). I imagine that Jobs will have the iTV available rather soon, possibly even this week. My mom gave me a gift card to the Apple Store and I can assure you that is how it will be spent.
