Calls to End the Format War...

    ... Continue to Fall on Deaf Ears

 

I'll be blunt up front.  I've supported Blu-ray since long before Blu-ray or HD DVD officially launched.  I made my choice and supported it.  I completely understand that others looked at the same information I did, but chose the other format.  That's fine -- but it's time to move on now.  I have no desire to throw salt into the wounds of others... but in the interests of a High-def media future, it's time for us all to unite.

I suppose that it's easy to say that had things gone the other way, I would have taken things in stride and called on everyone to unite behind HD DVD.  These are, after all, only little round discs that hold movies.  No one should be that emotionally attached to either format.  I would like to think that I would have done that, but fortunately for me I never had to face the problem. 

At the end of the day, though, we'll never know, and all the games of woulda-coulda-shoulda are pointless at this time.  What matters is that manufacturers and movie studios have aligned overwhelmingly behind one format, and it is in the best interests of everyone for the few remaining holdouts to get on the bandwagon as soon as possible.

Given my admitted bias, I don't expect everyone to care for my opinion.  Fortunately, over the last couple of weeks a chorus of experts have echoed my sentiments, so I'll let them plead my case for me.

First up, T.K. Arnold, publisher of the venerable Home Media Magazine, has called for "HD DVD Backers [to] Call it a Day":

"Toshiba and Microsoft, by stubbornly continuing to back HD DVD at a point where it is clear the format cannot win, are threatening to derail the entire home entertainment packaged-media business — Hollywood’s primary cash cow, and as such, a vital bloodline to the creation of new movies...

What Toshiba can’t do is reverse the decline in consumer spending on DVD. Only a new format can do that, one that takes full advantage of HD technology. Sure, HD DVD fits the bill, but it’s not going to prevail — that much is clear to pretty much everyone at this point. So Toshiba needs to swallow its pride and do the right thing for our industry — and, in the long term if not the short term, its own corporate shareholders."

Meanwhile, Dan Ramer of DVDFile, has written "An Open Letter to Toshiba, Paramount, and Universal":

"You fought the good fight, but the time has come.  The interests of the consumer and the motion picture industry will be better served by conceding and declaring Blu-ray Disc the winner of the format war.  It’s time to desist and cease all hostilities...

Mainstream consumers need an end to the uncertainty so they, too, can begin to enjoy the wonders of high definition video and audio with no fear of making a misguided investment.  Pacific Media Associates assessed the HD-ready display market and concluded that in 2008 prices will drop by nearly 16% and the installed base will grow by 40% to 113 million displays.  Those buyers deserve a clear and unambiguous choice of high definition disc format.  And the motion picture industry, for years dependent on the profit center of disc sales, need to sell their back catalogs – perhaps for the last time – to consumers who wish to experience films the way their directors intended.

Ladies and gentlemen, lay down your swords."

Bill Hunt, Editor of the Digital Bits, has recommended Blu-ray for some time now, but has made the following recent call:

"In any case, it seems abundantly clear to us at The Digital Bits that while the format war isn't technically over yet, the writing is on the wall. HD-DVD is now even more unlikely to win than it was in June of 2007. Given that, the continuation of the format war serves no one's best interests, aside perhaps from the short term interests of Toshiba and others in the HD-DVD camp. As such, we echo T.K. Arnold's call for Toshiba and Microsoft, as well as Paramount and Universal, to end this format war once and for all. The Hollywood studios and retailers simply cannot afford to let another year's worth of mixed messages about high-def packaged media be sent to consumers...

Bottom line: Ending this format war now is the right thing to do for this industry and for consumers overall. It's time to stop all the bitterness and the hostility, both real world and virtual, and it's time to put this unnecessary and damaging dispute behind us.

It's just time."

Scott Hettrick, Editorial Director for Hollywood in High-def, has claimed that "Toshiba's [Price Cut] Announcement [is] a Cover-up":

"It's finally safe for consumers to jump with both feet into the hi-def disc market with Blu-ray now that Warner is throwing 100% support behind the format.

Unfortunately, Toshiba is stubbornly refusing to acccept defeat or go away quietly, which is doing nothing more than causing more harm to consumers by trying to convince them to buy HD DVD product that they must know is about to become obsolete...

In any case, do not be distracted by this latest Toshiba sleight of hand. There is no reason to feel even slightly hesitant about the future viability of Blu-ray now that all but two of the biggest studios are aggressively supporting Blu-ray. The more quickly everyone gets behind Blu, the more quickly we will see even more of our favorite releases on Blu, from the Indiana Jones and Star Wars franchises to the James Bond series and the libary of Disney animated classics."

And finally, Wired magazine's Bryan Gardiner wants HD DVD to know that "It's Not a Flesh Wound":

"So why, after the market has clearly spoken (in a loud and deliberate tone), is Toshiba still pretending like it has a chance to win this war? We've already wasted close to two years waiting for this HD mess to resolve itself, and it seems more than a little insulting to have to endure Toshiba's prolonged death scene for another year.

So to the HD DVD camp I say this: You've put up a good fight, guys, but seriously, what are you going to, bleed on Blu-ray? Let's move on with our lives."

HD DVD fans have been complaining online over the last two weeks that the media had taken to beating-up on their format.  The irony is that most of the online media had been clearly rooting for HD DVD (as the underdog in the race) since the format launched.  A continuation of the war serves no one's interests, however, and anyone rooting for Toshiba to continue attempting to kill all high-def media by staying in the market with no support should rethink why they got into high-definition media in the first place.