Toshiba’s HD-DVD vs. Sony’s Blu-ray Discs
I began reading this article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about high-definition DVDs because a colleague pointed out that it’s a front page story written by a news researcher, but I realized quickly some of you might be quite interested in it because of its discussion about DVDs and what’s next. Apparently, Toshiba and Sony are selling high-definition DVDs, which are, of course, not compatible. Author Matthew Fernandes likens it to the VHS and Betamax wars of the 1980s. The article discusses the products while emphasizing consumers might be best served if they wait to see how the competition develops before purchasing either kind of disc and its player.
April 21st, 2006 at 11:54 am
I’ve been following the high-def. optical disc issue for a while now. It’s really “Toshiba and a few friends” on one side and “Sony and most electronics companies and studios” on the other, more complicated because Blu-ray offers higher capacity and HD-DVD’s cheaper to press.
No Blu-ray players are yet on the U.S. market; they’ll arrive next month.
The advice is, I believe, correct: Hold off for a while. Particularly for all those people who either don’t have HDTVs or who don’t notice or care about the difference between true high-def and upscaled standard definition.