The HD Format War Is Officially Over: The Winner is Blu-Ray!!
2008 was not the year for HD-DVD. After only 2 months into the year and a total of only 22 months in the market place, competing format Blu-Ray has claimed a fast and decisive victory. Even though many in the industry believed that the battle was looking to stalemate judging from status of the battle as of the end of 2007, the press releases came steadily beginning in January 2008. Each one delivered one more nail in the coffin of HD-DVD and by mid-February all of the backers of HD-DVD had raised the white flag. First a bit of review. For those not familiar with the two competing HD formats HD-DVD, backed primarily by Toshiba and Universal Pictures, and Blu-Ray Disc, backed primarily by Sony, Pioneer, and Disney, have been competing for the hearts and minds of consumers to be the legitimate successor to the DVD format. The main advantage of both formats include the upgrade to high definition video and audio with several times more resolution and fidelity than a DVD can ever offer. Si...