Blu-ray vs. HD DVD: What does it all mean?
Posted
Feb 25 2008, 08:38 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
You've probably heard that Sony's Blu-ray has won the high-definition DVD format battle with Toshiba's HD DVD. Other than alphabet soup, what does that mean to the average consumer? Do we all have to run out and buy new DVD players and DVDs?
Not yet, says Patrick at Cash Money Life. Unless you're determined to be an early adopter of technology, the regular equipment and DVDs you have right now will work just fine while the price for Blu-ray technology inevitably drops.
That's great news for geeks and nongeeks alike.
Patrick observes that many people delayed buying high-definition DVD players and DVDs until the format battle was won. (We're old enough to remember the last great war, between Betamax and VHS.) Now, he says, consumers can be confident that Blu-ray won't become obsolete.
But hold off on buying until the price falls, he says. (We know he's right because we remember when the first calculators were very expensive.) "Continual improvements and cheaper technology will drive prices down, and eventually you will be able to purchase that new technology at a reasonable price -- or decide that you just don't need it after all," he writes.
Patrick adds that upgrading to high-def won't enhance your viewing pleasure unless you have a large-screen HDTV. And once you get a Blu-ray player, he says, your old-fashioned DVDs will work in them just fine.
