HD DVD dropped? Format war over? What was it all for?

Cool pic

There are some rumblings of Toshiba dropping their format...

Well, the HD DVD format war is pretty much over. After the Netflix and Walmart announcements, Blue Ray will end up being the single format.

Many of these problems came about because both camps refused to work together and make one format. Think of all the money both format camps have wasted on advertising and development. By working together, they both could have saved money. And shared the development cost.

Then there is Microsoft abandoning Toshiba, leaving them to talk up the benefits of HD DVD. I’m still surprised that no one is talking about MS leaving Toshiba behind in the trenches. It is an interesting way of spinning loss by making it seem like Toshiba is the only one loosing in this war. I still believe MS would have made a difference if they stayed with the HD DVD camp and pumped more money into it. However, MS still is dealing with all those defective XBOXs that they have to pay for and trying to buy Yahoo. I just think it is a shitty move by Bill and the Gang.

I know some people say by HD DVD losing the war, they lose a choice in deciding what to buy. They want options. But, I say that by having a single format, they can now focus on making the discs better and improving the visuals. The competition should be between movie studios and not the formats. Anyone remember Laser-Discs vs. DVDs? You can’t have similar formats when there’s tons of cash to gain in working together.

Here is further reading on the subject.