If you are a tech junkie like the Gorilla, then you are probably well aware of the victory of the new Blu-ray technology from Sony over the HD/DVD format by Toshiba. It was the biggest battle between two video formats since Betamax lost out to VHS in the 1980s. This is great news for Sony and certainly for those who love the new Blu-ray format over HD/DVD players. But wait…the Gorilla has his own experience that warrants a discussion. When he went into the Sony store over the weekend, he was surprised and disappointed that although the technology is being sold in stores everywhere, it has a bit of catching up to do with the race it was so eager to win.
Case in point was when the Gorilla asked to see the current Blu-ray players, there was only one available in the store. Meaning one type being sold. That’s it! So they have the technology and that is just great, but they certainly don’t have the options to go with that technology as of yet. So, what was the Gorilla looking for exactly? Well, perhaps different sizes to start. In addition, Blu-ray is currently not all that affordable right now, and therefore, not that feasible for most people. A Blu-ray player is currently retails for about $399, versus the current HD/DVD players, which are sold for less than a $100 in some cases.
This certainly isn’t news to most, and when the HD/DVD player came out, it was also a bit pricey for some. That is typical with most new technology, so that in itself is not that surprising. But Sony is still the clear winner of the race, so eventually there will be other options. The fact that the PlayStation 3 console include a Blu-ray drive is one reason the format eventually won out. Sony Corp. sold 10.5 million PS3 machines since its 2006 debut. But the real bucket kicker for HD/ DVD was the last month’s decision by Warner Bros. Entertainment to drop the format and release only Blu-ray discs and DVDs.
“That had tremendous impact,” Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida said Tuesday in Tokyo. “If we had continued, that would have created problems for consumers, and we simply had no chance to win.” And there were other contributing factors as well. Warner joined Sony Pictures, Walt Disney, and News Corp.’s Twentieth Century Fox in shunning the HD/DVD, leaving Universal and Paramount Studios in the HD/DVD camp. Not to mention many retailers, such as Wal-Mart, said it would stop selling the HD/ DVD player altogether to carry Blu-ray players instead.
While all of this is just terrific, it still doesn’t give us many options right now. The good news…well the good news is, it will take about 12-18 months for all of the technology to be synced together, so HD/DVD player owners don’t have to go and throw out their DVD player just yet! The movie companies haven’t taken DVD’s out of their stores, and it most likely will be a gradual process for most, so don’t worry just yet, folks. Just like everything else in life, these transitions take time. Meanwhile, when the new Blu-ray players are more feasible to people, most likely, you will love the clear crisp quality picture you get to enjoy, so be patient!