With the recent release of both formats, the Blu Ray vs HD DVD format wars have really started to heat up. We will take a look at both formats, describe the benefits and look at the options available to consumers. This is a rapidly changing space and there seems to be a tremendous amount of confusion in the market place about these formats so do not be surprised to find contradicting information. We have done our research and believe we have correctly covered everything at the time this article was written, however if you see an error, use the contact us link to let us know.
Studio Support In the end the content is what matters. If the movies that you are interested in watching are not available for your player it will not be of much use. Therefore lets look at where the content providers stand.
Note some studios have exclusive agreements where they only support one or the other, these studios are in red.
Blu-ray support
HD-DVD support
Paramount Warner Bros. Disney (Buena Vista) Fox Lionsgate MGM Sony Pictures
Paramount Warner Bros. Universal Studios
Impact of Video Game Consoles The video game consoles do figure into the Blu Ray vs HD DVD battle mainly because the Sony Playstation 3 is a Blu Ray player. This means that millions of people that are buying the Playstation are also getting a Blu Ray player quickly making it the most popular player around. The Microsoft X Box 360 has an HD DVD player available as an accessory. We would not be surprised if this is included in future models of the X Box. Therefore the more game consoles sold the more players will exist driving the movie demand.
Who Will Win Blu Ray vs HD DVD? At this point it really is too early to determine who will win the Blu Ray vs HD DVD battle. From our perspective HD DVD jumped out to a good lead but has recently given that lead back and is now trailing. That does not mean the battle is over however as HD DVD has some big name supporters that are going to do everything they can to prevent the Blu Ray standard from winning which may cause them to pay royalties to Sony, etc. In the end we believe it will come down to the movies available and this is where the tide has drastically turned. A few months ago most movies available were for HD DVD but now there are about twice as many available for Blu Ray. This is worth keeping an eye on, if HD DVD can quickly even the score then it is not an issue but if we see this margin continue to widen it will not look good for HD DVD.
Which To Choose, What Are Your Blu Ray vs HD DVD Options? At this time it is too early to declare a winner in the Blu Ray vs HD DVD battle, but there options available to limit your exposure. One is to consider a player that supports both formats. At this time these players are expensive and it may be cheaper to buy one of each. Some studies are also considering releasing discs that have both formats, this may be an option.
We recommend looking at the movie studios supporting each type and go with the one that has the most movie studies available for the movies you like. It will only be a few years before another standard comes along therefore even if you end up with the less popular standard you will have the movies you like until the next standard arrives.
Blu Ray Supporters The Blu Ray format was primarily developed by Sony and Philips. The Blu Ray Association has several big name supporters:
Apple
Dell
Hewlett-Packard
Hitachi
LG
Mitsubishi Electric
Panasonic
Pioneer
Philips
Samsung
Sharp
Sony
Sun Microsystems
TDK
Thomson
Twentieth Century Fox
Walt Disney
Warner Bros.
HD DVD Supporters The HD DVD format was primarily developed by Toshiba. The HD DVD Association has several big name supporters:
Blink
Del.icio.us
Digg
Furl
Google
Simpy
Spurl
Technorati
Y! MyWeb
