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March 03, 2008
Winners and Losers in High Def

Since DVD was effectively snuffed out of existence (by its own maker, how tragic), there are questions that need answering.

Most importantly – if you completely bought in to one format or another, were you setting yourself up for a fall?

It's been a few weeks since Toshiba announced it was discontinuing the HD DVD format. Meaning no new players and no new DVDs.

Of course, it was getting harder and harder to find DVDs because all the movie studios (Universal and Paramount excluded) sided with Blu-ray or were jumping ship. It also doesn't help that Netflix, Best Buy and Wal-Mart – probably three places people get a lot of their DVDs from – also went with Blu-ray.

In today's iHerald section I took at look at some of the causes for the fall of HD DVD, how people who bought into the format are dealing with it, and what happens next.

If you scanned CraigsList or eBay in the last few weeks, you know you can score a deal now on HD DVD players and DVDs. Some people feel jilted, others just want a little extra cash.

Were they foolish to buy into one format over another? One of the biggest barriers to buying either of the next generation DVD players was the cost, which started around $300 and went up.

Over at Computer World Lucas Mearian says Toshiba should open up the wallet and offer some refunds.

The upshot of course is that HD DVD players still will play regular-format DVDs and make them look slightly better, so not a complete loss.

Meanwhile things continue to come up Blu-ray, Wired reports that Apple will be including Blu-ray drives in computers soon.

Even so, while Blu-ray looks like it is at the top of the hill now, it may be premature to crown them as downloadable media and on-demand video may drink their milkshake.

Bottom line – if you bought into Blu-ray, are you really a winner, and if you were sold on HD DVD, are you really a loser?

Also today don't forget to check out the Favorites, featuring Matt Lajoie, the man behind Cursillistas and L'Animaux Tryst (Field) Recordings record label.

Lajoie's got more than a few good online recommendations for music lovers.

Posted by at 10:57 AM

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Comments

HDDVD and Blue Ray are, collectively, a boondoggle anyway. Oh, unless you want to shell out five times the price of a serviceable regular DVD player and a thousand or so bucks for a high end TV and sound system you don't actually need, all in pursuit of a marginal improvement in picture and sound. Most families aren't able to afford that, and most people are smart enough not to be bled white by corporate giants for no reason. DVDs are fine. Save your money. Spend it on DVD rentals. Peace.

Posted by Videoport Jones
March 3, 2008 08:58 PM

Hi there,

Just a quick note about a typo in your first line:

by it's own maker

it's should be its - no apostrophe

Love GG

Posted by Grammar Goddess
March 4, 2008 12:05 PM

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Justin is a former newspaper intern and has the scar tissue to prove it. Justin has been a staff writer for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram since 2003, and in 2004 began writing a weekly column in the Monday Magazine.

If he had to pick a label, the column would fall under "youth culture," covering everything from high school dance etiquette, dealing with college debt, the resurgence of Roller Derby and Portland's one-of-a-kind music scene. This of course has not stopped him from answering letters to Santa Claus or writing about his experience riding shotgun in a drift car.

Justin is an export from the Midwest. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri and is originally from Minnesota. He enjoys bacon, cheap beer, redheads, Burt Reynolds jokes and wondering what the soundtrack to his life would sound like.

When he grows up he wants to be an international art thief. Or Captain America.

Until then he'll be bringing you dispatches about "the young people" and what they do.





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