Jason Unger

Lessons Learned From the Format War

Posted by junger - 03/06/08 at 11:03:06 am

Image by John Brillon

Freakonomics, one of my favorite blogs (and a great book, too), has gathered up a group of "smart people" — as they say — to discuss what the technology industry and consumers can learn from the Blu-ray/HD DVD format war.

What Are the Lessons of the Blu-Ray/HD-DVD Battle? A Freakonomics Quorum

So what are we to make of this format skirmish? We gathered up a group of smart people who think about such things — Shane Greenstein, Andrei Hagiu, Michael Santo, and Pai-Ling Yin — and asked them the following:

Is the battle between HD-DVD and Blu-ray really over? What can we learn from it?

Honestly, there's nothing really ground-breaking in this analysis. Warner's decision was the tipping point, Toshiba and Sony should have come to an agreement back in 2005, and digital downloads are still on the horizon.

Greenstein is the only one who really takes the Freakonomics view of the format war.

Indeed, it looks as if patient buyers benefited from waiting out this format war, and will soon experience lower prices, larger libraries, more convenience, and reduced uncertainty. Yet, as in prior wars, waiting has its risk. Patient buyers ceded control over the format choice to impatient buyers and sellers. Did earlier market participants make a choice that serves the interests of later market participants? It is difficult to say at this point.

I waited. It may have cost me some tech-cred (I'm looking at you, Ben), but in the end, I'm not stuck with an HD DVD player that I'd only use to play DVDs on.

Blu-ray vs. Digital Downloads

So much has been made about the future of high-definition media. Will Blu-ray even get a chance to become the standard? Or will digital downloads prevail?

The answer is not as black and white as it seems. Both standards will prosper, and here's why:

1. The pipes aren't ready yet. Until everyone has FiOS or beyond, downloading high-def movies is still a pain. (Even though cable is already in our homes, but that's another story.)

2. The space isn't there. The 50GB you can fit onto a Blu-ray disc will take up a chunk of space on your hard drive, even if you have a TB of storage.

3. Quality doesn't always matter. We've learned that from the digital music revolution — quality doesn't matter for a large segment of the population. A 720p download from the Xbox Live Marketplace does make some people happy, even if a true HD fan wouldn't do it.

4. Convenience is important. Again, learned from digital music — if it's easier to start watching something on VUDU then it is to drive to Best Buy and pick up a Blu-ray disc, people will do it.

The trendy argument is to match Blu-ray discs vs. digital downloads like Blu-ray vs. HD DVD. But it's apples and oranges.

You can get the same content either way — you're not locked in to one studio's movies. (Assume for the moment that, at some point, all studios will be publishing their content digitally. Which will happen.)

The format war is over. There's not another one coming.

Hillary Clinton Loves HD DVD?

Posted by junger - 02/29/08 at 09:02:56 am

In case you were wondering, Hillary Clinton is your new HD DVD player.

Honestly, I'm not quite sure what that means, but Hillary Clinton …

• is not the new betamax
• remains focused on championing consumer access to high definition content
• would like to remind you that hd-dvd is still the only way to enjoy ʻchildren of menʼ in high-def from the comfort of your living room … unless youʼre peter guber and your living room is an actual movie theater
• wishes michael bay would reconsider his stance re hd-dvd vs blu-ray
• is not your fucking khakis (just sayinʼ)

Chuck Norris, you have competition.

Too bad he's supporting Mike Huckabee.

Why I'm Not Psyched That the Format War is Over

Posted by junger - 02/25/08 at 09:02:41 am

You'd think that I'd be really happy that the format war is over. I wasn't buying into either format because I didn't want to waste the money on a useless product.

Now that it's over, I've considered jumping in with a PlayStation 3. It makes the most sense, since it is the cheapest player, is most ready for spec upgrades, and plays games too (including Rock Band).

But honestly, there's nothing on Blu-ray I want to watch.

The predicament here is that the movies available on BD are a mix of titles I could have (or did) buy on DVD years ago and new movies that, well, suck. I'm not re-buying my movies just to see them in real high-def, and I'm not buying junk just to have some Blu-ray discs.

The only title that I really want in HD is Heroes – Season 1, which is only available on the dead format. (Speaking of which, there is a horrible lack of TV shows on Blu-ray. One season of Lost, Sopranos, Smallville and Prison Break … give me more. Now!)

Sure, if the format war was still going on, that doesn't mean that there'd be anything worth watching. But Blu-ray won because it had the content studios.

I'm just waiting for them to deliver.

PS. Planet Earth is probably the only other title I'd buy, but I got tired of watching it on cable when it first aired.

Heroes, WTF: Why Aren't You on Sale?

Posted by junger - 02/22/08 at 02:02:51 pm

The format war is over. Now that HD DVD has lost, retailers across the Interwebs are putting titles on sale.

Amazon has discs on sale from 30%-57% off. Fry's has a load of movies for $14.99. The Xbox 360 external drive only costs $50!

Yet the only title I want that this format war has kept me from purchasing — Heroes Season 1 — hasn't dropped one penny in price.

No one has the discs on sale. I seriously don't get it. It's not like HD DVD is still, you know, alive.

The cheapest price online, according to Google Product search, is $66.99 (from sketchy SuperDuperClub.com).

I wouldn't be surprised if this season is never released on Blu-ray.

Amazon Comes Late to the Blu-ray Party

Posted by junger - 02/20/08 at 09:02:00 am

Amazon to support Blu-ray format

Amazon.com Inc announced its support for Sony Corp's Blu-ray format on Wednesday, days after Toshiba Corp pulled the plug on the rival HD DVD format, as key studios and retailers also took Blu-ray's side.

The online retailer said it would continue to sell HD DVD products for customers who already use that format.

In other news, Amazon.com still sells Beta cassettes. "Brings out the full potential from your Beta(R) VCR"!