Should I choose a Blu-Ray DVD or HD-DVD player?
Toshiba, the patent owner of HD-DVD, has thrown in the towel on the format war. Blu-Ray is now the de facto standard for high-definition DVDs. The two standards produced nearly identical results, with Blu-Ray having higher capacity per disc but Toshiba had lower production costs and a few esoteric advantages. If you already bought an HD-DVD player, you can get some bargains on HD-DVD’s; many are selling for half-price or more. Additionally, your player will continue to play standard DVDs, which will still be around for a fair amount of time. There has been no announcement, but some manufacturers could add HD-DVD capability to Blu-Ray players, as a courtesy to consumers. Even though the format war has ended, we think it may be wise to continue to wait on a Blu-Ray purchase. The price of players is still relatively higher and the discs are, in our opinion, overpriced. We’d like to see some price reductions before we recommend a move into Blu-Ray.
Toshiba, the patent owner of HD-DVD, threw in the towel on the format war. Blu-Ray is the standard for high-definition DVDs. The two standards produced nearly identical results, with Blu-Ray having higher capacity per disc but Toshiba had lower production costs and a few esoteric advantages. If you already own an HD-DVD player, you can get bargains on HD-DVD’s; most selling for a fraction of their original price. Additionally, your player will continue to play standard DVDs, which will still be around for a fair amount of time. The price of Blu-Ray players is still relatively higher and the discs are, in our opinion, overpriced. We’d like to see some price reductions before we recommend a move into building a Blu-Ray library.
