It seems Sony’s Blu-Ray format is finally winning the public relations battle of the high definition formats. Blu-Ray and HD DVD have been frantically fighting a bitter war over the last couple of years – similar to the VHS Betamax one back in the 80s – to win consumers hearts and minds and to create the next dominant movie format.
In October, I researched both formats myself to see which would be best to have in my home and I nearly decided to go for a Toshiba HD DVD player.
However, just as I was about to pop into my local Comet after extensive online research, I thought I would pay a visit to my local video store – Blockbuster. When I asked the guy behind the counter where the HD DVD movies were I was told that they weren’t going to be stocking them as they were backing Blu-Ray and that made my decision for me. Read an article here on why Blockbuster choose Sony.
To be honest I think that is a major reason why Sony is selling two to every HD DVD player. If people can’t hire a high def movie from their local Blockbuster many will be likely to give the technology a miss.
Personally, I think the HD DVD format is good but if you want high definition movies and you wouldn’t mind playing a few decent computer games too then Sony’s PS3 is going to push you to fork out the £300+ for a console.
I bought mine in November and it was worth it – the PS3 is a fabulous console, with loads of functionality, it is a little pricey but I still believe it was well worth it. My next mission is to convince my wife that we need a digital TV recorder.
Read yesterday’s BBC article on the format war.
