Every day someone has another view about whether HD DVD or Blu-ray will win the format war, or in fact if neither will, and today it's a consultant for Paramount Home Entertainment.
According to TWICE magazine, Vito Mandato told delegates at the DisplaySearch Flat Panel Display Conference that Blu-ray could win over HD DVD in the next 3 to 4 months, because studios supporting Blu-ray will likely release several major movies during that time.
“When you recognise the total box office for all of last year was $9.4 billion, people are going to want those. If the Blu-ray camp can use the power of these and some of the other new releases over the next three or four months, they could win it all," he said.
Casino Royale is the next big film to come out exclusively on Blu-ray.
Mandato made it clear that Blu-ray victory was not certain, because industry supporters of the format may not be effective in convincing consumers that this is a 'killer app' and needs to be paid attention to.
(Via TVPredictions)
If anyone thinks this is over, well, you are a fool. This is the early stages of a format battle that cannot be won. Sony will resort to almost any tactic to see blu-ray succeed. They will bully, manipulate, intimidate and bend the truth to MAKE you think that blu-ray is so much better. The sad thing is, is that the picture and sound quality of HD DVD and blu-ray are about the same. Why couldn't Sony have worked together with Toshiba to make ONE format? Power, control, ego? Yes. Sony's track record is spotty on media: UMD, memory sticks, mini-disc, etc. Putting the blu-ray player in the PS3 is a very risky move financially and will hurt the company on the whole. Their desire to set at least one media standard is almost certainly unhealthy for Sony. PS3 sales have slowed dramatically (If you want one, you can get one no problem here) so this won't affect the outcome. The buyers of stand alone player will decide this 'war' not a video game console. The PS3 is a gaming console. People who paid $650 for it must then pay taxes, buy a game for at least another $70 and maybe buy a movie for $30 which puts the tab at roughly $850 but is only good if you already have an HDTV (over $1k?). This is serious cash. PS3 owners (the ones I know) bought it to play games, and that is 90% of their use for the PS3. Blu-ray movies are a nice bonus, but not a critical part of their purchase. Most people who are buying these HD DVD or blu-ray players are doing some research and know what they are getting themselves into. Some hate Sony with a passion, and other live for anything Sony. It will be interesting to see, but both formats will survive. I predict those studios who are blu-ray supporters will quietly start to release TotalHD or HD DVDs. Those who are supporting HD DVD have money (and more to spend due to the lower price point of HD DVD players) to buy movies. Money talks and turning their backs on all those HD DVD supporters (growing daily) would be foolish. That's my prediction. We'll see how it turns out in the next few YEARS.
Casino Royale is absolutely spectacular and only available on Blu Ray - enough of this kind of thing and HD-DVD is in trouble. Both formats have their problems but for me, I am buying everything on Blu-Ray if it's available with HD-DVD as the second choice (ie: Universal titles)