I agree with mdrew that we will have no winner in this format war. Neither of these formats are going to replace the DVD. Unless, Walmart decides to exclusively back HDDVD. I read an article over at audioholics.com about a month ago that there were rumors of Walmart carrying HDDVD players and stocking only HDDVD discs. That could make HDDVD a winner for the format war if it happens. We'll just have to wait and see for that.
It would be easy for both Hi-def formats to replace the DVD even in the current situation (ignoring Walmart for now). Rather than pricing these Hi-def formats for more than DVD's, price them for less. If a new DVD is priced at $19.99 then price the Hi-def formats at $14.99 or $12.99. Obviously, the studios would have to be the ones to push this. It's not like the studios or retailers would be losing money selling them even at this price. Furthermore, if the stores started mixing the DVD's and Hi-Def formats together and the consumers could see this then within 2 years both formats would replace the DVD. Especially, considering that we can now get the Toshiba player for $200 to $300 and get 5 free HDDVD's.
However, I know that I am just dreaming. The studios could care less if one format or the other wins. They only care about making money and with DVD's they are making money hand-over-fist. And there is no way that any stores would stock DVD's and Hi-def dvd's together. They know that the customer service department would be overrun with consumers trying to return the Hi-def dvd because it wouldn't play in their dvd player. Since the average consumer has no idea how these are different that a regular dvd.
- Nick
