One thing I always considered important with both BR and HD-DVD was the Ethernet connection. Even if the physical format dies, the codecs are still useful and go be used to turn any box into a new format reader (a bit like Microsoft did with a "pluggable" HD-DVD or Blu-ray module). USB expension is also important. There are enough Blu-ray units out there that someone will find a way to re-use them with a bit of programming and ingenuity. (actually I find it lacking from Toshiba or Toshiba-hackers not to have been more aggressive into turning their boxes into video and audio streamers).
This is unlike prior dead technologies where the player was totally captive to one physical disk format.
