The Internet has been buzzing recently with talk of the ongoing format war between HD DVD and Sony’s proprietary Blu-Ray disk. Recent price cuts on HD DVD players have made it seem that Blu-Ray is losing the battle as a high definition video and audio storage medium, but just when you think Sony is on the ropes, they have a habit of pushing back hard with a new round of aggressive advertising campaigns to even the score.
It’s amazing how loyal techno geeks can be to their favorite brands and formats, and the Blu Ray/HD-DVD debate is a good example of this. Episodes of “flaming” on media and video related Internet message boards have been common over the past few years, as HD-DVD and Blu Ray have slugged it out, to see which of these proprietary formats would emerge as the global standard for high-definition video and media storage. So far, HD DVD has a slight advantage, but the mega-powerful Sony Corporation flatly refuses to give up on its Blu ray format.
But what is even more shocking about the Blu-Ray/HD DVD contest is the level of animosity between fans of the two rival formats, which has recently took a turn for the worst. Last week, for example, a popular Internet forum AVS was temporarily closed because of a rash of aggressive posts and threats of physical violence by both Blu-Ray and HD DVD supporters.
Apparently several of the overzealous posters lashed out at other forum members with personal threats and violent “flaming” attacks unheard of among the normally sedate and well mannered AVS Internet crowd. In fact, AVS forum administrators have indicated that possible legal action and police reports may be involved in this latest round of heated bickering between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray aficionados.
And with Sony determined to continue competing with HD-DVD to be the dominant format of the new millennium, the online “flaming” and threats are likely to continue. AVS forum says that it will reopen its message board in the next few days, but that comments on either side of the “format war” will be closely monitored.
Whichever format ends up “winning” though, one thing is for certain. Some people have way too much free time on their hands, and can’t find a way of personalizing market conflicts in a way that defies belief. At the end of the day, who really cares if Blu-Ray wins out, or if HD DVD becomes the dominant format? I’ll tell you who; the global companies behind these two formats, and pretty much no one else.
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