When Toshiba itself more or less conceded in the ensuing battle which has gone on for far too long, the fate of Blu-ray has been sealed as this generation’s VHS. HD-DVDs backers dwindled in the face of the marketing juggernaut that is Sony. But you can’t fault Toshiba for trying either; neither of the two companies made a strategic blunder during the campaign, and both sides had a solid following in all the concerned sectors – in the end, it all came down to support.
While this is obvious to anyone who’s looking from the outside in, the lesson comes at a steep price for both formats, and none went away with all the spoils as one may think. Looking back, HD-DVD had the market advantage when it entered the mainstream much earlier than Blu-ray; it’s only mishap was that it wasn’t able to pick up initial sales, enough to slow down Blu-ray’s decisive industry support. HD-DVD backers even offered financial backing for those who pledge support by providing content, and it is reported that at some point, industry buyers carried units which support both formats (a million each in total), but the Blu-ray purchases was reportedly more recent. Retail giants Wal-Mart and Best Buy found their shelves too cramped to accommodate both formats, and decided to stick with Blu-ray, the one which offers more content. At best, HD-DVD will have to resort to cater to a small niche while Blu-ray takes the lion’s share. Both suffered heavy losses, and Sony Blu-ray will only make up for the tough win after several years of market presence.
What lesson can you gain as a consumer after all has been said and done? It pays to wait – at least if you are only able to support one format. Sometimes impatience takes over the fickle buyer much like fanaticism takes over a Star Wars fiend, purchasing inflated tickets to an opening only to find out there’s plenty of seats for eight bucks a pop. If you’re one of those who couldn’t wait for them to slug it out, you’re either beaming with delight at your Blu-ray player or wondering where the money went with your HD-DVD player. If you’ve bought both players, you have less to lose, but you can’t trade in an all but obsolete piece of equipment either, much less get a tax write off for donating it a media museum.
If you’ve waited with bated breath all this time, then you have much to gain for your sacrifice. There’s certainty in your purchase, a certainty which is reliable and pragmatic. In the end, you have more to gain; this monopoly is an exception – you’d enjoy reduced prices, mounting support for content which results in an extensive library, and the assurance that you won’t be left out in the dark, at least not until the next few years when something new comes along. The question remains though; would you have made an impact on the turnout if you’ve supported either side during the war? Impatient buyers usually choose through hype, and it may turn out that the wrong format won the battle. It’s probably too late to tell at this point.
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