Goodbye HD DVD

Toshiba has announced that they are dropping all products related to HD DVD, leaving the door open for Blu Ray to dominate the market. This is exactly why I have not yet made the move to purchase a HD player (well, and because I can't afford it!) The battle, which has been brewing for several years now, is not unlike the classic VHS vs. Beta battle so many years ago. Of course, VHS won that battle, and it appears that Blu Ray has won this one.

Andi and I have made the move to High Definition this past Christmas. It was our gift to each other (cleverly disguised as Santa I have to say on Christmas morning, one of my better moments) and we love it. The HD channels really are something to behold and from what I have seen, the Blu Ray disks make watching your favorite movie an entirely new experience. The quality of standard definition that your current DVD player offers is nothing compared to the HD of Blu Ray.

Unfortunately, Blu Ray players are still super expensive, as are the movies. However, one of the cool things about these players is that they will "upconvert" your regular DVD's into a simulated HD viewing. They won't look near as good as the Blu Ray disks, but they will look much better than what your current DVD player presents. So, that is one positive, your old DVD's will still play on the Blu Ray players and look even better than before.

Time will tell what happens from here. Circuit City and Best Buy have already dramatically dropped the prices of their HD DVD Players, but unless you are willing to build your library of HD DVD titles very fast, I would wait and get a Blu Ray player. I think it is going to be with us for a while to come.