Yesterday, Japan's NHK reported that Toshiba will stop manufacturing HD-DVD equiptment. This comes in light of the recent announcemets during CES by Warner Studios and by the more recent accountments of Netflix, Blockbuster and Wal-Mart to stock only Blu-ray players and titles going forward.
Alas, consumers finally have an easy choice for a physical media format; standard definition or high definition.
But does it really matter? Did Sony win the battle and lose the war?
The proliferation of online movie rental services like XBox Live, iTunes and Netflix allow consumers near instant gratification with the ability to rent both standard-def and high-def content on-demand. Not only does the Blu-ray camp have to compete with these new delivery models, they also have to compete with file sharing networks where users are able to download high-def content for free.
At a time when consumer buy-in is a priority for Sony, the electronics giant faces an uphill battle trying to convince consumers that physical media formats are still relevant.
Alas, consumers finally have an easy choice for a physical media format; standard definition or high definition.
But does it really matter? Did Sony win the battle and lose the war?
The proliferation of online movie rental services like XBox Live, iTunes and Netflix allow consumers near instant gratification with the ability to rent both standard-def and high-def content on-demand. Not only does the Blu-ray camp have to compete with these new delivery models, they also have to compete with file sharing networks where users are able to download high-def content for free.
At a time when consumer buy-in is a priority for Sony, the electronics giant faces an uphill battle trying to convince consumers that physical media formats are still relevant.
