Project Thursday

A few days ago the Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD format war took a turn for the worse. Paramount Pictures, previously undecided on what side to take in the next generation media standoff, officially sided exclusively with HD-DVD, making upcoming releases like Shrek the Third, Blades of Glory, and the super popular Transformers movies HD-DVD exclusives. What does this announcement mean for you and me? Simply more confusion on which format to side with. I figured that now is as good of a time as ever to bring everyone up to speed on the vital stats of both formats. Is one really better than the other? Are both just a waste of time right now? Is there any end in sight?

I figure that owning both formats gives me a little bit of experience and knowledge on the subject. My goal is to not only make you more educated on where to spend your hard earned money, but also make you a better person. I can’t make any promises though.

The HD-DVD media format was fading fast with recent announcements of a two-to-one sales advantage for competitor, Blu-Ray, and the recent price drop of Sony’s Playstation 3 console. A lackluster ($20) price drop of Microsoft’s HD-DVD player add-on for the Xbox 360, and a match of the current "Five Free Movies with Purchase" deal that Sony has been running for the past couple weeks made only a minuscule dent in Blu-Ray’s current success in the next gen media market. With both formats throwing reduced prices and free movies at you, deciding which format to side with can be a confusing and frustrating hassle. Hopefully, giving a small amount of insight on this incredibly broad topic will make things a little easier (trust me; I’ve been doing the research).

This stuff is so confusing even the companies themselves don’t know what to do. For instance, most of us know that Universal Pictures is HD-DVD exclusive, and has been from the start. But did you know that Universal Music Group is currently a member of the Blu-Ray Disc Association? Talk about covering your bases. Most of us, however, simply can’t afford to or don’t care to be on both sides.

Right now, Blu-Ray is holding a majority of the exclusive cards in their deck. Sony (which includes Columbia Pictures and MGM), Buena Vista (which includes Disney), 20th Century Fox, and Lionsgate are all currently Blu-Ray exclusive movie studios. HD-DVD, however, is building their stake with NBC Universal (which includes Universal Pictures and NBC TV shows) and newly acquired Paramount Pictures (which includes MTV and Dreamworks). Steven Spielberg directed pictures, as well as Warner Home Video (who plans to eventually introduce another disc player that will work on both formats, called "Total HD"), will be available on both formats.

I feel that your selection mainly depends on what movies you’re into, since in most cases the movies that you want to own in HD are only available on one of the two formats. I advise you to check out both the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD websites to see which format has the movies that you want.

So, in the end I stayed politically correct and didn’t side with one particular format, but hey, I guess that’s why I own both, right? I think that no matter what format you choose (or if you choose both) you’ll be satisfied with your purchase because you are using your HDTV to it’s fullest potential. You’re a pioneer in electronics and media. You’re an adventurer in an uncharted territory. You’re willing to stand in the face of a format war and say, "Yes, I want to pick a side!"

Personally, I feel that we’ll be in this thing for a long time, so unless you want to wait another year or two to start watching movies in HD, check out the movie lists at the sites above and make an educated decision. Hopefully if you ended up making the wrong choice in the end, the players will be cheap enough by then that it won’t make a difference and you can just get the other one.