Monday, February 27, 2006

HD-DVD Fighting Back

A few months ago, HD-DVD was written off by many.  There were no exclusive studios and most vendors seemed to have joined the Blu-Ray camp.  Then something changed.  HP decided it would take a more neutral stance.  Microsoft and Intel came out strongly backing HD-DVD.  The PS3 is going to be late and expensive.  Today, Blu-Ray still may have the edge, but it's lead is narrow and the momentum is going the wrong way.  It is losing that sense of inevitability it once had. 


The New York Times published an article explaining some of this momentum shift.  It also has some quotes from our VP, Amir Majidimehr.


Some snippets:


The possible delay and the Blu-ray group's loss of its once-commanding lead are not encouraging developments for Sony in its attempt to revive its electronics group after a series of bungles.


Toshiba will sell two players starting in March; one will cost just $499, half the price of the cheapest Blu-ray machines, the first of which will hit the stores this spring. Samsung's first machine will cost $1,000, while Pioneer's Blu-ray player will run $1,800.


"The pendulum is swinging back to the HD-DVD camp," said John Freeman, who runs a technology research firm, Strategic Marketing Decisions, which last year declared Blu-ray the front-runner. "It will be interesting to see if the Blu-ray group can recover. It's only a matter of time before people start backing out of the Blu-ray camp."


 

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