Next week is the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the annual orgy of technology that draws the biggest names from around the globe. One of the big talking points will be the battle for the next generation of high-definition video storage; between Sony's Blu-ray and Toshiba's HD-DVD. Both want to be the successor to DVD - neither is willing to let the other one gain ground.
But the latest round of oneupmanship is already beginning, according to Reuters:
Pioneer Electronics on Tuesday unveiled a high-definition Blu-ray DVD disc drive for personal computers in the latest twist in a multibillion dollar battle over next-generation DVD standards.
Pioneer is part of the Blu-ray consortium, led by Sony Corp, which is vying against a rival high-definition format known as HD-DVD, championed by Toshiba Corp. Both camps are hoping the next-generation discs and players, set to be introduced to consumers in 2006, will help offset a slowdown in the $19 billion prepackaged disc market.
Everybody's betting the farm on whether they can force one standard or the other to the top of the market. But here's a problem: What if shoppers don't like either of them? Perhaps it's those post-Christmas blues, but I'm increasingly unsure that anybody will prove the winner here. What if the indecision continues? After all, a lot of it relies on the vast takeup of high-def television. That's a sizeable investment for anybody, let alone those who have just spent hundreds migrating to DVD. Maybe people will buy HD-DVD because it's cheaper. Maybe they'll buy Blu-ray because it's better quality. Maybe they will see the dithering and wait until the next next generation arrives.
It can take years for mass adoption of a new format - if it ever gets taken up at all. Right now people have just got over the move from VHS to DVD. Could they stick two fingers up to the whole concept of moving further forward?
