I'm actually not that bitter about blu-ray. The format has promise, and if HD-DVD were to finally go, I hope the BDA can merge some of the advantages of HD-DVD into blu-ray's tech (Warner might even push for that, since they apparently have some patents there).

I'm more bitter about lying jerks pretending this is some kind of contest, and ignoring facts they don't like. The fact is that we haven't seen either format with an opening over 200k (or 170k depending on Transformers disputed opening), and I'm not even sure a single HDM as sold 1 million copies so far, as neither format has touted such a number (and I think we know they would). With movie sales still in this niche, can Warner's switch really get HDM into the mainstream?

I would think finally having must-have films in HD would matter first, and that has yet to happen. Neither format has its Matrix 1 yet. And I know why that was the first must-have for DVD. It's a film some wanted to watch over and over again to catch everything, and never having to rewind was a big thing for that kind of film. In other words, the nature of the film watching experience went hand-in-hand with the format. We have yet to see a film do that for HD, not to the mainstream.

Me, I don't have either format because I haven't seen a must-have HD film. The closest were Goodfells and Casino, but the fact that thare are just on HD-DVD is irrelevant, since I don't think those are enough for me to abandon regular DVD. The Simpsons Movie would have been the first blu-ray I would want, but Fox blew it by not having any HD exclusive features, even PiP.

I understand what you mean about HD-DVD's advantages. From the start, it was more technically mature than BD. It's taken about a year for the 1.1 to come out and equalize things there in regards to PIP, etc. Frankly, I would have taken either format (I own both players) without crying, although I preferred BD simply for the extra storage space and scratch protection. Since I knew the PIP and stuff was coming, that wasn't a big deal for me since like you've noted, BOTH techs were in their infancy and no where near really "counting" compared to SD-DVD.

Regardless, I'm glad it's over. And it IS basically over. This will quickly erode HD-DVD's support although I don't think it will disappear entirely. It may well end up like Beta-max, having a niche and quietly successful market. Where it's lost is in the mainstream.

Indeed, there IS that question as to whether and how quickly HD media will become mainstream. You mentioned the "must have" title on HD media. Personally, I'm surprised that the Harry Potter movies weren't it, at least not apparently. Although it must be considered that there simply aren't even enough HD media players of either type sold to realistically generate a lot of movie sales. (No, you can't count all the PS3's as BD movie players for this purpose, if they WERE being used to a large extent for movie watching, sales figures for movies would be much higher!)

I had wondered what was going on with player sales. Anecdotal while it might be, in all my shopping trips this Xmas I saw plenty of Toshiba HD-DVD boxes in shopping carts, but surprisingly (to me) many more carts with the Sony BD players in them. Knew that didn't necessarily indicate worldwide performance, but apparently there WAS a higher number of stand alone players sold. Particularly surprising given the at least $100 premium people had to pay for a BD player.

Anyway, 2008 should be interesting. With one format (at least mostly, after May), that "customer confusion" should be gone as long as advertising does it's job and we should see media and hardware sales rise quite a bit more than they have over the past two years. If not, HD formats may have a problem. If HD media and hardware hasn't started to show a real presence by mid 2009, it will be a REAL problem, at least IMO. I'm not saying they'll take over SD DVD that quickly, I just mean having sales figures that really matter. As you noted, the 1 or 2% of SD DVD sales that are generated right now by "hit" BD or HD-DVD movies in their first months is pathetic and really of no consequence.

In a way, I think the slow sales of both formats actually hurt HD-DVD the most and may have forced Warner's (and others like Universal when their contract is up) to switch. It cost studios more money to produce the two separate versions of movies and low sales figures meant basically little to no return on that investment. With BD selling 2 or 3 to 1 over HD-DVD, it simply outlined to them the money they were losing in supporting both formats. So I think they've cut their losses in the hope that by throwing all their marketing and other dollars behind one format that they can push it into public acceptance and mass adoption all the quicker. Thoughts?