The Next Gen DVD Battle

LOS ANGELES--With Black Friday upon us three weeks early, it’s worth noting that the new next generation console battle between Microsoft, Toshiba and the HD-DVD camp and Sony, Panasonic, IBM and the Blu-ray Disc Association. Sony’s PlayStation 3 is the current driver of Blu-ray Disc technology, which Microsoft offers a $180 add-on HD-DVD player for Xbox 360.

A number of retailers, including Sears, Wal-Mart and Kmart are offering stand-alone HD-DVD players for under $200 this Christmas (many starting now). While these players also play regular DVDs with improved picture quality, there is something to consider. The war between the formats, which has Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios on the HD-DVD side and everyone else on the Blu-Ray side (with Warner Bros. supporting both), will have a loser--eventually. Whether that loser emerges in six months or 18 months, it will happen. If Sony wins, those HD-DVD players will go the way of the Betamax (for those of you old enough to remember the last time the home entertainment industry couldn’t just get along with one format).

To make things even more complicated, Paramount Pictures was recently paid a reported $150 million by Toshiba to go exclusively HD-DVD (it used to support both formats). That means PS3 owners can’t watch Transformers, one of the best movies of the summer and a title that’s begging for HD, unless they fork over the money for another player.

Another thing to keep in mind is that even on the Blu-ray Disc side, early players—like the ones that are being discounted, don’t offer all of the features that a PS3 will. While many people have scoffed at the $400 PS3 price point, thanks to broadband connectivity and regular software updates from Sony, that player will always be upgradable. The picture might not be as good as a stand-alone player, but I was recently in LA at Panasonic’s Hollywood lab and their new BR-D player will allow two audio tracks to stream simultaneously with picture-in-picture. Their old BR-D player won’t do this. PS3 will, thanks to an upgrade.

At the end of the day, gamers are probably in the best position for this war. Own a PS3 and BR-D is taken care of. And that add-on HD-DVD drive is available for $163 at some retailers and comes with five free movies. I’m not in favor of any format war in home entertainment. The whole thing is ridiculous. DVD has done so well because it had a unified front from launch. At the end of the day, consumers are going to be the losers when a winner is chosen. Just keep that in mind when Christmas shopping.