All of this business intrigue keeps things interesting, but none of it will be at the forefront of your mind when you're standing in the aisle at Best Buy trying to decide what to purchase this holiday season.
Regrettably, the format war isn't ending yet. If you can score a deal on either a Blu-ray Disc player or an HD DVD player this holiday season, it might be worth snapping up: At the least, you'll have a fancy upconverting DVD player. Both formats are running free-movie incentives, too, so you can get a taste of the high-def life.
Blu-ray Disc players will drop in price heading into the holiday season, says Doherty, but not by nearly as much as HD DVD units have. "Our research shows that Blu-ray players will be at US$348 for Black Friday," he says. "And we think you'll have no trouble finding a Blu-ray player for under US$400." That's a far cry from the "casual" US$100 buy-in to HD DVD, but it may make sense if you're a Disney film fan, for example (Disney movies are available only on Blu-ray Disc).
Clearly, by being willing to experiment with prices, Toshiba has given the HD DVD format new life. "I think this gives HD DVD wings," says DisplaySearch's Erickson. "The enthusiastic response to the sub-$100 pricing clarifies HD DVD's path to victory. Still, I think consumers are in for another year of battling between the two formats. By Black Friday 2008, Blu-ray will be in a better position to push into these psychological price barriers. By the end of 2009, I think we're in for some clarification."
Humph. Pass me the popcorn, please. I'm going to kick back and watch the drama unfold before jumping in with both feet.