Do You Want The Format War To Continue?
 

Pretty simple poll. Although it's on its way to being done, it's not 100%. I, myself, won't be supporting HD DVD anymore. As I've stated previously, I was shifting focus to whomever Warner chose. That happened to be Blu-ray, which now controls 70% of the market.

Reading various posts in different threads, there seems to be some who actually do want this format war to drag on, further slowing down the chance for HDM to gain traction on dvd. I don't understand that.

No

YES! just bought Zodiac full price to show my support for HD DVD.....well I wanted the movie anyway.

No, it really needed to come to an end for mass acceptance of HD media. Our bargain hunting is really quite small compared to the overall picture here.

There is no format war anymore -- just an inevitable conclusion. I don't see the best things about the war, like the ridiculous sales, continuing, and that'll be missed.

The war needs to end now, but I have to admit it has been good for us early adopters. I never thought I'd own this many HDM films less than 2 years in.

I agree with the consensus that, ultimately, although bad for HD-DVD owners like myself, the Warner defection will allow consumers to more fully embrance HDM and quicken the rate at which it moves from being a niche market to becoming mainstream.

Do I think that the better of the two formats won? No. Do I wish that the format war continued? For the above reason, no. For my own investment in HD-DVD, yes, but only because I'd prefer it if HD-DVD still had a chance at becoming the dominant format. Does it matter anyway? No. Convert now, repent later! ;)

Adam's right, the war's over.

Were is "don't care?"

Nope, end it now so that we have one format.

I thought I wanted both formats to co-exist, but now that I've returned a bunch of my unopened HD-DVDs/started converting my collection to Blu-ray (primarily, at least,) I wish HD-DVD would start to disappear. I like the format, but it's a pain having both and being undecided about which version of a dual-format release to get. I want the security of being able to know that there's only one hi-def format worth buying a release on.

Who would want it to continue? That means less movies, less retailer space, less players, less EVERYTHING! If everything is one format, the floodgates will open. IMO anyway! Very happy with how everything is transpiring and glad its finally clear.

So, taking away competition increases the amount of players on the market?

rotfl

Definately not. Time for the next war to begin-Blu-ray vs. DVD.

format war should end when bl ray matches the price of hd-dvd

Thats a war that BD is not ready to fight yet...

For me, I don't really care. The "war" had its negatives and positives, so does one format. Its 6 of one half dozen of the other imo.

I don't want it to end since HD-DVD has the affordable players.

The Samsung's are 3X's the cost, and I don't want a PS3 for movies. I don't use my coffee machine to make soup, and I won't use a game console to watch movies.

I want it to continue. The competition has been good to consumers. I like that. I am a consumer and I benefit. Does it further slowing down the chance for HDM to gain traction on dvd? Yes. But I don't really care about that. I don't care when someone else decides to buy a Blu-Ray player. I only care what will benefit me. I already have a player. The studios are releasing movies. Prices are low. I am happy. I still believe HDM will takeover eventually. One format probably speeds up the process, but it doesn't change the outcome. And the benefits I saw with competition will begin to dry up (IMO).

So no format war may help others buy into HDM, but I don't see it helping me.

I would have liked it to continue, but not at the poor state the HD DVD is in. I still think HD DVD has it's shit together in terms of disc content compared to blu ray.

Put a fork in it.

Perfectly said.

also would have liked it to continue, but as it is, might as well end it and move on

Even though I have HD, and not BR, I'd rather there were one singular format than 2 competing ones. I vote for everyone to go Blu so that hardware and software prices will eventually fall and everyone can go Blu for a decent price.

Yes. Price is still a big factor for me. Two formats helps keep the prices down for both the movies and the players.

Like music, movies won't be a physical medium for too much longer.

I think this part of Warner's press release is right-- If the format war doesn't end soon, the window of opportunity for HiDef DVD as a mainstream format will pass.

I've been waiting all this time--because of the format war, and because I've also been waiting for HDTVs to come down in price. If I had the money today, I'd stop waiting. I think it's already over, except for the fat lady.

No

No.

Yup, yup.

One of the sad things is that there has been so much in-fighting within the HD, that it's now too difficult to fight the battle with SD. Most of the damage has already been done.

No. War's over, man. Wormer dropped the big one

No. Early adopters will take a hit in the short term now that there'll be fewer BOGO sales(not to mention we've already lost the Amazon 10% discount), but in the long run we'll reap the rewards when the studios finally start to unleash their catalog titles.

Yes! Competition is good for the consumer!

Hell no. Bring on the BD's with the BD encodes!

More choice = better for the consumer (me).

There is simply no reasonable way to spin the format war any other way. Anybody who thinks that the low rate of HDM adoption is due to multiple formats is seriously deluding themselves, there are just too many other factors including the ubiquity and cheapness of an "adequate" current format.

Agreed, I kept an eye on the Samsung BD-P1400, for the last weeks the price stayed at around $285
and since the switch of Warner the price has risen to somewhat around $350.
We are already seeing the effects of no/less competition. Prices of the Sony S300 have gone up also.
Anybody who thinks less competition reduces prices should think again...

I never wanted a format war. Consumers don't really win in the long run with a format war. What I wanted was a content war. Given a single format, let the studios and hardware makers duke it out... THAT results in lower prices, higher quality, and protection for the consumer.

Well said. I could not have summed up my feelings better. You think if Toshiba gives up we will keep seeing BOGO on BD- doubtful.

No. I'm looking forward to having multiple BD players to play all my BD movies, regardless of studio (wishful thinking) ;). Seriously, I am looking forward to getting The Matrix trilogy and Batman Returns in HD, been waiting on those for quite a while.

First off, I do believe the "format war" was a big part of the format not taking off. Countless people like myself were well aware of the situation and held off for more than a year simply because they didn't want to end up with hardware and media from the losing side. In fact, the only reason I have a horse in this race is because I got a PS3 for gaming. But even now having the player, I would not have purchased even on Blu-Ray movie hsd the recent anouncements not been made. The PS3 would have been used a game machine until the "war" was over.

I agree with many of the people saying competition is usually good, but in this case I totally disagree. With studios being exclusive people had to buy two seperate players. Something nobody would have to do if there was only one format.

I'm in the same boat. I just bought a Sony S300 Blu Ray player and am really underwhelemed in comparison to my Toshiba HD-A20. :( Oh well....

Yes. WAR is/was fun.