HD-DVD Is Already Dead
The hi-def war is over, boys and girls. If you picked Blu-Ray (or picked nothing), it’s time to clap yourself on the back and have a drink. If you picked HD-DVD, it’s time to sob uncontrollably in a dark corner…and have a drink.
On Friday, the previously neutral Warner Bros. announced that it was going Blu-Ray only by May 31, which effectively gives Sony’s Blu-Ray the support of 70% of Hollywood movie studios, while cutting Toshiba and Microsoft’s HD-DVD down to 30%. According to The Digital Bits, Warner likely saw the edge Blu-Ray had already, saw the hi-def format war was not only hurting hi-def movies sales but also regular ol’ DVDs, and realized it’s support could make Blu-Ray a clear winner, which wasn’t true for HD-DVD. (Also, a rumored gift basket of $500 million from Sony to Warner might have helped).
Which means HD-DVD has been mortally wounded, and everyone who picked it will be Officially Screwed come May. So sorry. ? Rob
About The Author
Robert Bricken is one of the original co-founders of the site formerly known as Topless Robot, and its first editor-in-chief, serving from 2008-12. He brought the site to prominence with “nerd news, humor and self-loathing” as its motto, raising it from total internet obscurity to a readership in the millions, with help from his savage “FAQ” movie reviews and Fan Fiction Fridays. Under his tenure Topless Robot was covered by Gawker, Wired, Defamer, New York magazine, ABC News, and others, and his articles have been praised by Roger Ebert, Avengers actor Clark Gregg, comedian and The Daily Show correspondent John Hodgman, the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Rifftrax, and others. He is currently the managing editor of io9.com. Despite decades as both an amateur and professional nerd, he continues to be completely unprepared for either the zombie apocalypse or the robot uprising.