Bloody typical, less than a year later and I find myself practically having to re-write a lot of what has happened over the past couple of months, and, by the looks of it, this won't be my last revision either.
So, you want me to tell you to buy a Blu-Ray (BR) player. It certainly does look that way now, and who could blame you, with the announcement (read huge upset and thunderous knife in the back to the HD-DVD camp), that Warner Bros were to become BR exclusive, but, what is the truth? I've read that much nonsense on other sites that seem to contradict what's actually happening and who backs what.
So who is backing who?
Right now the only main big name studios backing HD-DVD are Paramount and Universal, but the BR camp is growing; it is now supported by Buena Vista, Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox New Line and of course Warner Bros, who happen to own smaller studios and shows.
So its safe to say that an average of 90% of the big, blockbuster films will be released on the BR format, although a lot will still be brought out from Paramount and Universal for HD-DVD, which already supports a bigger catalogue of older films brought to the format, they both will have the option to go to BR a year after their contract.
Although rumours circled the net about Paramount and Universal 'jumping ship' before the year, with 'opt out' clauses in the contracts should Warner defect to BR, these have been stated as untrue and publicly denounced … for now (I'll wait to see what happens in the summer).
Also on the net, you will have read about how much Warner was 'possibly' paid to side with BR; this is nothing more than hearsay and rumour, although I personally have not read a public denial from any company. Anyone that has a story relating to it (unless without concrete proof), are looking at a few digs or hits on their website, nothing more. We can talk and we can speculate, but understand that's all it is, speculation.
Everything that follows still rings true, the specifications have had no major reworks, although, with BR which is still a work in progress (as such), it will be changing to include many more options for users, nearly all of them falling into the Special Extras for the given movie. This may leave current adopters with a sour taste in their mouth, as although discs bought in the future will playback the main feature film and standard extras, and things included on the newer version will not work on the earlier players. Bear in mind that the only player out there that will not be affected by this is of course is the Playstation 3. Looks like Sony's expensive future proofing is going to pay off in the long run.
Players
Yes, well everything I said before is out the window! You go into a High Street shop some kid is going to tell you to buy a BR player, end of story. While a nice Toshiba player at 1/3 the price and five films sits in the corner looking sad and gathers dust. As for particular players, just ask in the forum. Although what a lot of people have been saying is, they don't care, they really don't. Most people have bought an HD screen either because they believe its just the thing to have, or because they own a PS3 or a 360, and some for Sky HD, but very, very few will have bought one with a HD player and a bunch of films. In fact the most people are seen to be buying is a really good DVD player, which will almost certainly upscale the image for HD screens.
Conclusion
If you are looking to buy, most are certainly going to tell you to buy a BR standalone player, although you will still be missing many films (currently) on the HD-DVD format. That's just the way its sitting for now, and with iTunes now moving into the movie download/ rental service, who really knows how important these formats are going to be in the future?
See also Blu-Ray or HD-DVD?