It sometimes seems like DVDs were only introduced very recently. Indeed many people still have a DVD/VCR player with the videos only just gathering dust on the shelf. So with this in mind, companies are upping the stakes again with the release of Blu-Ray players and HD-DVD ready to battle it out for supremacy. This of course means that we will all have to shell out �500 on a player and buy all-new discs to play in it. What do you think of the amount of money we're expected to pay to stay up to date with technology? Has it gone too far?
This is also coming at a time where content can be transferred more and more though the internet. Once things get sorted (copyright issues, DRM stuff), and once people get faster connection speeds, that'll be the distribution model that will win, not disc formats.
Telecom companies are the winners here, and Sony, Toshiba, etc. are getting scared.
Buying a PS3 (�400), so I'm getting a Blu-Ray player as standard. I'll replace my old collection of DVD's when hell freezes over as I can still play them. However I won't buy new DVD's (as opposed to the BD variety) unless they're from a studio that's backing the HD-DVD format and I have no choice.
Downloading is OK for myself and others with unlimited net access, but not all want to spend hours downloading a movie.