A Creative Communications Agency

In the latest battle of technology and formats Sony Blue-Ray has won the battle against Toshiba HD DVD. This is just another in a long line of battles that consumers, industries and the market has had to decide between two options but room for only one winner. Just look back to the 70’s for the latest reference that most of us can remember, VHS vs. Beta. In the late decade of disco the two formats came out to offer the market the ability to watch movies in their own home! This was an astounding revelation that changed the history of man-kind. Without that battle we wouldn’t have had this latest installment of HD DVD vs. Blue-Ray. Other developments that came along in this technological sector include Laser Disc, if anyone actually has one they are probably worthless or priceless, depending on your view of failed technology.

This was a battle of the next evolution of technology, not the development of a completely new form. DVD’s came out with little resistance. Picture and sound quality were drastically superior to VHS and consumers were already familiar with the technology and it was easy to adapt to the change; CD’s and DVD’s are the same size so people were already comfortable with the size and application. Mini-Disc though were not able to take off like expected. In the late 90’s mini-discs were thought to be better than CD’s because they were smaller and everyone likes when technology gets smaller right? Not in this case, Mini-Discs didn’t last long and people stayed with CD technology.

What does this mean though? Aside from the fact that every early adapter of the HD DVD technology just lost out it shows that the market has a large influence on the type of technology that will be successful. The final death blows came from major players in the entertainment industry. Sony announced that they will not release any of their movies in HD DVD. A right cross to the head of Toshiba. Secondly Wal-Mart announced they will not carry HD DVD’s in their stores. The uppercut that knocked Toshiba and the HD DVD to the mat, never to rise again. Toshiba announced today that they are throwing in the towel.

The conclusion. There is always a risk for the early adapters of new technology and almost any new innovation that seems like it can’t fail. When two powerhouse companies are challenging each other in the battle for supremacy and creating a shift of consumer goods it will not end well for one of them. Now we are in a Blue-Ray society. Soon DVD production will fall off. Every home will slowly change to the Blue-Ray player and people will begin to buy all their favorite movies again in the new format. In 5 years a DVD could bring a chuckle to the minds of consumers just like a cassette tape brings now; “You still have a DVD player!?” Welcome to the next phase of technology. When will the CD be replaced? And by what?

Read more about the surrender of Toshiba from The Wall Street Journal.