Poll: Is the High Def Format war really over?

If you've been reading my blog for a while, then you know-- I was an early adopter of the HD-DVD format. You may also know that, as of last week, Toshiba and Microsoft ceased production of their HD players, effectively putting the final nail in the HD-DVD coffin.

Granted, it's the fault of any HD-DVD owner who hopped on the format knowing that there was a 50/50 chance of it being the losing format. However, I honestly did believe that HD would be the victor. First off, I though that on name recognition alone, HD-DVD would have a hand up due to the fact that people would hear HD-DVD, and associate that with a format that they've known for years. Blu-ray just sounds like too odd a name for the main format for movies to be distributed on-- or, so I thought.

Secondly, this past holiday season HD-DVD made a real push to get into as many households as possible. Players were below the $199 mark, and the discs were priced competitively. Christ-- the cheapest way to get a Blu-ray player so far is to buy a bare-bones PS3, and that's $399.

Regardless of what I may have thought, HD is dead. The only question now is whether or not to jump into Blu-ray (via a PS3) and continue lapping up the higher priced, better looking next-gen discs. Or do I wait. Is it out of the realm of possibility that the high-def war is not yet over? After being let down by HD-DVD, I'm reticent to run out and get a Blu-ray player because, what if that tanks, too. Granted, it probably wouldn't be for a year or two, but still...

So, I think I'm going to hang tight and see how this all plays out. I have neither the money, nor the foolhardiness to fall for another high-def blunder. For now, I will enjoy the 10 HD-DVD's I have (And trust me, they do look beautiful) and also enjoy the hundreds of other DVD's I have. After all, the HD player is also an upconverter, so my DVD's never looked better.

What do you think? This is the first poll I've included on my blog, and I'm anxious to see what people think (or if people will even take part.)

Opinion Polls & Market Research