Hello everyone, my name is Albert Kurniady. I am a senior at the University of Southern California (USC Link) majoring in Business Administration with an emphasis in Information System.
In case you missed it, there has been a war going on today.
Of course I am not talking about the war in Iraq, everyone knows that. It is the ‘format war’ in media technology. The latest occurrence of this battle is happening between Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD (FAQ: HD DVD vs. Blu-ray) to determine who will win the high definition optical disk format war. Contrary to popular belief, the war is not a recent event. Who could forget the videotape format war between VHS and Betamax in the 1970s (The Betamax vs. VHS Format War), or the portable audio tape formats between 8-track and audio cassette in the 1960s (Audio Tape Evolution). These are just the few known format wars, and there are many others which truly shape the way media works in the 21st century.
The victors of past wars were determined by various factors. It is important to note that pure technical superiority alone does not guarantee victory. I think that the end consumers like you and me are the main reason for victories in past battles. Our opinions and feelings towards products are what count the most, and companies must certainly incorporate this crucial factor when releasing their products. Many companies and products had ignored the consumers and focused solely on their precious technology. For instance, look at the recent release of the Playstation 3. With superior specifications and the Blu-ray Disc capability, it looked to be the certain favorite to win Blu-ray the high definition format war. This was certainly not the case as customers preferred the readily available XBOX 360 and easier to get Nintendo Wii. With lesser technical specifications, and the HD DVD drive, the XBOX 360 might have swung this format war to give HD DVD the momentum. (XBOX 360 Won 2006 Holiday)
One other aspect about the war is that it is a marathon, and not a sprint. XBOX 360 and HD DVD might have won based on numbers during holiday sales, but the war must be fought over a period of 3-5 years to determine the true victor. Sustaining success over that period of time will be the ultimate challenge for many companies involved in the format war. Establishing a product as the standard bearer will be the goal of these corporations.
Another thing worth considering is the unpredictability factor of the format war. Similar to a real battlefield, one little alteration in strategy may change the outcome of the war. Corporations need to outthink and outmaneuver each other, and that is a hard thing to do. It is like the TV reality show the ‘Survivor’ where survival is the key concept that must be ingrained in the competitors’ heads. If you let one competitor get a huge lead, it will be nearly impossible to catch up. This is why companies spend billions of dollars from their resources to have the right strategy and implementation.
Over the next few weeks, I will try my best to entertain you over interesting pieces of information about the format wars. As there are plenty of battles to choose from, I will pick and choose the most notable ones. However, I am going to concentrate mainly on the most recent ones and the one going on right now (Blu-ray vs. HD DVD). Hopefully, you will have a wider scope about the format war after reading my blogs.
2 comments:
Hey Albert, unfortunately, some hackers already cracked the Blu-ray and HD DVD format because they both use the AACS system. (Source: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39285289,00.htm?r=1)
So maybe another war is coming soon. We'll see.
Anyway, an article that I just read says that Blu-ray wins HD DVD in sales. (Source: http://hdtv.engadget.com/2007/02/23/blu-ray-surpasses-hd-dvd-in-disc-sales-for-the-first-time/)
Read more: http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/13/sony-claims-blu-ray-winner-in-format-war/
This certainly has the feel of many of the past battles which you've pointed out. But I think that what's unique in this case is that its very hard for one product to effectively distinguish itself from the other. It's true that bluray has a greater capacity for storage, but how much of that really matters...especially when you consider the fact that both produce high quality images.
The real difference, I think, is in the price. And by that I mean both to consumers and manufacturers. It's not a clear cut thing for some as of yet, but like peony pointed out sales don't lie. Is it the end for blu-ray? I wouldn't count them out yet, but if they are more expensive it would be helpful to know why and how much that will actually play into determining the winner in this showdown? Check out this article I read if you want to read more (http://www.engadget.com/2005/09/19/blu-ray-vs-hd-dvd-state-of-the-s-union-s-division/).
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