DVD Format Wars? Ho Hum
Excellent description of the decision process that led to Microsoft backing Toshiba’s new DVD format. But I have to say I’m puzzled at the level of attention devoted to this by the tech press. Everyone seems to think we’re still arguing about betamax versus VHS.
When people argued about VHS versus betamax, it’s because VCRs were new, and people thought the packaging mattered. We’ve been through so many media distrubution mechanisms now that people don’t care. Twenty different codecs? No problem. Ten different memory stick formats for your pictures and video? No problem. CD-R, R/W, R+, DVD, DVD DL? No problem. Firewire, USB2? No problem. All consumers know is that their iPod cable isn’t going to work with their Sony device, and that’s life.
Besides, this has got to be the last gasp for disconnected media distribution. Take a 25GB file, and then make several million completely redundant copies of it for distribution? That’s the most ridiculous caching and distribution algorithm you can imagine. Hard drive space is cheaper than DVD media now, yet the industry is going to blow billions to deploy a newer and more expensive DVD format that holds just a small amount more? People will use the new discs if, and only because, they have to. We’re used to that.