O Formats! O Fools!

Via Engadget comes this BBC news story about a Screen Digest study on the high-def DVD format war. Conclusion? It's a "stalemate", because most consumers have learned to wait until a winner emerges before buying into a contested format.

After VHS v. Beta, this really shouldn't come as a surprise, but apparently it still does to some.

Actually, the comparison I tend to use is DCC v. MiniDisc; as with Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, properties were split along corporate lines, and conventional CD was plenty good enough for most people. MiniDisc eventually found a niche in professional audio -- I understand CBC Radio uses it almost exclusively -- but DCC is really just a fond memory now.

Oh, and HD-DVD appears to be getting itself a bit of an edge in the videogame market, too; it seems the Xbox 360 will have an HD-DVD module available for Christmas, and priced around $200. Assuming it has an HDMI port -- a fair assumption, since Microsoft is far less likely to care about image crippling than Sony -- the price point is going to be awfully attractive for gamers who've been spoiled by experiencing "Halo 2" in 1080i .

Back in the world of standard DVD, it's a relatively slow week -- as evidenced by my reviews of "RV" and"Scary Movie 4", which are, well, poopy, and "L'Enfant", which is decidedly not. (Oh, and there's a review of "Hoot", which is just kinda lame, going up later today.)

But this is the week Fox releases the eighth season of "The Simpsons", which may well be the single best year the show ever had -- every episode's a keeper, from the one with Sideshow Bob's brother to the one with Mr. Sparkle to the one with Poochie to the one with Frank Grimes to the one where Milhouse's parents split up to the one where Homer eats the Guatemalan insanity pepper to the one where ... well, basically you get the idea. Just buy it. Buy it now. Standard-def is fine.

Technorati tags: DVD, HDTV, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, Movies, High Definition, Format War, The Simpsons