DVD Successor 'Blu-Ray' Outlines Format Specs

Looks like the format squabbles around DVD successor "Blu-Ray" are settling down enough to agree on some specs. With only a few more wayward companies and their competing strategies to bring into the fold, it seems 'Blue-Ray' will become the new standard. Or we might have the "Beta vs VHS battle" redux. It's hard to predict, as usual.

As movie marketers, most of us here at the MMB should be excited about next generation media. But we're also weary consumers, and having just replaced our extensive collection of 8 tracks for these new-fangled "cassette tapes," we have just two words for the tech heads at Samsung, Sony et al: Slow down! Talk with your colleagues on the consumer side of the PC business and ask them how much real demand there is right now for 5 GHZ processors, 1 Terabyte hard drives and 2 gigs of ram. Have the software manufacturers looked to exploit these capabilities yet? If you read the minimum required specs on most software packages, the answer is obviously no.

The same thing goes for Hollywood. Do you really think Hollywood is ready to shell out billions of dollars for repurposing all their old content to HD when the DVD goldmine hasn't been tapped out yet? Can most of these works even be repurposed for HDTV? Are they willing to invest their hard-won profits on new production equipment without any real demand yet?

We're not trying to stand in the way of progress -- we love any technology that improves the entertainment experience -- but as the old saying goes, "timing is everything."

Related Links:
Blu-Ray Standards Homepage
Digit Magazine Online