Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD...is it really a debate?

Last week was the big tech show in Vegas, and it seemed everyone was fired up to declare a victory in the Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD war. I have neighter, but if I were a betting man I would put my money the Blu-Ray. The technology is just way too good to ignore.


But in the mist of the battle few have stopped to ponder a much more important question: do we need eighter? Realistically the early adopters to either of these machines are people who are likely also adopting iTV, media harddrives, and any number of other devices that play movies either off a harddrive or right from the Internet. Have we all but forgotten these devices are also a contendor? Because they are, and, in actuality, if I were putting money on anything it would be on these devices. I have a 320 gig harddrive that plugs right into my HDTV, and it works beautifully.


Let's face it, we are a minimalist world. We are willing to sacrifice the best for the smallest. Some people may boast about the collection of over a 1,000 DVDs, but most people, I think, would rather have the convience of having those DVDs organized on a harddrive where they didn't have to worry about clutter or spend five minutes looking for the disc they want.


The thing to remember, also, is it is not really a sacrifice to adopt to these devices. More and more vendors are letting the consumer get digital movies in HD. Even Netflix and most cable providors are beginning to role out programs that let you either download or stream movies in a matter of minutes. I never really got into music subscription programs like Napster, but offer that same service for movies, and they'll be on to something.


So while some may be keeping a close eye on the Blu-ray / HD-DVD war, I'm watching the war that is quietly waiting to be fought.