The announcement that Blockbuster US has decided to go with Blu-Ray for the next generation DVD format might seem at face value as the decisive cavalry charge in the war.

Don’t believe it. Blu-Ray and HD-DVD (the rival format) represent two different philosophies in home entertainment. HD-DVD may be on the way out to live a cult existence alongside Laserdisc and Betamax on the eBay of the future but what it represents won’t be giving up the fight anytime soon.

Sony, the main force behind Blu-Ray, wish to continue the dominance of the physical format that has dominated how most people watch film since the first days of video. Microsoft, the backers of the HD-DVD, are banking on the power of the internet to prompt a paradigm shift in how we interact with film media content. And hopefully (for them) consumers will be using Microsoft products all the way through this transition. (more…)