Digital Home Thoughts: Will Blu-ray Win the War, Not Just the Battle?

"Doubts have been cast on the success of the Blu-ray format ever since it debuted. Initially, the format appeared to be doomed due to a poor adoption rate, thanks mainly to a host of factors, including the PS3's initial tribulations, popularity of the DVD format, and the steady rise in the popularity of digital downloads."

Blu-ray won the format battle against HD-DVD, but it has yet to win the war for HD-content delivery. The opposition? Digital downloads, for one. Personally, I'm a fan. VUDU's HDX rentals are extremely high quality and their full HD library is the largest anywhere. Other competitors include Apple TV/iTunes, Amazon/TiVo, and Netflix; each with varying pros and cons.

The other opposition? Interestingly enough, standard-def DVD. While it's not true HD content, the output of an upconverting player provides a very satisfying experience, particularly if the movie is good. And consider that many people can't tell the difference between SD and HD on their HDTVs. Basically DVD quality is, in many instances, good enough. While the DVD to Blu-ray quality difference is significant, it's not as big of a leap as VHS to DVD. I remember VHS video artifacts & that interfered with my enjoyment of a movie. Very rarely have seen a DVD issue that is a limitation of the media.

What do you think?