Blu-Ray wins...maybe

With Wal-Mart and Best Buy backing Blu-Ray, it certainly seems like HD-DVD has gone the way of Betamaxx and DivX.

Now they'll have to fight against digital downloads. This New York Times article acknowledges that digital downloads are the next big threat to the Blu-Ray format. I wonder how far off it really is though--certainly the Blu-Ray spokesman is going to be pessimistic about any threat to the DVD market. This particular service sounds intriguing to me. Or maybe if Apple's iTV ever catches on.

In the short term, I suspect everything will depend on what the relative equipment costs will be. The price of Blu-Ray players will have to drop pretty fast if it's going to become the dominant media format for a significant period of time. But in the long run, I think consumers will pay the premium for the convenience of downloads. I wonder how much money has been invested into Blu-Ray and how long it would take for Sony to profit off it.