@brando, the reason blu-ray prevailed is really simple. More studios on board, and the imbalance never tipped over in HD-DVD's favor. MS/Toshiba could've done a couple of things to improve their chances: 1) Release lo-cost RW drives to get the geeks in line. Didn't happen, so they never got the leap on blu-ray technology. 2) MS could've went whole hog and released a XBOX360 with an internal HD-DVD drive. The fact that they refused to do so says more than anything else that even they didn't have full confidence in the outcome.
As far as tech, no, most people didn't care about 7.1 surround or an extra theoretical capacity. The picture was good enough for both. But if you don't have the software, it doesn't matter how good the hardware is.
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@brando, the reason blu-ray prevailed is really simple. More studios on board, and the imbalance never tipped over in HD-DVD's favor. MS/Toshiba could've done a couple of things to improve their chances: 1) Release lo-cost RW drives to get the geeks in line. Didn't happen, so they never got the leap on blu-ray technology. 2) MS could've went whole hog and released a XBOX360 with an internal HD-DVD drive. The fact that they refused to do so says more than anything else that even they didn't have full confidence in the outcome.
As far as tech, no, most people didn't care about 7.1 surround or an extra theoretical capacity. The picture was good enough for both. But if you don't have the software, it doesn't matter how good the hardware is.