Still a bit bitter

But at least I know I was right...

Wilson also suggested that consumers would really have been better off with the HD format than with Blu-ray. [emphasis added]

"Storage capacity is the one area [where Blu-ray] can claim an advantage," he elaborated. But the outcome of the format war, which became official on Tuesday, "doesn't benefit anyone today and it comes at a cost. [Blu-ray] discs and players are both more expensive to manufacture. The DVD format was less expensive to implement and further along in its deployment. [Blu-ray] is twelve months behind in terms of its feature set."

Via BetaNews: Analysts: Studios will gain from HD DVD's exit, but consumers' won't

Toshiba Officially Drops HD DVD

Following several days of rumors, Toshiba has confirmed that it will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders, effectively ending the high-def format war.
Toshiba Officially Drops HD DVD | High-Def Digest

Yes folks, it's finally officially over. Can we all shut up about it now. (Of course, this means I picked the wrong side no matter how justified. Let the fire sales on the discs commence.)

No matter what you've heard, don't buy Blu-ray... Yet.

I've got a HD-DVD player and a handful of movies for it. I didn't want to take sides but I got it refurbished (i.e. cheap) so who was I to argue. However, recent reports makes it look like Blu-ray may just win this format war. But don't let that cause you to run out and get a Blu-ray player just yet. Why not? Well, they're not forward compatible!

So here's how it's going to work: current players are Profile 1.0, and can play future hi-def discs but no bonus stuff. Profile 1.1 discs will include additional bonus material that won't play on 1.0 players—these discs will have a "Bonus View" sticker. Come October, Profile 2 capability will come to the market, which includes Internet activity, but only on Profile 2.0 players—these discs will have a "BD Live" sticker.

There is one notable exception: the Playstation 3. So, if you're going to get one of those, you won't have the above-described problem. If you want a stand-alone Blu-ray player, don't even think of getting one before Christmas.