COPYCENSE

“This month, Toshiba’s HD-A1 high-definition DVD player hit store shelves. It’s the first marketplace volley in an absurd and pointless format war among the titans of the movie, electronics and computer industries.

“Just contemplating the rise of a new DVD format is enough to make you feel played. What’s wrong with the original DVD format, anyway? It offers brilliant picture, thundering surround sound and bonus material. The catalog of DVD movies is immense and reasonably priced. And DVD players are so cheap, they practically fall out of magazines; 82 percent of American homes have at least one DVD player.

“To electronics executives, all of this can mean only one thing: It’s time to junk that format and start over.”

David Pogue. Why the World Doesn’t Need Hi-Def DVD’s. The New York Times. May 11, 2006.

See also:

Greg Sandoval. Syncing High-Def Music With Digital Generation. News.com. May 15, 2006.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the law, business, and technology of digital content. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.