HD Mad TV

According to BusinessWeek the marketplace could be waking up to the reality that the new competing formats of next-generation DVDs (HD-DVD and Blu-ray) are a practical joke at the expense of consumers. Full disclosure: I'm a high-tech nutcase - a staunch supporter of the latest and greatest. But this time I think the technology and the corporations are completely misaligned with the marketplace for these products.

The only functional differences between next-gen DVDs and the current-gen variety are a better picture and sound quality. (And consumers are always complaining about the crappy quality of today's DVDs, right?) Keep in mind, though, that to enjoy this staggering increase in cinematic fidelity you must possess not just a high-definition TV but one of the highest-end models - TVs so sophisticated that most haven't even come on the market. Then the price point for the next-gen players themselves begins at around $1000 - and the movie discs clock in at around $40 each. Thus the prospect of sitting back for a high definition viewing of Turner and Hooch begins to resemble, in strictly financial terms, the equivalent of a first night in prison.

Sure, the market will drive prices downward - but keep in mind that there are competing formats, backed aggressively by different consortiums of consumer electronics manufacturers, each of which have sunk millions into research and development. These negative carry-forward amounts on the ledger won't go quietly into the night.

Consumers - some of whom still remember with bitter clarity the days of VHS versus Beta - would be wise to pass up these formats for years to come. They are nicely served by the existing market: A low-end DVD player at WalMart costs $35 - a price point so low that average wage earner can own several. And who needs another format? Must we buy the same movies, over and over? How many people still have shelves lined with perfectly usable videotapes? In fact, the time might be right for a grassroots campaign about consumer rights and fair-use, since the average Joe might be ready to understand that media companies have instituted a clever system whereby ownership is illusionary and more and more of their disposable income is spent for marginal entertainment value.