Is the Hi-Def Era Really Worth It?

I read the other day that Toshiba’s HD DVD technology is being discontinued and that Sony’s Blu-ray has officially won the High Definition format war!

Yay?

I have to say that I have never been that enthusiastic about having a new home video technology, so soon after I became comfortable with DVDs (I’ve only been buying them for less than 6 years).

I have to admit that I was critical of DVDs when they started becoming popular, but in the end I agreed that they were an improvement over VHS.

However, high definition DVDs aren’t so cut and dry. I have to admit that there is an improvement between high definition and standard definition. However, I believe you really need a 50+ inch TV to really notice this difference. So, if you have such a TV and no existing DVDs, yeah I will say that you should go for high-def.

However, a big problem is existing DVDs. In my house there are over 150 DVDs, which over the years cost my family up to $5000. With all this talk about how high definition is superior to standard, all that money might have well just been thrown into a garbage disposal.

The fact is, unless you are someone that aways wants the latest and greatest and you have money to burn, high definition will never truly replace standard DVDs. Even if it does, I’m sure there is some other technology being developed that is ready to replace it within a moments notice.