Sony claims that Blu-ray will blow HD DVD out of the water, due in part to the delay of the first HD DVD players next year and also to the fact that PlayStation 3 will be Blu-ray based.
Speaking to HomeMediaRetailing.com, Benjamin Feingold, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE), made the prediction that within a year HD DVD would have no choice but to surrender, largely thanks to the inclusion of Blu-ray players in every PlayStation 3.
Don't underestimate the impact that PS3 having Blu-ray could potentially have - when the PlayStation 2 first appeared DVD was fairly minor, and the now successful nature of the format is at least partially down to the inclusion of DVD on PS2.
Could we see the same scenario with Blu-ray and the PS3? One thing is certain: thanks to the PS3, movie studios will quickly gain a sizable Blu-ray player userbase as more and more PS2 owners flock to the next-gen console.
"It's clear to me that a year from now everyone will be putting out Blu-ray, whether they've announced or not, because once there are a few million playback devices it's a revenue stream they cannot and will not ignore," said Feingold.
However, with manufacturing costs for HD DVD discs seemingly far lower than for Blu-ray, that format also boasts some strength too. Blu-ray offers higher capacity storage than HD DVD - but do we really need all of this space?