Media disc war starts..........

Imation and Memorex {though they are now the same company}are sending press-releases about their new HD-DVD media disc offerings. The drive manufactures have been using the lack of media as the reason for slow sales. So the focus is extra capacity 15GB - a storage solution which can now handle all the new multi-media, imaging, video ideas you can think of. But who is going too follow this upgrade?

Imation and Memorex have gone as far as separating the market place. Memorex will attack the Retail market for consumers. Imation - business sector or "prosumers" sold thru channel distribution, basically the add-on to drive sales.

We all can agree both markets will not see any real increase in sales until Notebooks/Desktops start installing
HD-DVD drives as standard equipment. Those around when CDs first showed up understand this, more commonly know as "pull-through". Now that's a gamble few manufactures are willing to make. One platform vs another, choose wrong your behind the 8-ball.

It is safe to say Toshiba will lead this HD-DVD conversion. Sony will head Blu-Ray with their units. But what side of the fence will HP, Dell, Apple an assortment of 3rd party builders fall. Again we see the struggle for market dominance at the expense of users.

Imation following Toshiba's lead addresses the prime target for HD-DVD, current users of Optical Discs. So far as saying companies under the pressure of current regulatory guidelines need this format. From a total business point of view, when someone gets sued or pays a fine because these guidelines, then we may take this storage issue a little more serious. But, your asking a company to upgrade to a format that is NOT universal.

Company A upgrades to HD-DVD, suppliers don't follow, need new support vendors for HD-DVD. Customers don't follow, they have to upgrade to do business with you. Who knows what new clients will do.
I say this because changing to HD-DVD for storage effects a lot more than just "internal" storage solutions.
Downward capatible has not even been on the lips of anyone. Forget about the video which highlights the products an advancements your company has made. Forget the IT Storage technician that sees the solution making his library easier to maintain.

The media format you choose WILL EFFECT the way you do business. This directly effects the way duplicators [us included] have to wade through this. We currently are receiving calls from clients about HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, duplication is not the problem we can do that, but in maintaining business relations we have to sit the client down an ask "WHY" do you currently know right now how many can actually use this disc?

Digital environments were all creating do need a higher capacity solution, that is a standard growth pattern. I for one is getting feed-up with having to choose, or worst not choosing a path because of un-certainty. What we must all keep in mind, regardless who loses, a new idea or solution is less than 5 years away.