Java vs Microsoft Part XXX (The Path to High Definition DVD)
Oh, I am almost tingling with excitement!
Look out people, the next big battleground between Java and another contender (in this case, Microsoft and a bunch of manufacturers like Toshiba) is starting to shape up for later this spring, when the first next generation DVD players start coming out.
In one corner, you have Blu-Ray DVD, which uses Java ME (CDC) to create interactive menus and download apps, among other things. This group is headed by Sony, but represents (according to Blu-Ray) about 90% of the players in this new game.
In the other corner, you have Microsoft, Toshiba, and some other minor players, who are pushing a format called HD-DVD.
HD-DVD initially had very wide backing, but as it stands now, of the six largest Hollywood studios, only Universal Studios supports just HD DVD exclusively - the others either support both formats or Blu-Ray Disc.
So who’s gonna win? Well, we all know what happened when Java steamrolled the Microsoft alternatives in most small devices markets, but will Java triumph again in this new frontier?
There are already some opinions circulating in the hard-core DVD circles, and it looks like baring some unforeseen meltdown that Java will again thwart the ambitions of the Redmond giant.
Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD: Which format will you buy?
It sucks to be Microsoft when Java ME comes rolling in, doesn’t it?
Addendum:
After researching the topic some more, I realized it’s more complicated situation than that.
The problem is that, although the Blu-Ray specs promise significantly better quality than HD-DVD, there might also be a significant price difference between the two, in that most Blu-Ray tech will be more expensive.
This is a problem, since we all know people are chepaskates when they cannot see any tangible difference between two products - and quality is a very intangible thing sometimes.
So I expect a fiercer battle here than I thought, part of a long battle between Java and Microsoft to control the living room. Sun’s Java won the initial rounds, handily in the cellphone market, and just recently it won when the 6 largest cable operators endorsed the Open Cable Application Platform, which is based on java, and will be up by 2009.