PriceSCAN Blog

Now this comes hard on the heals of a patent application for dual-format HD disks (see "Could Multi-Format Disks Allow Blu-ray and HD-DVD To Peacefully Coexist?"). The good news for early adapters is that by going dual-mode they can reduce the risk of investing in a losing technology (both standards could still fail to catch on, of course). Dual capability may accelerate HD disk acceptance yet early adaptation is often costly, and dual-mode alternatives are likely to further increase expense. VidaBox's machines are no exception; the LUX starts at $3,499 and the MAX starts at $4,399. To be sure, the firm's new LUX and MAX Dual HD systems combine their ecumenical approach to HD standards with a suite of sophisticated features. These include 7950GT video cards and up to 3000 and 3750 GB of storage, respectively. There's also dual analog and dual HDTV tuners for up to four-show simultaneous recording (I have trouble finding one interesting show to watch) and the availability of AMD 4600+ dual processors.
Now unlike dual-mode disks, dual-mode players do not increase costs for content providers, so there's no extra content expense to be past on to consumers. If dual players become available at more mass-market-friendly prices, the Blu-ray and HD-DVD consortiums could each choose to pump out their content in their chosen format, knowing a broad audience can access both. And if Blu-ray and HD-DVD disk creation prove to have similar cost structures (and equally attractive content) then maybe, just maybe, the single victor "lock-in" effect can be postponed, perhaps even indefinitely.
But as even a small price edge can result, over time, in great competitive advantage, such multi-standard equilibria can be difficult to attain. Meanwhile, if you've got the cash, it seems you can buy your way out of the Blu-ray/HD-DVD dilemma.