The Trouble with HTPCs

Suppose HD DVD and Blu-ray fizzle and video-on-demand actually catches on. What then? At that point, you’ll only have two options: DVD and HD-video-on-demand. The problem is that while “DVD is good enough for some people,” we’ve shown time and time again that the difference between HD DVD/Blu-ray and DVD is enormous. It doesn’t matter how good your scaler is. High definition always trumps standard definition, and we have the screenshots to prove it. What’ll end up happening is that studios will control your ability to watch high definition content, allowing the rest of us to do what we want “lower quality” DVDs. As HDTVs get bigger and cheaper, it’s narrow minded to believe that DVD will always be good enough. For many of us, it’s not enough today!