Which disc will win out?

The St.Louis Post Dispatch reports:

Like the VHS-Betamax struggle 25 years ago, today's competing technologies are more similar than different. But the stakeholders couldn't agree last year on a unified format. Toshiba wanted to finalize production of its new HD-DVD players and laptops. Sony balked at downgrading its higher-capacity Blu-ray Disc devices, which will go into its new PlayStation console this year.

This week, Toshiba's player is set to hit store shelves.

"In the U.S. market, the one that's first out of the gate has a big advantage," said Tony Dollar, vice president of the Hi-Fi Fo-Fum electronics store in Richmond Heights. "Just look at satellite radio: XM is still far ahead of Sirius."

The new high-capacity DVDs promise four to five times better picture detail in movies and games. But will consumers shell out hundreds of dollars just to see the pores on Clint Eastwood's skin?

It will be interesting to see which format wins out.