I think that neither format will ever be a "winner" because, as you mention, most consumers simply don't care. When the time comes that consumers do want to move to a new format (once companies give them a reason to, beyond a sharper image), HDDVD and Blu-Ray will both be old tech. I think a lot of companies jumped the gun by declaring a new format war and I doubt that consumers will ever move in large numbers to a new format simply for incrementally better sound/video. The improvements simply don't justify the price difference in the media between those and DVD.
5
I think that neither format will ever be a "winner" because, as you mention, most consumers simply don't care. When the time comes that consumers do want to move to a new format (once companies give them a reason to, beyond a sharper image), HDDVD and Blu-Ray will both be old tech. I think a lot of companies jumped the gun by declaring a new format war and I doubt that consumers will ever move in large numbers to a new format simply for incrementally better sound/video. The improvements simply don't justify the price difference in the media between those and DVD.