We cannot really be sure if Blu-ray has failed yet.
We know that it beat our HD-DVD and has the support of almost every major studio, not to mention that it is the format which the PS3 uses.
It didn't 'beat' hd-dvd. Sony bought off studio support to kill hd-dvd.
No -= actually HD-DVD were the ones who 'bought off' the studios (Universal and Paramount) initially. What killed HD-DVD was the fact that the other Studios were more nervous that Microsoft had such a big hand in HD-DVD development; and as bas a Sony often is with licensing fees; they felt Microsoft would in the longf run, be worse then Sony ever was.
Right nos - Blu Ray is the only HD disc tecnology available to the consumer - and while HDTVs are starting to see a larger penetration; there's no doubt that (at present) the overall HD market is still only a fraction of what the 'Standard TV' market is (And I say this as someone who has 3 HDTVs and two Blu-Ray players - one for the living room, and one for the bedroom).
It's way too early to say 'BluRay has failed'; and with every major studio releasing and promoting their Blu-Ray line; it certainly hasn't been abandoned. But until HDTVs become the prevailent TV technology, HD in general will remain a niche market.
For example, viable VHS recorders were around and available to consumers from 1975 on; yet it wasn't until 1982 that studios started putting some films on tape, available to consumer purchase; and it was about 1985 before the major studios felt VHS recorders had penetrated the market enough to start releasing ALL major films on VHS.
Also, VHS tapes and even DVDs were VERY expesive when they first became availabe. I do hink that in a few years the general price poin t for Blu-Ray discs will drop in the same way DVD prices did. But, standard def DVDs will not be 'dead' anythime soon; and since every Blu-Ray player will play and upscale a standard DVD (although it stiill doesn't look as good as a native 1080P Blu-Ray disc); there's no reason to think that will change for some time. I will (and have in the case of films I really enjoy and like to re-watch) 'update' a portion of my current DVD collection to Blu-Ray; but there is stuff that I see no need to re buy in Blu-Ray format, and as people go the HD route I'm sure they'll do the same. BUT - for anything released currently, I only pick up the Blu-Ray versions.
