The PlayStation 3 was Blu-rays ultimate Trojan horse

As the PlayStation 3 came to market in 2006, prices of HDTVs were falling. More consumers were looking to upgrade the big screen in their living rooms. And so the entertainment industry was eager to move on from DVD and rerelease films in hopes that people would “double dip” and repurchase their favorites in high-definition quality (and at a higher price). But instead of a straightforward transition to a next-generation disc format, the home media business found itself in a format war that reminded many of the battle between VHS and Betamax in the 1980s.

Consumers were faced with dueling physical media formats that were both vying to replace DVD. Blu-ray and HD DVD, two new optical disc technologies, were battling for support from movie...

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