Laserdisc was doomed from the beginning, VHS was relatively new at that time, yet old enough for the prices of the machine and cassettes to be low, and of course, you can record.
On the other hand, the laserdisc machine was expensive, the disc where pricey and relatively unwelcome by the rental stores because of the size at display, and no recording potential…
As for the question of this thread, I support the Blu-ray format, however I think HD DVD will win because of the ignorance of the public. HD DVD is a catchy name and is already widely used in the TV terms, and people will have tendencies to think that HD DVD is better because of the HD letters, "High definition". Blue-ray seems good for people that know things and understand the underlying of each type, but for a naïve buyer the blue-ray is somewhat technically sparse and negative in the sounding. However, Sony and its entire movie empire surely can back up the blu-ray format, so let us wait and see… me I am not buying a machine until I know which DVD format wins. :hmm: