Apparently the powers at be behind the Blu-Ray are already claiming victory over the HD-DVD and say that they will have replaced the DVD within three years.

My money is actually on the HD-DVD in the longer term, but I’m a late adopter when it comes to consumer electronics so I can let the dust settle before jumping into the fray. My money is on HD-DVD carrying the day because I’ve learned it’s a bad idea to bet on Sony (the company behind the Blu-Ray curtain) when they try to push their own standard, but time will tell.

But here’s my observation on the whole thing: Whomever named the Blu-Ray the Blu-Ray deserves a raise. Knowing nothing else about it, a Blu-Ray sounds like something I want to own. Sure, it makes me think of a toy raygun or something, but at least it sounds like a cool toy raygun.

But outstripping the coolness of the Blu-Ray name is the lameness of the name HD-DVD. Whomever named that should be fired immediately. Part of me hopes that Blu-Ray wins just so that I don’t have to start saying HD-DVD on a regular basis. Not only do you have five letters that you have to spell out, three of them are the same damn letter. Yes, the title is discriptive, but come on! I expect geeks to come up with bulky, lame names (PCMCIA slots, for instance), but electronics people should realize that they play to a hipper audience.

They could really do themselves a world of good just by getting rid of one of the D’s. HDVD, High-Definition Video Disc. No dashes, no spaces. I think the “Digital” is pretty much implied at this point. Four letters is pushing it, but it makes it sound like the next logical step after the DVD which might give it a competitive advantage and manages to do so without being so impossibly retarded sounding.