I think this one's still too early to really call, guys. The race only just started
! Sony knows that the best-looking format doesn't always win (VHS vs Betamax, anyone?), and hopefully they learned a lesson from that debacle. Getting widespread support from content providers, hardware manufacturers, and retailers will be key. But they do need to get other manufacturers' players out and their cost down right away so the Samsung's issues-if they are only Samsung's issues-don't kill the format off before it gets started. They also need to get their content providers all using VC-1 encoding. Sony does have an advantage in that they own a major content provider, and until (and if) that provider is forced by market response to switch over to HD DVD production, the BD format will have at least a semblance of life. It's an option they didn't have with Betamax. Sadly this means that consumers will have to own two players ($$) or a not-yet-in-the-pipeline combo player to watch the full range of high definition content.
Looks like I'll be on the fence for a while longer.