I dont think either standard will go anywhere in DVD sales.....sales are tanking
now as it is. Who is going to invest in new gear?
DVD sales are tanking? That's new to me. The format's incredibly successful. If sales are down recently, that would probably be more due to the lack of any decent movies worth buying, rather than a rejection of the format.
The problem with HD-DVD/Blu-Ray detractors is that most of them don't understand that it will take years just to resolve which format is the "true" next-gen DVD, let alone replace the current DVD format. DVD itself launched in 1997, without a format war, clearly meant to be the successor to VHS... and didn't gain widespread acceptance until 2001-2002.
Regardless, there's a long-term need for Blu-Ray/HD-DVD, and the sooner they launch and the sooner one wins, the better.