Betamax was a marketing failure, not a technological failure. Both Betamax and VHS, in the early days, had an equal share of the market. I still own an NEC Beta Hi-Fi VCR that, approaching 16 years of age, works well. The ultimate direction the market takes will not be decided by technological superiority, ease of use, or features. It will be decided solely on price and availability. The adoption by Apple will, as I posted, give Blu-Ray a definite advantage within the community making the decision on which format they support with software. They will both be commercial products, but the "average" consumer will support the product that supplies them with the greater amount of software titles and is compatible with their existing base of discs.
Time has proved that the consumer is not the best person to make a decision on technological matters, but that's how it works.