Bay Area retailer believing FUD, reducing Blu-ray InStock

[chinabeach]

[FONT="Trebuchet MS"][SIZE="3"][SIZE="4"]Just had a confirmation from the DVD buyer at Amoeba Records (Berkeley and SF) that, going forward, they will "...only stock key Blu-Ray titles as they are not selling and the cost of inventory is too high. Our buyers will be focusing on HD for now."

I queried them after I was told by their DVD counterman in SF (Haight-Ashbury store) that "...we are not going to stock Blu-Ray because our distributor will no longer be carrying them due to several major Hollywood studios withdrawing their support of the format in favor of HD-DVD". When I queried further as to which "major Hollywood studios" he was referring to, he said "all of them - as a matter of fact, I read that Blu-Ray was no longer going to be manufactured..."

Oy! The birth of a new urban legend! I've heard this now from three separate retailers (Best Buy and Borders being the other two). It seems that the article regarding Paramount's decision to stop releasing in Blu-Ray has made its rounds on the internet, and, as is usual, has been thoroughly misinterpreted.

I believe it's critical that the major studios and the Blu-Ray folks get their acts together and stop this stupidity from spreading. No one is going to buy into Blu-Ray hardware if they're told by ignorant retailers that the format is dying!!

Thanks for reading,
CB