Blu-ray @ Best Buy...

[AV_Integrated]

I went into BB with my son last night. I always take a look at what their Blu-ray offerrings are, but this time I decided to do a head count and see how they were positioning Blu-ray vs. HD DVD.

It blew me away... They have the Sony hooked up to a 70" SXRD in their Magnolia section, and twenty feet away it is also hooked up to a 40" XBR LCD display. Also in Mag. was both the Panasonic AND the Pioneer players. Finally, on their main floor that had the Samsung.

Obviously they had the PS3 running, but sticking with games and not a lot of Blu-ray talk there.

HD DVD? There was one XA1 in the Magnolia section. It was tucked into a far corner and was NOT on or connected to any displays. It did not include any signage at all.

Is this a sign of what BB intends to do with the Blu-ray vs. HD DVD format? Are they gearing up to stand soley behind Blu-ray as a format and simply leave the Toshiba only HD DVD players sitting in Toshiba's warehouses? I'm really not sure. But, it was quite clear to me after this outing that anyone interested in HD discs were going to be steered specifically... and pretty much only... towards Blu-ray Disc.

I guess online it's a lot easier to dedicate advertising 50/50 between both formats. Especiallyw hen it takes up no shelf space and stores often make very similar amounts on much of what is sold. Online it's HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray. Best Buy is the perfect example of how it trully is: Sony, Panny, Pioneer, Samsung vs. Toshiba - and BB is already saying forget Toshiba.