Blu-ray vs HD DVD: CNN article

[Alex Pallas]

hope this hasnt been posted: http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9750763-7.html

The expected next-generation DVD format war isn't quite the deadlock many expected.

Target's announcement Thursday that it would sell a Sony Blu-ray player in its stores alongside Blu-ray discs in a special feature promotion is important because the second-largest retailer in the U.S. doesn't sell HD DVD players in its stores, outside of the external HD DVD drive made for Microsoft's Xbox 360. It does sell a Toshiba HD DVD player on its Web site, however.

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When the battle between the competing optical disc formats--HD DVD and Blu-ray--began brewing last year, analysts predicted protracted trench warfare, many refusing to choose sides. But just six months after the first Blu-ray players went on sale, the numbers show that the fight may be nearing its conclusion.

Blu-ray got way out ahead of HD DVD by virtue of Sony's PlayStation 3 console, which came preloaded with a Blu-ray player. Of the 1.5 million Blu-ray players sold in the U.S., 1.4 million are PS3s, according to the Digital Entertainment Group, which promotes both formats. HD DVD had an advantage in that its players were less expensive than Blu-ray--at first. Though HD DVD prices have come down, Blu-ray's have as well.

Toshiba, one of the staunchest supporters of HD DVD, said last month that initial forecasts of sales of discs and external HD DVD drives was probably a bit ambitious. The Japanese electronics maker said it anticipates selling 1 million players and recorders in North America this year, down 44 percent from the earlier estimate of 1.8 million. The Digital Entertainment Group reports that HD DVD has sold 300,000 HD DVD players, and half of that figure is the external drive that pairs with Microsoft's Xbox 360.

Things looked bad for HD DVD last month when Blockbuster said the only high-definition DVDs it would rent in its stores would be Blu-ray. HD DVD will be available, however, on its Web site, Blockbuster.com.

In yet another sign that two competing formats may be a thing of the past, earlier this month Warner Bros., a studio supporting both formats, announced that its Total HD disc--HD DVD on one side, Blu-ray on the other--would likely be delayed until early 2008. Though Warner Bros. says the timing isn't right and the dual-format disc will still be a viable business idea six months from now, it's looking more like it won't even be necessary.

Click on the chart above for a breakdown of the numbers.

[Blu-dock Saint]

Sad but true, neither side is selling what they thought they would, we barely even touch 1% of dvd sales......I hope Blu starts selling a lot more.

[nhaase]

But just six months after the first Blu-ray players went on sale, the numbers show that the fight may be nearing its conclusion.

That's a bit much, since that would have been December '06, when sales I think were even (if I remember correctly from the special hi-def section of HMM last month), but it was after the PS3 came out that things took a turn.

Their last paragraph about TotalHD is on the money. There's an obvious reason WB postponed it (as we've discussed here, when the news came out), and all of this, including Spielberg's first hi-def movie being BD-exclusive, shows the reality of the situation. Something tells me this week's news (Target, Spielberg, POTC 3, MGM getting back into it, and even more studios going BD-exclusive) have GE sharpening the blade of the guillotine which has Ken Graffeo's name on it. I know that's a bit ambitious, but they've got to be getting pissed w/ this guy.