Blu-ray outsells HD-DVD in U.S. for first 9 months

[BLUpassion]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/techno...3?pageNumber=1

Blu-ray outsells HD-DVD in U.S. for first 9 months
Wed Oct 24, 2007 12:06am BST

Email This Article | Print This Article | Digg | Single Page
[-] Text [+]

1 of 1Full Size
By Sue Zeidler

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Blu-ray DVD titles outsold rival HD-DVD titles by almost 2-to-1 in the first nine months of the year, but analysts expect additional HD-DVD support and new hit releases to "transform" the high-definition DVD battle score in the fourth quarter.

Home Media Research, a division of Home Media Magazine, said on Tuesday total U.S. sales of Blu-ray discs, using a Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research)-backed technology, totaled 2.6 million units from January 1 through Sept 30, versus 1.4 million HD-DVD discs sold.

HD-DVD was developed by Toshiba Corp (6502.T: Quote, Profile, Research). It is backed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) as well as film studios like Time Warner Inc's TWX.N Warner Bros.

The division in Hollywood grew deeper in August when Paramount Pictures (VIAb.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc (DWA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) signed exclusivity deals to distribute their next-generation discs on HD-DVD format for the next 18 months.

Gerry Kaufhold, analyst with In-Stat research firm, believes newly released HD-DVD titles with new advanced Web-enabled features, such as Paramount's "Transformers," will help the HD-DVD camp in the fourth quarter.

Paramount Home Video said that "Transformers" had the biggest debut of any high-definition titles, selling over 100,000 HD-DVDs on Oct 16, its first day of release.

Tom Adams, president of Adams Media Research, also said the 18-month period of exclusivity for HD-DVDs by Paramount and DreamWorks should strengthen HD-DVD's hand this quarter.

"This definitely smooths out the edge that Blu-ray had in exclusive titles and it very much strengthens HD-DVD's hand in the fourth quarter," he said, but still expects Blu-ray will lead for the year overall.

Adams predicts that for 2007 overall, consumers will spend $186 million purchasing Blu-ray discs, versus $91 million for

HD-DVD.

Walt Disney Co (DIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Sony, News Corp's (NWSa.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 20th Century Fox, and Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF.N: Quote, Profile, Research) are exclusively in the Blu-ray camp.

Hollywood and electronics manufacturers had hoped new high-definition DVDs, with better picture quality and more capacity would revive the slowing $24 billion home DVD market.

But like the Betamax-VHS battle in the 1980s, the DVD standards war has slowed adoption and created customer confusion. It has also raised the likelihood it will be years before next-generation players become standard equipment.

Since both formats launched in the spring of 2006, an estimated 4.98 million high-definition discs have been sold, including 3.01 million in Blu-ray and 1.97 million in HD-DVD through the end of September, according to Home Media.

One big factor giving Blu-ray an edge has been the popularity of Sony's PlayStation 3 game consoles, which also include a Blu-ray disc drive.

"It's going to be 2008 before the dust will really starts to settle. For now, its like watching a yacht race," said Kaufhold, who expects the standards battle will lead more consumers to dual DVD players such as those made by South Korea's LG Electronics Inc (066570.KS: Quote, Profile, Research), which supports both Blu-ray and HD-DVD.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) is expected to market a dual format player later this year, ahead of the holiday shopping season.