Study: HD DVD Has Lead in Consumer Support

[JimPullan]

Hi-Def Digest reprinted this study on Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD:

"Online opinion makers have already crowned HD DVD the winner over Blu-ray in the high-def format war, says a new industry research study -- and the PlayStation 3 may be more hindrance than help.

According to Home Media Retailing, a report compiled by independent market analytics firm Cymfony has scoured over 17,664 postings on various media sites, tech blogs and message forums in the past two months, and found that Blu-ray currently lags far behind HD DVD in positive opinion. In fact, the numbers say that the buzz for HD DVD is 46 percent greater than that of Blu-ray, and that's among both high-def early adopters and the gaming community.

Further scrutinizing a core sampling of 2,000 random posts, the report found more bad numbers for Blu-ray. Of this group, 23.4% viewed Blu-ray negatively compared to 14.2% for HD DVD; 53.1% were neutral toward Blu-ray (52.8% for HD DVD) and 32.9% viewed HD DVD positively compared to 23.5% for Blu-ray.

But perhaps most surprisingly -- and potentially lethal for the Blu-ray camp -- the report also suggests core gamers are actually dissenting from the format because of Sony's inclusion of a Blu-ray drive in the PlayStation 3. That's in sharp contrast to almost all industry projections, as the PS3's next-gen capability was expected to be the trojan horse that, hands down, would win the format war for Blu-ray.

"Sony forces you to buy Blu-ray," read a post at forums.adventuregamers.com that was cited by Cymfony. "Microsoft doesn't force you to buy HD DVD. It's about giving the consumer options."

Ouch.

What do we make of all of this? Well, one study is only just that -- one study. But it is obvious that ever since the Blu-ray format launched this past summer amid poor reviews for both the initial hardware and software, it's had a tough time recovering in the court of online opinion. Meanwhile, HD DVD continues to enjoy an upsurge in awareness and support few saw coming. Worse still, if the PlayStation 3's Blu-ray capabilities are suddenly seen not as a benefit but instead Sony forcing a format down gamers' throats, well, all this bad buzz could soon turn Blu-ray into a giant blueberry of a bomb bigger than Violet Beauregarde in 'Willy Wonka.'

One thing we know for sure. Launching a new home video format is no different from any other new product -- perception is often the same as reality. And if more reports like this continue to circulate and the Blu-ray backlash doesn't let up, the format's backers will find it an increasingly uphill struggle to turn the tide. We here at High-Def Digest, meanwhile, remain format agnostic, and will continue to report and review on both formats. But unfortunately for Blu-ray (and Sony) the shadow of the failed Betamax is always hovering close by. Stay tuned... "

IMO it's premature to make any judgements and this is but a single study or survey, not carrying much merit. I wonder if AVS Forum was behind this study? I'm still confident that at the end of the day, Blu-Ray prevails !!!

Jim