No need to be excited/gloat over NPD this week...for either side

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Originally Posted by stockstar1138

1. Wal-mart is not included in these totals. Now while I have been a staunch FUDbuster of a lot of HD DVD fanboys claims that Wal-mart sells this incredibly high amount of software and that the Nielsens are skewed every week because of it, despite most stores having more blu-ray software for sale, I think a lot of us could agree that Wal-mart stocks and most likely sells more hd dvd hardware.

Inclusion or exclusion of stores is irrelevant. It's not like the list of stores included changed. We've always used those numbers and will continue to use them as a benchmark.

Originally Posted by stockstar1138

2. A lot of these blu-ray players are getting given away with HDTVs. There is no guarentee when something is given away that it is going to be used. Giving away a blu-ray player with a HDTV did not allow the consumer to choose blu-ray, it forced it on him, meaning while we get a tally in the blu column for the week, it might be a false tally, meaning blu-ray numbers are higher than they should be.

Did it occur to you that perhaps the customers bought their new HDTV's BECAUSE they were getting a free Blu-Ray player with it...not inspite of it?

Originally Posted by stockstar1138

3. HD DVD showed a very large increase in sales, despite many saying the format is dead. A dead format should not be selling at any price and the fact that HD DVD had a 500% increase, means it is not as dead as we might have hoped.

Bargain shoppers will always purchase bargains... even though they probably will never use or buy HD DUD movies--> PROVEN with the 83:17 Blu-Ray win on a non BOGO week... the same week currently being discussed about with the 500% increase for DUD players. Then there is the die hard HD DUD fans that probably picked up more then half the players sold.

Originally Posted by stockstar1138

4. Blu-ray sales dropped 25%. 25% is statistically significant and one has to assume that there were a statistically significant amount of people this week who chose HD DVD instead of blu-ray. With the super bowl next week, HDTV sales should have been up, meaning blu-ray sales should have been up, but they wern't.

I think very few people chose HD DVD over Blu-Ray. I think this particular week, more people chose the PS3 over stand alones. As for the Super Bowl approaching... perhaps there were more free bundles the week before or perhaps the Super Bowl shoppers do their shopping early... who knows?

Originally Posted by stockstar1138

2. Many HD DVD players were probably sold as upconverting players, meaning a similar effect as blu-ray players being given away with HDTVs.

Blu-Ray players being given with HDTV's is NOTHING like HD DUD players being sold as upconverters: The person that purchases DUD knows that he won't be able to watch High Def movies because they are mostly released on Blu-Ray.