It looks like Blu-ray is currently winning the high definition war, with around 70% of people buying new high def DVDs opting for that format. Combined first quarter sales of both the Blu-ray and HD-DVD formats broke the one million barrier in the US. The Blu-ray camp has always been the more aggressive of the two, often releasing bullish figures and claims about it sales. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year, the Blu-ray group rolled out execs from the main film makers, and claimed that even by January it was out-selling HD-DVD.
Blu-ray is supported by five of the six major studios, while HD-DVD’s support numbers just three. Two, Paramount Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video, support both standards (Warner announced a hybrid, dual format disc at CES). What this creates is the crazy situation where you have to be a fan of a film format rather than films, because some are not available on both standard.
Hybrid Blu-ray/HD-DVD players are coming out (LG was first to make its move with its Super Multi DVD player – and it is bringing out a dual HD drive for the PC too), giving consumers a comfort blanket in case one format does crash and burn.
Sony, the main backer of Blu-ray, always expected sales of both the players and discs to outstrip those of HD-DVD, but given that its Playstation 3 houses a Blu-ray player, and that it gave buyers of the console a free Blu-ray movie, that’s no surprise.
So news that Blu-ray is becoming the dominant format is good for its backers, but it still doesn’t clear up the confusion over standards in the marketplace, and means some consumers will be making expensive mistakes when they find support for their chosen player fades.
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