Hard Blu-ray & HD DVD disc sales #s unveiled

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16 Aug 07 00:40 by Seán Byrne in category Uncategorized To news archive

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With all the news going around comparing how well Blu-ray and HD DVD sales are going, Home Media Research has now provided actual disc sales covering the first half of 2007, going by this High-Def Digest report. As pretty much expected, Blu-ray is well ahead with around 1.6 million disc sales, compared with just 795,000 HD-DVD sales over this same time period.

However, there is still a long way to go yet before the sales of even both combined catch up with standard definition DVD sales. At present, both together account for 2.5% of overall disc sales so far this year. It will be interesting to see how well each format does as holiday season gradually approaches, particularly with player pricing significantly lower than last year, not to mention an increased variety of titles.

Unfortunately for the consumer, the format war still shows no sign of ending anytime soon. For example, each format has certain titles not available on the other format and dual-format players still cost significantly more than the price of buying both individual format players together.

24 Comments

mrQQ: Posts: 833; Posted on: 16 Aug 07 07:42

so we wait.

guest: Posts: 15288; Posted on: 16 Aug 07 08:25

I am very impressed that 2.5% of all sales are in HD at the moment. That is 1 in 40. I would have expected it to take way longer to reach this level...

guest: Posts: 15288; Posted on: 16 Aug 07 21:00

Depends how soon is soon. Thanksgiving (the start of the Xmas sales) is only a few months away. Universal probably wants to show they are honoring Microsoft's support by sticking with HD-DVD through Xmas -- but after Xmas hands BluRay the victory, they'll finally be able to say "Bill, we tried, but people hate you."

Bobverens: Posts: 241; Posted on: 16 Aug 07 21:31

Unlikely, as there are just as many who hate Sony as much...probably even more. Gaming fanboys aside, it'll take alot more than they can achieve this 4th quarter to sweep the board. I recall where Beta had a 3-1 lead over VHS 3 years after their intro...being old enough :X

johnzap: Posts: 498; Posted on: 16 Aug 07 22:58

This "war" is just waiting for one thing to happen and then it ends: Universal releasing also for Blu-Ray. When that happens: bye-bye HD-DVD.

guest: Posts: 15288; Posted on: 17 Aug 07 13:14

Personally I find it all funny that while 2.5% of the population are spending money on HD. There is a large portion of people downloading video camera recordings of movies or xvids of DVDs, which are terrible quality far worse than regular old antenna TV.

guest: Posts: 15288; Posted on: 17 Aug 07 16:30

I think Microsoft is the "Beta" in the war this time. XBox 360s are crashing all over the place. I remember the pitching point for VHS being "You can get up to 8 hours on one tape!" Just using that comparison, Blu-Ray is going to win on storage capacity. There is more mistrust against Microsoft than there is against Sony. There are more manufacturers (and movie studios) putting their investment into Blu-Ray than HD-DVD. And the PS3 is a pretty smart, capable machine even if you don't care if it plays video games. Also - there are more Blu-Ray Discs being sold this far into the format launch than there were DVDs that far along into that format launch. The race isn't over, but I think that by Spring of 2008, HD-DVD will go the way of Microsoft Bob!

Rich86: Posts: 448; Posted on: 17 Aug 07 19:43

I don't really care which format wins this little battle. When the industry settles on a single standard high definition format, designed and focused on providing the features and capabilties we consumers want and deserve - I will consider investing. Until then - I still buy standard dvd's when I really want to own a particular title (fewer and fewer all the time since it is now an outdated format) and enjoy them via my upconverting dvd player on my 1080p tv.

johnzap: Posts: 498; Posted on: 17 Aug 07 20:27

"(...) xvids of DVDs, (...) terrible quality far worse than regular old antenna TV."??? Are you serious? For your information, well encoded XviDs, from good sources, are way better than old antenna TV!

DukeNukem: Posts: 998; Posted on: 17 Aug 07 22:03

"There is more mistrust against Microsoft than there is against Sony." BAhahahahahah. May I have some crack, too?

DukeNukem: Posts: 998; Posted on: 17 Aug 07 22:05

@ johnzap Yeah, I don't know what he's on about either. The XVIDs I download are of pristine quality, very close to that of DVD itself. The only exception is if it's a cam or something like that. Otherwise, it's a great bang for your buck. LOL.

guest: Posts: 15288; Posted on: 18 Aug 07 04:11

The winner of this 'war' will be decided by the killer app ~ mass produced HD DVD or Blu-Ray RECORDERS (set top that is) You heard it here first!

old3eyes: Posts: 96; Posted on: 18 Aug 07 04:11

"Posted by johnzap on Thursday 16 August 2007 22:58 This "war" is just waiting for one thing to happen and then it ends: Universal releasing also for Blu-Ray. When that happens: bye-bye HD-DVD." Or if Sony was to release HD DVD then bye bye Blu-ray..

johnzap: Posts: 498; Posted on: 18 Aug 07 19:13

Sony releasing HD-DVD? Is this a April 1st joke? :B And it's not only Sony. It's Fox, Disney, Lionsgate... The thing is: Blu-Ray is in front. It would make a lot more sense for Universal to release Blu-Ray than the the pro-Blu-Ray proponents to do the opposite. And if Universal does that, the "war" is over and HD-DVD will be buried. Universal's president, Kornblau, admits as much. Give it some more time and you'll see it happen.

guest: Posts: 15288; Posted on: 19 Aug 07 00:36

If average people are willing to take a "...a great bang for your buck." on an xvid and be happy at not true quality dvd, then will they shell out for blu-ray or hd-dvd? Perhaps we will end up with people encoding their HD movies to near HD quality and backing them up on a good old regular dvd

guest: Posts: 15288; Posted on: 20 Aug 07 13:49

Wait till Wal mart sells HD players for 99 to 199 this Christmas on its black friday.Its all set up,Buy a player for 99 then get five movies free will it change who is on first? Don't care I do own on sony or MS.

guest: Posts: 15288; Posted on: 21 Aug 07 00:54

2% of all titles? or just those reflecting "Movies & Games". We still don't see any music videos on the Hi-Def band wagon. Cost still is a factor with regards to production. Maybe come holiday time we'll see Elvis.....

guest: Posts: 15288; Posted on: 21 Aug 07 01:46

People buy music videos? I don't care who wins, I just hope they do it soon.

guest: Posts: 15288; Posted on: 21 Aug 07 03:17

I guess someone forgot to tell paramount that blu ray is going to win. they just announced they were dropping Blu Ray and going HD DVD exclusively. and that means that movies from powerhouses like DreamWorks will be available on HD DVD only.

guest: Posts: 15288; Posted on: 21 Aug 07 06:18

Cost is already a huge factor and HD DVD is catching up. With HD DVD players at $239 now, the set top box market is already going to HD DVD. I definetly think we'll see HD DVD at $199 for Christmas and then it will be a whole new battle.

guest: Posts: 15288; Posted on: 21 Aug 07 10:57

2 studios bet HD DVD will be a hit http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-hddvd21aug21,0,3873825.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-business If you guys were just 1/2 as smart as you think you are, you would be wealthy today. :S

Bobverens: Posts: 241; Posted on: 21 Aug 07 19:28

Hmm...as I recall (I'm ancient :S ) Paramount was the first studio to drop Beta in favor of VHS exclusively...the rest is history. Looks like 'history' repeats itself... :B

guest: Posts: 15288; Posted on: 21 Aug 07 20:05

Looks like 'history' repeats itself... :B And once again we'll be stuck with an inferior format :r

guest: Posts: 15288; Posted on: 23 Aug 07 16:05

I concur with you Bert!

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