August 21, 2007 - The Blu-ray Disc Association released a formal statement yesterday in response to the recent announcement that both Paramount and DreamWorks Animation have opted into the camp of HD DVD. Numbers and facts and figures -- which can be read in any number of ways by any number of people -- were tossed around lightly.
Of the move to HD DVD, Chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association U.S. Promotions Committee Andy Parsons stated:
"The decision seems oddly timed given Blu-ray's tremendous momentum both with consumers and with retail. Blu-ray title sales continue to outpace HD DVD sales by nearly a 2 to 1 margin, and major retailers have expressed a strong preference for Blu-ray. Moreover, the price delta between HD DVD and Blu-ray players has been greatly reduced in the past few months, a trend that is on its way to eliminating any perceived cost advantage the HD DVD format has claimed to have. Under these circumstances, we can only imagine what could have enticed Paramount to walk away from a format that is clearly selling significantly more software than the HD DVD format."
Following the statement, the Association presented a number of Blu-ray facts which they believe justify the format as the prevailing method for viewing high-def DVDs:
- Blu-ray titles have consistently outsold HD DVD by a ratio of two to one since January of this year. Consumer preferences for BD have been especially clear with day-and-date releases on both formats like The Departed and 300.
- Blu-ray has sold 1.6 million discs so far this calendar year, whereas HD DVD has sold 795K.
- In June, Blockbuster decided to support only Blu-ray discs at the vast majority (85%) of its retail stores due to actual consumer rental patterns that showed a clear preference for BD.
- In July, Target announced their plan to sell only a Blu-ray set-top player in retail stores, and not sell any HD DVD set top models through this holiday season.
- Also in July, BJ's Wholesale Club, a significant retailer in the Northeast region, has decided to sell only Blu-ray products.
- The price delta between HD DVD and Blu-ray players has been greatly reduced in the past few months, a trend that is on its way to eliminate any perceived cost advantage the HD DVD format has claimed to have. Sony also lowered the price of the PS3 console to $499, resulting in a Sony-claimed 135% increase in sales.
- Major blockbuster titles have been announced by Disney and Sony Pictures, including Disney/Pixar's Cars, Ratatouille and Finding Nemo, Pirates 3, Spiderman 1, 2 and 3. These should have a very significant impact on consumer adoption of Blu-ray.
- It took 10 months for Blu-ray to achieve 1 million disc sales, but only 3 months to achieve 2 million. Market momentum is clearly accelerating.
Link- http://dvd.ign.com/articles/814/814206p1.html
Log in to comment