After reading this Article about the Blu-ray problems, this news announcement came as kinda a surprise.
It appears Blockbuster will rent high-definition DVDs only in the Blu-ray format in 1,450 stores when it expands its high-def offerings next month
This could be a major blow to the rival HD DVD format and it could help to resolvethe format war that has kept confused consumers from rushing to buy new DVD players.
Most folks are waiting until they can determine which format will dominate the market.
Blockbuster has been renting both Blu-ray and HD DVD titles in 250 stores since late last year and found that consumers were choosing Blu-ray titles more than 70 percent of the time.
"The consumers are sending us a message. I can't ignore what I'm seeing," Matthew Smith, senior vice president of merchandising at Blockbuster, told The Associated Press.
Blockbuster will continue to rent HD DVD titles in the original 250 locations and online, the Dallas-based company said.line, the Dallas-based company said.
"When you walk into a store and see all this product available in Blu-ray and there is less available on HD DVD, I think the consumer gets that," Smith said.
Blockbuster's decision,could boost Blu-ray even more if other retailers follow suit.
Naturally the North American HD DVD Promotional Group has a different comment and said Blockbuster's decision was shortsighted and skewed by the success of films released by Blu-ray studios in the first three months of the year. The group said HD DVD has since gained momentum, selling more players and popular titles such as "The 40-Year Old Virgin" and "The Matrix" trilogy.
"I think trying to make a format decision using such a short time period is really not measuring what the consumer is saying," said Ken Graffeo, co-president of the group.
The Blu-ray camp has been helped by the release of such huge hits as "Casino Royale," "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Spider-Man" coming out exclusively in its format.
Comments
Great article Brandon. Even
Great article Brandon. Even though they say HD DVD will still be supported, you just have to wonder for how long. I mean, this is truly only the second era of the actual physical movie rental industry (Meaning non-downloaded rentals). The first was VHS. The second, which we are currently in is DVD. At one point, early movie rental outlets supported both VHS and Beta. Little by little, they eliminated the Beta leaving VHS as the "preferred" format. Now take a look at movie rentals today. With the advent of DVD, VHS has pretty much vanished from rental outlets after most were supporting both formats for a few years. (Some still are I suppose) So, here comes the third era, High Def. Once again, there's two competing formats. I do believe that Blu-Ray is becoming the victor.
I think what we're seeing here in the actions of Blockbuster is really the bell tolling for HD DVD. It's only a matter of time before it becomes the 21st Century's Betamax. This time though, I honestly don't think the movie rental industry will be the major catalyst in this battle. I really do believe it's the gaming industry, and more to the point, the PS3 that has taken the lead in determining the fate of HD DVD. I mean the gaming console has become THE home entertainment system. Families aren't going to buy a PS3 for the kids AND an HD DVD player. The college student won't be doing that either. Hell, the 30-something guy like myself will just buy a PS3 for $600 and get more bang for the buck. Clearly, it's all about the Blu-Ray. :) Perhaps Sony had a plan after all? ;) So, that North American HD DVD Promotional Group can say whatever it wants. I think it's plain to see where to start placing your chips.
You might be right about the
You might be right about the gamining industry it might push the outcome over to Blu-ray. Hadn't thought about that.
Although the Adult video industry (the largest seller of DVD's) might make a difference too. See here for comments on the adult industry and the Dvd wars.