Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD: Where do we stand?

By Erica Ogg, CNET News.com
Jul 27, 2007

The expected next-generation DVD format war isn't quite the deadlock many expected.

Target's recent announcement that it would sell a Sony Blu-ray player in its stores alongside Blu-ray discs in a special feature promotion is important because the second-largest retailer in the US doesn't sell HD-DVD players in its stores, outside of the external HD-DVD drive made for Microsoft's Xbox 360. It does sell a Toshiba HD-DVD player on its Web site, however.

Editors' note:

Back home in Asia, HD-DVD and Blu-ray software and hardware are slowly trickling into the local markets. There are currently two HD-DVD and four Blu-ray players available on shelves. This is on top of a recent official launch of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Blu-ray movies in countries such as Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

When the battle between the competing optical disc formats--HD-DVD and Blu-ray--began brewing last year, analysts predicted protracted trench warfare, with many refusing to choose sides. But just six months after the first Blu-ray players went on sale, the numbers show that the fight may be nearing its conclusion.

Blu-ray got way out ahead of HD-DVD by virtue of Sony's PlayStation 3 console, which came preloaded with a Blu-ray player. Of the 1.5 million Blu-ray players sold in the US, 1.4 million are PS3s, according to the Digital Entertainment Group which promotes both formats. HD-DVD had an advantage in that its players were less expensive than Blu-ray--at first. Though HD-DVD prices have come down, Blu-ray's have as well.

Toshiba, one of the staunchest supporters of HD-DVD, said last month that initial forecasts of sales of discs and external HD-DVD drives were probably a bit ambitious. The Japanese electronics maker said it anticipates selling 1 million players and recorders in the US this year, down 44 percent from the earlier estimate of 1.8 million. The Digital Entertainment Group reports that HD-DVD has sold 300,000 HD-DVD players, and half of that figure is the external drive that pairs with Microsoft's Xbox 360.

Things looked bad for HD-DVD last month when Blockbuster said the only high-definition DVDs it would rent in its stores would be Blu-ray. HD-DVD will be available, however, on its Web site, Blockbuster.com.

In yet another sign that two competing formats may be a thing of the past, earlier this month Warner Bros., a studio supporting both formats, announced that its Total HD disc--HD-DVD on one side, Blu-ray on the other--would likely be delayed until early 2008. Though Warner Bros. says the timing isn't right and the dual-format disc will still be a viable business idea six months from now, it's looking more like it won't even be necessary.

Ask CNET Asia

Find Products

Editors' Top 5s

CNET Features

Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD: Where do we stand?

Related Stories

Sponsored links