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Blu-ray Movies Outselling HD DVD 2-to-1

By Nate Mook, BetaNews

August 15, 2007, 1:35 PM

Although it appears to be outpacing Blu-ray in turns of actual player sales, HD DVD disc sales are struggling to keep up, with Blu-ray outselling its rival by a 2-to-1 margin in the first half of 2007, according to Home Media Research.

Total sales of discs in Sony's Blu-ray format totaled 1.6 million from January 1 through July 1, while HD DVD sales amounted to only 795,000. Movie rental company Blockbuster says Blu-ray rentals are much higher than HD DVD rentals, leading the company to choose Sony's format for the majority of its stores.

It's not clear if the sales figures include bundled discs, like those included with Sony's PlayStation 3 game console. The PS3 has made up the vast bulk of Blu-ray player sales, and HD DVD claims its attach rate -- the number of movies purchased per player -- is much higher than its rival.

Still, it's far too early in the era of next-generation DVDs to make any long-term assumptions. In total, only 3.7 million high-definition discs have been sold - 2.2 million in Blu-ray and 1.5 million HD DVD. These numbers pale in comparison to the amount of standard-definition DVDs sold every month.

But consumers are starting to take note, and this holiday season could prove pivotal to both high-definition formats as player prices drop below $200. This month, "300" became the fastest selling high-definition movie, with 190,000 copies sold on Blu-ray and 97,000 on HD DVD.

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By Hollywood__

edited Aug 17, 2007 - 1:35 AM

Hey Steve or whatever name you feel like responding with:

How come you can't answer my question as to why 4 million BD owners only bought 2.2 million movies while 200,000 HD-DVD owners bought 1.5 million.

It's right up there in black and white.

Whats 2.2 million divided by 4 million?

Oh yeah, it's .55

What's 1.6 million divided by 200,000

Oh yeah, it's 7.5

How many times does .55 go into 7.5?

It's 13.6

I was way off spouting that 8 to 1 attach rate. It's actually 13.6 to 1 in HD-DVD's favor.

BWAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Do you understand how these numbers work now?

Stupid sh!t.

Go ahead and shoot your big mouth off.

Sony / BD has given away 4 million copies of Ricky Bobby. Thus I was right, they have given away more movies then they have sold.

What do you know, I'm right again.

To put this silly HD format launch into perspective, Pixar's Cars on standard DVD sold more copies than all the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD titles sold to date ........... on it's first day.

It took until the second day to hit the 5 million mark.

Score: 0

By xyzcb1

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 2:22 PM

This is a laughable number. I mean 6 months and with less than 300k sell combine, this is how bad the adoption rate is. A good movie sold that much DVD within a week of released.

Score: 0

By Hocuspokus

edited Aug 16, 2007 - 12:05 PM

These numbers (at this stage when the market is so tiny & immature) just show us
(1) how early and immature everything is,
(2) that the Blu-ray reliance on PS3 gave them a limited short-term boost but no actual long-term advantage at all and
(3) that PS3s don't actually shift many Blu-ray movies per PS3 at all.

Next year when Toshiba's laptop/notepads all come with an HD DVD drive we may well see the 'PS3 type effect' again (but this time on the HD DVD side).
There will be approx 9 or 10 million (note that is far more than the number of PS3s sold) Toshiba laptop/notepads sold next year (if the last year is anything to go by) with HD DVD drives and probably a similar 20% used for occasional HD DVD playback, just like the PS3 is now.

But as HD DVD stand-alones fall ever lower in price towards that $150/$200 level the much higher stand-alone HD DVD retail movie disc attachment rates will continue to close the retail disc gap (it is now closing again btw, according to DVD Empire & Nielson).

Score: 0

By MinuteMaid

edited Aug 16, 2007 - 1:18 PM

"next year when Toshiba's laptop/notepads all come with an HD DVD drive we may well see the 'PS3 type effect' again (but this time on the HD DVD side)."

That's assuming HD DVD lasts that long.

If Universal goes Blu-Ray, HD DVD is dead
If any of the dual format supporters go Blu-Ray exclusive to cut costs, HD DVD is dead.

If Xmas sales don't ignite for HD DVD, the format is dead.

It's not going to happen. HD DVD owners miss out on more movies, that Blu-Ray owners miss out on.

Score: 0

By Hocuspokus

edited Aug 16, 2007 - 3:16 PM

"That's assuming HD DVD lasts that long."

- You'll find the management of Matsus***a - Blu-rays next biggest backer after Sony - describing their own financial projections which show HD DVD along side their BD format out as far as 2010 - which is as far as they're projecting for themselves too.

You're own fanboy day-dream is not matched by the sober bean-counters on your own side.

See Matsus***a management's comments here - http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20070620PD201.html

"If Universal goes Blu-Ray, HD DVD is dead"

- Rubbish.
For a start HD DVD is not almost entirely reliant on a game console (unlike Blu-ray).

There is a vast untapped a/v market which will remain as price sensitive as it always has been.
Universal's stance makes no difference to that.....and anyone who imagines that the position of the movie studios is cast in stone this early on is kidding themselves
(which really means Blu-ray has the most to lose as their so-called 'BD exclusive content' is lost over time).

It might interest you to know that if you go international not only does HD DVD have the greater amount of movie content available right now it also has the most exclusive content.

In contrast Blu-ray really has around 110 genuinely exclusive movies.
Suck it up Sony/PS3/Blu-ray fanboys!

"If any of the dual format supporters go Blu-Ray exclusive to cut costs, HD DVD is dead."

- LMAO.
You (so obviously) wish.

You'll find Warner is quite open about how being format neutral is making them money, they are not going exclusive any time soon.
Dream on.

The truth is the HD DVD attachment rate is far superior to Blu-ray & the PS3s.
As more HD DVD players are sold that will attract the studios, it's simply a matter of time......and HD DVD has plenty of time; it comparitively speaking cost almost nothing to create when compared to Blu-ray.
It is Blu-ray, by contrast, that owes it's investors a fortune.

"If Xmas sales don't ignite for HD DVD, the format is dead".

- More ludicrous wishful thinking.
What do you mean "fail to ignite"?!
Neither format is going to "ignite" this year......and probably not for most of next year too.

Even the Matsus***a guys only see Blu-ray and HD DVD taking 30% of the market in 2010.....and that's probably wildly optimistic.

"It's not going to happen. HD DVD owners miss out on more movies, that Blu-Ray owners miss out on."

- Like most of the Blu-ray fanclub you really don't know the subject half as well as you pretend to.

The facts are that HD DVD has more content and more exclusive content available.

Score: 0

By Steve Austin

edited Aug 17, 2007 - 8:05 AM

It's only numbers that matter.

In the US, Blu-Ray is outselling HD DVD 2:1
Outside the US, Blu-Ray is outselling HD DVD 3:1

Sorry, but it's game over. How long HD DVD stay alive bleeding money on the floor, is unknown, but nobody wants a drawn out format war, it's what's holding back mass-market adoption.

http://www.videobusiness...312/post/990013099.html

Score: 0

By Hocuspokus

posted Aug 17, 2007 - 10:42 AM

"It's only numbers that matter."

- LMAO.

Steve if you really haven't a clue then it's best to just shut up.

If you seriously can't see that when things are this early on, immature and small that the numbers really don't have the significance you so obviously and so desperately want them to then that's you problem.

People in the business will be looking at the pathetic attachment rates of Blu-ray (which = PS3) and seeing that that's it.
PS3 has shot it's bolt and they aren't shifting another 3.7 million any time soon.

You might not want to hear that but it's the truth.

Then they look at HD DVD and it's attachment rates and ponder over how many movies they would be selling when there are several million HD DVD players out there.

You know it.

PS3 = Blu-ray gave them a good start but is a deeply flawed mid/long-term strategy.
The game console kiddies just don't buy enough movies.

Score: 0

By SGD

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 2:49 PM

All you say is HD is dead what if both die or if sony pcrap3 sales bottom out and not more blo-ray drives sell that means blo-ray dies. Ever think of a reality that both die. Guess not since you work for and promote sony crap.

Score: 0

By imafurby

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 10:14 AM

Are we now on the umpteenth wave of tomorrow's obsolete technology today? The roll-out to the landfill by way of your house seems to be getting shorter.

Score: 0

By Secret Agent Man

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 9:12 AM

I wish one side would just bury the other already so we can have one standard format. Until then, I have no problem sticking with my DVDs.

Score: 0

By tankist

edited Aug 16, 2007 - 1:20 AM

when the content recorded is crap to begin with, it doesn't make any difference if it packaged into BD or HD or plain DVD or whatever - it is still crap.

not buying

Score: 0

By ukcn001XYZ

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 1:15 AM

I bought 300 Blu-Ray the day it came out. I'd already seen it twice in theaters before, at 1080p it was like watching it for the first time all over again.

Once you go HD, it's hurts the senses to go back to dvd.

Score: 0

By AaronDobbins

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 10:05 PM

How is this NOT news? It is an update to an existing debate amongst the visitors of this web site as to which technology is better and which format is winning.

This report updates those numbers to show that blu-ray is now outselling HD-DVD 2:1. I think that is significant for those who contend Blu-Ray is more popular.

Obviously these technologies are both expensive, and are new, so they will not sell at the same pace as regular DVD. Did we make the same arguments when DVD came out against VHS?

Those of you who continue to say this isn't news need to find something else to complain about. Obviously you consider it news if you took the time to click the link, read the article, and post a comment.

Score: 0

By Secret Agent Man

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 9:14 AM

I doubt the same thing was said about the DVD when it came out versus VHS. DVD was a major technology leap when compared to VHS. Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, however, are on the same footing. Now, the argument most likely came up during the Betamax/VHS era...

Score: 0

By aredo

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 10:45 AM

BD and HD-DVD are not a major technology leap for you? Are you serious? If you can't immediately distinguish the giant leap that there is comparing them with SDTV DVD discs.. then you must have some serious issues, better check it with a doctor, really.

SDTV DVD discs main issues:

- There is no real 16:9 anamorphic, every movie is encoded at 4:3 and samples re-constructed realtime while decoding to 16:9. Resolution constrained this way.

- MPEG-2 codec only heavily bitrate constrained

- 24fps can be encoded in progressive scan format but other frame rates are just interlaced. Temporal resolution constraints.

- SDTV offers 0.4MegaPixel approx compared to 1.0MegaPixel HDTV 720p and 2.0MegaPixel HDTV 1080p resolutions. Very low spatial resolution then.

Score: 0

By SGD

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 2:55 PM

MPEG-2 still used on blu-ray how can that be!

Score: 0

By Secret Agent Man

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 12:14 PM

Nono, I didn't mean that the Blu-Ray/HD DVD leap was a small leap. I meant that DVD vs. VHS was far different from HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray. DVD and VHS are vastly different from each other. HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, not so much. They're on equal footing.

Score: 0

By Mystiqq

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 8:00 PM

Another worthless HD news that counts for nothing. Let me know when they surpass VHS in popularity, at that point it might actually qualify as newsworthy.

At this rate, it will be year 2020 and they are still at it.

Score: 0

By Cherrywood

edited Aug 15, 2007 - 11:51 PM

Umm...Mystiqq...hi-def surpassing vhs...that's already happened. It was announced pretty recently so maybe you just didn't hear it. But officialy it is now dvd, and then hi-def, and then lagging behind and sellng less and less is vhs

Score: 0

By uberfly

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 10:04 PM

Amen brother. Wake me when one, the other, or nobody wins.

Score: 0

By SGD

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 8:02 PM

I think they put stuff like this in when the posts in other articles drops off. Maybe betanews finds some entertainment in the flame wars.

Score: 0

By mshulman

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 6:59 PM

Blu-ray needs to keep this pace or grow it. 2:1 has been the case for awhile.

If the lead decreases, it will give HD DVD a big chance. If it stays the same or increases, Universal will eventually need to go neutral since they won't be able to lose out on the sales.

And in regards to some comments below, things can continue like this as long as each format grows. Lost sales will force universal to go neutral and then blu-ray will grow any more. Or if HD DVD catches up and it goes to 1:1, then the blu-ray exlusive studios will need to consider lost sales.

Growth is key and its clear both formats are growing.

Score: 0

By Alex Stevens

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 5:44 PM

I've already decided which of the two I want: none of the above. I'll stick with DVD thanks, I already have a decent collection and I am NOT going to start over again.

Besides I looked at the HDTVs playing their HD movies at the store and I honestly don't see what the big deal is. Maybe I'm used to sitting in front of a high resolution PC monitor, or maybe I'm just content with my standard bigscreen television.

Once I start watching a show, I don't pay any attention to how high the resolution is, no more than I pay any attention to an old movie lacking color. Personally I think it's all just a big hypeload of nothing.

Score: 0

By mshulman

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 6:57 PM

Maybe you need a TV?

There is definetely a difference. Even my wife can see it.

Score: 0

By Alex Stevens

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 7:37 PM

I didn't say there wasn't a difference, sure I can see the difference. Like I said I looked at the new sets myself. I meant that I don't care. DVD is more than good enough in my opinion.

Score: 0

By SGD

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 8:04 PM

Until Hollyweird decides to drop DVD like they did with VHS to make you buy your movies all over again. At some point DVD will go away and we will be forced to upgrade if you like it or not.

Score: 0

By Alex Stevens

edited Aug 15, 2007 - 8:48 PM

It will be a really long time before they drop DVD. The HD formats aren't even a speck on the radar right now. Maybe in another decade or so. Besides they can't force people to upgrade. If they dropped DVD today I'd just stop buying altogether.

Besides I still think it's possible that in the end both formats will flop just like DVD-Audio and SACD.

Score: 0

By SGD

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 8:56 PM

Very true but I bet that Hollywood starts the push for the end of DVD in no more than 5 years if not sooner. They think there is to much piracy with DVD's.

Score: 0

By siryak

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 10:16 AM

Possible, but IMO still questionable. One thing you haft to take into consideration here is all of the people that still do not have an HDTV.

Score: 0

By JonathanD

posted Aug 17, 2007 - 1:38 AM

Im waiting for a HD-DVD player that will upconvert my old DVD's so I dont have to buy them all again.

I will get a HDTV when I can pick one up for about 500$ for something decent. :)
and im willing to pay about 200$ for a decent HD-DVD player, but would rather have one that can play both formats just in case lol

Score: 0

By SGD

posted Aug 17, 2007 - 8:39 AM

They do upconvert.

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 5:00 PM

I think the article should read:

"Blu-Ray players outnumber HD-DVD by 20 to 1 but only outsell HD-DVD movies by 2 to 1"

That is absolutely true and tells you how many more movies HD-DVD owners buy per player vs BD/PS3.

BD wont get any movie buys from me until the Pirates trilogy and Cars comes out. I bought Casino Royale and I was thinking about buying 300 on BD but I spent the money for the HD-DVD combo instead. My relatives are cheap asses and borrow my movies all the time and none of them have an HD-DVD player let alone an HDTV.

Score: 0

By XMLaroux

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 2:37 PM

Hollywood, I don't think any of you have taken into account that HP has been putting HDDVD players in their top line(DV9000 series) laptops for a year now. I KNOW they've sold more of those than PS3's have. So, with standalone, 360 addon, laptops, and pc's all having HDDVD players in them, I would think there are MANY more HDDVD players out there. Now the sales of disks are bad, but the base player is out there.. more than BD.

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 9:30 PM

Who in thier right mind wants to watch HD movies on a 15.4" screen?

The notebook and PC drives wont put a sdent in movie sales.

Score: 0

By Steve Austin

edited Aug 15, 2007 - 5:07 PM

This is because only a percentage of PS3's are used as Blu-Ray players..

It's to be expected..

Still, attach rates mean nothing with multi-function devices.

Unfortauntly, we will never know the attach rate between dedicated Blu-Ray devices and dedicated HD DVD players. I think it's a safe bet, that Blu-Ray attach rate is still better.

Either way, movie studios don't care about attach rates, only sales, and Blu is winning that, and has been for the last year..

Hollywood, I have noticed you have not been posting links to DVD wars lately...

http://www.eproductwars.com/dvd/

There alot a Blu in that "Who's on Top" timeline...

Don't you just hate it when your links come back and bite you.

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

edited Aug 15, 2007 - 10:53 PM

You are pretty funny linking to a site that shows the failure of BD considering thier movie sales are so low for a format that has 4 million players in peoples homes.

I've already proven the attach rate is 8 to 1 in HD-DVD's favor simply by adding and multiplying, which you didnt seem to grasp because it shows reality.

You don't understand that if people bought a PS3 only for BD (like me) than the PS3 as a gaming system is a failure. If they bought it only for gaming, than BD as a format is a failure.

But wait, it's gets even better. Sony/BD has given away more movies than it has sold by a factor of 3..... that's a great business model.

Now that they have shown that only 1.6 million movies have been sold since Jan, that basically means that about 2 out of 10 people who have a PS3 bought only 1 movie.

Yeah, the format is doing great, yay Blu-Ray!

Let's do some more math. 1.6 million BD movies sold this year at let's say $25.00 average price.

That's 40 million in movie sales. Even if Sony could keep all of that money, it's still nothing. The fact that I can add the numbers and see the huge problems is what separates people like you from myself.

Considering they have lost over 2 billion from PS3 sales, if they could somehow increase BD movie sales by a factor of 50 (and keep every dime) they would still not break even.

You are so diluted that you cant do simple math to see that the PS3 is never going to make money and BD is basically doomed.

HD-DVD is not relying on a gaming console to drive movie sales, they have dedicated player and add-ons to the 360.

They are still managing 1/3 of all HD movie sales with so little players.

Keep telling yourself that the PS3 and BD is doing well, the numbers show a completely different story and the losses are staggering.

This is one of the reasons why I buy almost HD-DVD exclusively compared to BD.

Don't you just hate when people show you dead wrong with actual math and logical thinking?

The difference between Steve and Hollywood is I'm an HD fan and you're a format fanboy that nobody takes seriously.

It doesnt take a genius to see you made a decision to back BD and the PS3 and don't want to see your investment go to s***. It's just so obvious you don't have extra money to spend on A/V gear. If you did, you would have both players and not be so bitter.

Score: 0

By bobthegoat2001

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 12:55 AM

Has anyone seen Steve lately?

Score: 0

By Steve Austin

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 11:06 AM

Sorry, I had a laughing fit, looking at Hollywoods flawed math.

It's hillarious how he managed to even fool himself into thinking it makes sense.

It's fatally flawed in almost every respect.

Score: 0

By SGD

edited Aug 16, 2007 - 3:04 PM

You are kidding right! He at least makes sense unlike others here cough cough. Your posts rarely make sense just posted questionable reference sites.

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 1:03 PM

I would love for you to point out how it's flawed instead of just saying it.

Yeah...... thats what I thought.

Score: 0

By siryak

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 4:27 PM

Well that will be the last of his responses to this post. Sony cheerleaders tend to run away whenever asked to present a real argument, instead of mindless babbling.

Score: 0

By siryak

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 11:45 AM

There goes the pot calling the kettle black again.

Score: 0

By SGD

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 8:08 PM

When I want a BD movie I only buy it used, it's a spite thing I think. HD I buy new since I still think that HD has better options and quality. My new receiver kicks but with HD.

Score: 0

By aredo

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 10:51 AM

HD-DVD better options and quality ?
Toshiba hardware is plagued with manufacturing issues and firmware bugs they seem unable to fix.
HD-DVD offers just 30GB on a two-layer disc and the silly three-layer extension will never be used.

HD-DVD is a failure. Universal is going to announce a big shift toward Blu-Ray pretty soon now. Fortunately for the world and unfortunately for Bill Gates and Microsoft along with its supporters, people are not that dumb and want to buy the larger HDTV disc format of the two.

Score: 0

By siryak

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 4:33 PM

"people are not that dumb"

ROFL!!! You obviously don't know the average consumer then do you. I'm not saying they are flat out dumb, but whenever it comes to electronics they are DUMB!!! I would be willing to bet that most "average" consumers(aka not techies) don't even know which one has more space.

"and the silly three-layer extension will never be used."

I would love to see your logic on this statement right here. Sorry "my crystal ball told me" does not work.

"Universal is going to announce a big shift toward Blu-Ray pretty soon now."

More mindless babbling. Why don't you back these claims up. I am dieing to see it. Although odds are you will never post back, because you cheerleaders tend to run the other way when asked to present a real argument.

Score: 0

By SGD

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 3:08 PM

What kind of internet options does the blo-ray have? Thats right it doesn't even have a network jack. Picture is the same or better, sound is better need I say more. I have both and my HD beats the pants off the ps3.

We have been over the disk space. Yes Sony needs the extra space for what, nothing. Heck they still us mpeg2 that real nice.

I see you are being the fortune teller again.

Score: 0

By Hocuspokus

edited Aug 16, 2007 - 1:20 PM

"HD-DVD better options and quality ?"

- In many instances yes, absolutely.

In all other instances no, they look and sound exactly the same.

"Toshiba hardware is plagued with manufacturing issues and firmware bugs they seem unable to fix."

- Liar.

The answer is one of 2 things.

(1) is a simple update with 1.6 firmware
(you know, firmware......PS3 owners have been getting lot of fixes and updates the exact same way, right?) and
(2) is that it may be a defective disc from a bad batch (and IIRC these have exchanged or refunded without any great dramas)......you might remember Blu-ray claiming the 'rot' problems they have had were all down to bad batches, hmmmmmmm?.

"HD-DVD offers just 30GB on a two-layer disc"

- Perhaps you'd care to tell us all about how the majority of movies available on Blu-ray are on single layer 25gb discs, huh?

" and the silly three-layer extension will never be used."

- Wake up & stop lying, eh?.

You don't go to all the trouble and expense of developing the Triple Layer (initially 45gb now) 51gb disc and go to the trouble of formally submitting it to to the DVD Forum for approval if you're not going to bother with it - or if it stands no chance of being approved.

"HD-DVD is a failure."

- LMAO.
Wow, that's some "failure" that you 3.7 million PS3 consoles can only 'beat' in retail movie disc sales by 60:40 (or 65:35 depending on whos figures you prefer).

(If you prefer to use the 6 million 'shipped' PS3 numbers go ahead it just makes my point all the more so)

"Universal is going to announce a big shift toward Blu-Ray pretty soon now."

- LMAO.

Here it is again folks, the (hypocritical) nonsense that
(1)Universal is going neutral any second now and
(2) the delusion that even if that did happen that is the end of HD DVD.

No doubt a Blu-ray XBox 360 HD DVD add-on is moments away too, huh?
PMSL

"Fortunately for the world and unfortunately for Bill Gates and Microsoft along with its supporters"

- WTF?

Not wanting to have anything to do with the BD+ infested anti-consumer BS that Blu-ray is stuffed with is nothing to do with "supporting" anyone else in this.

HD DVD had it's own DRM issues but they, thankfully, have been smashed long ago and so it is far less of a potential problem to people.

"people are not that dumb and want to buy the larger HDTV disc format of the two."

- Er, are you blind?
Didn't you read the numbers given?
Clearly from the number sold they don't.

"People" actually prefer - by a vast majority - the smallest of the disc formats available, regular DVD.

......and on the subject of small perhaps you be good enough to inform us all about how many Blu-ray movies are on single layer 25gb discs, huh?

Score: 0

By Steve Austin

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 11:04 AM

SHHHH, don't tell Hollywood, he still thinks HD DVD looks better.

You also forgot to mention the limited bitrate that HD DVD achieves (30Mbit/sec), vs Blu-Ray 54Mbit/sec. When HD DVD finally dies, studios can wind up that bitrate encoder setting and Blu-Ray will finally fully flex it's muscles, and not be constrained by a half-arsed low bitrate/disc space format.

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 1:54 PM

SHHHH, don't tell Steve, HD movies and players are selling like sh!t for both formats.

Those sales numbers are laughable and pathetic. The difference between you and I is you can't afford to be out the $599 you spent on your PS3. Meanwhile, I don't give a crap.

They are way ahaed of thier time because most people still simply don't care about HD anything. They probably will become the next Laserdisc.

The whole idea and it's execution are a joke. Especially for Sony because they have lost so much on the PS3.

You can still cling you your hope that HD movies take off but I don't see it happening.

Meanwhile, you go ahead and keep posting, we all get a good laugh out of it.

Score: 0

By siryak

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 11:47 AM

Shhh...Don't tell Steve. He still thinks that you will actually be able to tell the difference between the 2 bitrates.

Score: 0

By MinuteMaid

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 1:20 PM

I think the point he was trying to make, is that whilst there are 2 formats, studios will encode to the lowest (as both formats share the same codec support), as soon as HD DVD dies, it's long overdue death, studios can increase the encoding bitrate that's been previously constrained by HD DVD format.

Score: 0

By bobthegoat2001

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 5:10 PM

"I think the point I was trying to make,"

There fixed it.

Score: 0

By SGD

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 5:09 PM

Hum this is assuming that blo-ray has a better picture didn't betamax also have a better picture? I thought so.

Score: 0

By siryak

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 4:40 PM

Lol there goes that crystal ball again. Your post as usual is missing something. I am failing to see all these links to back it up. Sorry but you are far from a credible source. Show proof to back up your idiotic statements or don't even bother.

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

edited Aug 16, 2007 - 1:56 PM

Thanks for backing up your own post Steve, I mean MinuteMaid, I mean aredo, by the way, how many more times are you going to log in under a new username and reply to your own posts?

Did you actually think people were starting to forget that you do this to look important?

Score: 0

By SGD

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 6:53 PM

Very well said fud master.

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 9:27 PM

I know the fud master comment was for Steve but I had to respond to his post that stinks of bitterness.

Score: 0

By SGD

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 7:43 AM

You are correct sir!

Score: 0

By lonechicken

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 4:33 PM

The Nielsen numbers are pretty similar. Something around 65%/35% (sales) every month since January.

Still, I feel like I'm just sitting on the sidelines waiting for the format I want to use as a Blockbuster renting machine. Not something for me to buy titles for.

Out of the 400 standard DVDs in my collection, only about 10 have been purchased in the last year. And 4 of those 10 were Christmas gifts. Buying just doesn't feel worth it anymore.

Score: 0

By xyzcb1

edited Aug 15, 2007 - 3:32 PM

"Total sales of discs in Sony's Blu-ray format totaled 1.6 million from January 1 through July 1, while HD DVD sales amounted to only 795,000. Movie rental company Blockbuster says Blu-ray rentals are much higher than HD DVD rentals, leading the company to choose Sony's format for the majority of its stores."

I am sure their pick has nothing to do with the relation between Viacom and Sony.

In additional, since BB is backing BR, I would assume a much higher BR sales. After all, BB has over 8000 stores.

Score: 0

By dlab21

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 4:51 PM

yea cause we all know blockbusters business model is selling movies.

Score: 0

By bobthegoat2001

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 12:57 AM

They do sell movies too.

Score: 0

By xyzcb1

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 11:44 PM

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear enough for everyone to understand.

Every BR movie available for rent in BB is consider a sell. With 8000 stores, I would expect a much higher sell number. Even with just 10 BR disc in each store, that's 80k disc sold just to BB. With a big buyer like BB, I would expect the sell number at least 500k, instead of 190k.

Score: 0

By aredo

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 10:52 AM

"BR" ? That's a wrong acronym for "Blu-Ray Disc".
Everyone uses BD because "Blu-Ray" is a single word.

Score: 0

By siryak

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 11:49 AM

Who cares? Why don't I just use the acronym BPOS?

Score: 0

By Alex Stevens

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 6:49 PM

It didn't say they were, what is your point? Oh, you don't have one.

Score: 0

By SGD

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 8:10 PM

I think his point is everyone seems to make it look like Blockbuster is the king of the rental mountain while they aren't. Many other companies rent HD so the point is mute. Simple quit BB and go elsewhere.

Score: 0

By tankist

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 2:59 PM

*tankist went to refuel his flamethrower

Score: 0

By plague201

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 2:57 PM

I'm glad to finally see sales numbers for total sales of 300. The current ratio is 2:1, wasn't the ratio 4:1 like months ago?

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

edited Aug 15, 2007 - 11:27 PM

Speaking of 300, that movie rocked. Whoever said is was a borefest didnt get it. Also, I finally watched M:I:III, and surprising enough, it didn't suck. It was way better than the first two. I should open more of the movies I bought and actually watch them.

Yes, BD is not selling well at all considering 4 million people have BD players.

200,000 HD-DVD owners are buying 33% of all the HD titles sold.

plague, You know I like to twist the blade after I stick it in Dave's unhappy black heart.

Score: 0

By bakura

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 2:52 PM

I would really be interested to hear stats from Netflix, who has a single model for renting movies to customers.

Score: 0

By kashin

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 2:17 PM

You know you can trust these numbers when you see phrases like this in the article..

"It's not clear if the sales figures include bundled discs, like those included with Sony's PlayStation 3 game console."

Score: 0

By Steve Austin

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 3:22 PM

Or the 6 bundles movies with HD DVD...

Score: 0

By echohead

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 1:58 PM

...im getting out of here before the fanboys start stampeding.

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 10:26 PM

Don't leave. I'll make him look like a complete jackass so we can all be entertained.

$40 million in BD movie sales.... now that's funny ..... and pathetic considering every console loses them hundreds of dollars. Sony should stop PS3 production at 10 million and cap the losses at 3.09 billion.

I've been staying away for a week as we have a job going live at my fake job that I pretend to travel for according to the clones.

Score: 0

By terminalx

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 1:54 PM

Any chance of not having another article on this until its actually revelant?

They both have barely 1% of the market, dvd is kicking all their butts.

Honestly, I think hd-dvd, blu-ray is going to go the way of laser disks.

Score: 0

By yountmj

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 12:58 AM

Actually, I'm quite fond of my 250+ LaserDisc collection, and still pull out some of the oldies for nostalgic reasons (like the Star Wars trilogy). Some were poor transfers from VHS-quality sources, but some of the more recent ones toward the end of the format's lifespan like Men In Black and Independence Day look fantastic still, I think. Of course, back then LaserDisc had no comparable competition. Size of the media and inconvenience (even with dual-side players) contributed to the format's demise.

There are some movies that I simply could not resist purchasing on HD DVD (like Serenity) even though I don't have the necessary equipment yet to enjoy them. Jumping on the bandwagon for a new format is more than my meager salary can keep up with.

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 5:04 PM

Considering the very low numbers of movies sold for both formats, I would have to say if this trend continues, they will both go away.

I am having a real hard time noticing the difference between HD and upscaled standard DVD with recent releases. Older movies like Trading Places show the difference dramatically.

Score: 0

By Steve Austin

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 3:23 PM

Funny, that back in 2006, when HD DVD last had the lead, the quantities were not important. Now they are...

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 5:02 PM

Kind of like eproductwars/dvdwars were a bunch of liars until BD took the lead, then you ladies started posting links all the time.

Score: 0

By bobthegoat2001

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 1:01 AM

"lady"

There, fixed it.

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 1:57 PM

You are correct bob, it's one person with multiple usernames.

Thank you for pointing that out.

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By siryak

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 4:13 PM

I think it is funny how the Sony cheerleaders like to make up stuff that we said and then pull the "it was ok when HD-DVD blah blah blah fud fud fud wah wah wah"

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

edited Aug 15, 2007 - 10:29 PM

It's sad and pathetic that someone gets this pissy over the fact that thier $599.00 purchase may go extinct. They blame all thier misery on companies with success like Microsoft, Nintendo and Toshiba.

Score: 0

By aredo

edited Aug 16, 2007 - 10:55 AM

If you really think that the Playstation3 and Blu-Ray are going to be a failure and go extinct then you must either have used a lot of drugs or getting paid to spread so much nonsense.
Keep dreaming while Toshiba and DVD-Forum with their insane make-a-fool-of-customers HD-DVD project go bankrupt while Universal and Microsoft will recycle themselves into Blu-Ray supporters pretty soon...

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 1:59 PM

How much has Sony made off the PS3 / BD fiasco so far? That's right, they are 2 billion in the hole.

Great strategy.

Score: 0

By siryak

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 4:42 PM

Lol they were 2 billion in the whole a long while back. It is likely much more than that by now.

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 6:35 PM

You are absolutely right, it's probably 3 billion by now.

Score: 0

By siryak

edited Aug 16, 2007 - 8:00 PM

That whole keeps getting deeper and deeper. Wont be long before it gets covered up with Sony inside. Investors tend to frown when there is loss after loss with not enough profit to offset the losses.

Score: 0

By JonathanD

posted Aug 17, 2007 - 1:48 AM

Even EA told them it was too expensive lol

Score: 0

By tankist

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 2:59 PM

not a chance!

Score: 0

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