The high-def battle between Blu-ray and HD-DVD is no longer about the consumer, but about partnerships. If you thought the choice was up to you, think again. The Blu-ray camp is playing its cards right, winning another hand that will hurt the competition.
Digital Journal — The battle between high-definition DVD formats, Blu-ray and HD-DVD, has been heated for more than a year now. One camp publishes numbers saying players are selling well, then the other publishes a study saying more people prefer the way they do special features on a disc.
It's a confusing mess for the consumer, a frustrating process for anyone who thinks to themselves:
Just get the whole thing over with already so the price can come down and I can get me a player.
Well, that could very well be happening but it might not be obvious to everyone yet. The Blu-ray team is the shark prowling the high-def waters, eating up everything just beneath the surface.
This week, retail giant Target announced it will only carry the Sony-backed Blu-ray format through the lucrative holiday shopping season, dealing a huge blow to Toshiba right between the HD-DVD players. Target is the second largest retailer in the United States.
Target released a statement saying they would carry Blu-ray stand-alone players exclusively "at least through the holiday season" and will add to the inventory of titles they carry for the player (they haven't totally killed HD-DVD - more on that in a minute). The deal will start in October and promote Sony's BDP-S300 player that sells for about $500.
Target is the second major retailer to go with the Blu-ray format, after
Blockbuster announced its U.S. plans to do the same in June. Blockbuster said Blu-ray rentals are "significantly outpacing HD-DVD rentals."
A report published by Forbes says Target chose Blu-ray to help create resolution in the format war that has kept "confused consumers from rushing to buy new DVD players until they can determine which format will dominate the market."
HD-DVD stand-alone players will still be sold on Target's website, but in store the only HD-DVD player you will find will be the add-on for the Xbox 360. Anyone who wants choice needs both players in front of them, so HD-DVD will undeniably be hurt by Target's move, regardless if the players are still sold online.
Toshiba and the HD-DVD team were no doubt a little shaken by Target's announcement; as Ken Graffeo, Executive Vice President of HD Strategic Marketing for Universal Studios Home Entertainment, said in a statement:
Target will continue to carry the Xbox 360 HD DVD drive as well as HD DVD titles so we don't see much of a change in their plans to carry both formats. In fact, they continue to sell Toshiba HD DVD players on their web site. Sony appears to have bought an end cap, just as HD DVD has in retail stores such as BestBuy and Circuit City.
What's important is that stand alone HD-DVD players are still much more affordable than Blu-ray players, plus they offer a better experience - just compare titles appearing in both formats like "300" or "Blood Diamond." Ultimately consumers will be the ones that determine what format provides the greatest value.
The war between Blu-ray and HD-DVD is evolving into a battle that is being fought behind the scenes. The idea that the consumer will be the one to decide the winner of the format war is an illusion. Forget about features, price, technology — none of that matters anymore. It's now about smoke and mirrors.
The format war will be won by partnerships, because an HD-DVD player will not come out on top if nobody can find it. And Microsoft's Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on will not be the saving grace for the format. Consumers, Ma and Pa, will want a stand-alone player, not a gaming console.
The problem with the format war now, is that it is fighting on three fronts; in North America, in Europe and in Japan.
In North America, we hear about Blu-ray sales doing well; Digital Entertainment Group (a group that promotes both formats) says 1.5 million Blu-ray players have been sold in the U.S. (1.4 million of those players were PlayStation 3 consoles). HD-DVD, on the other hand, has only sold 300,000 HD-DVD players according to Digital Entertainment Group (and half of those are the external HD-DVD drive that comes with the Xbox 360). Sony's PS3 has been an enormous success for Blu-ray in North America.
But in Europe, the game is much different, as HD-DVD stand-alone players have outsold Blu-ray three-to-one according to Reuters.
And finally, the mess is made more confusing by executives who spin numbers to make them look like they are out ahead;
take a look at how HD-DVD exec Ken Graffeo spins increased sales percentage to sound like Toshiba has sold more units in total than Blu-ray competitors. He notes how HD-DVD sales are up 37 per cent while Blu-ray is down 27 per cent. Of course he's paid to spin the numbers to sound great, but when you aren't working with real numbers of units shipped, a percentage increase or decrease means absolutely nothing. Total unit sales are all that matters.
And so we leave you, Mr. and Mrs. consumer in a tricky spot: The bad news is that it's still not quite over, and both Blu-ray and HD-DVD teams have so much money invested in winning that they will do whatever it takes to win — even if it means deceiving or confusing you to the point where you think you should be locked up in a padded room out of sheer frustration. Numbers are twisted almost everywhere they are reported and the talking heads from both sides spew more emissions than coal-fired plants.
But the good news is, perhaps we are all lucky Blu-ray is strong-arming the industry from behind the scenes. At least it will put an end to this battle and we can all pick up a Blu-ray player knowing it won't be obsolete in six months.
That is, until another format emerges.
For more information or to see a side-by-side comparison of the formats, this chart is helpful.
