Marcy Magiera

Blu-ray pushes HD DVD down, but not out

UPDATE: One party is determined to mop up quickly. Wal-Mart says it will be completely out of HD DVD by June. No software, no players, in stores or online. Consumers will begin to notice the difference within 30 days, according to the retail giant.

The format war may be close to over, but the mopping up still looks like it's going to go on for at least the rest of the year.

Today, both Best Buy and Netflix endorsed Blu-ray as the high-def format of choice, with each hoping to move undecided consumers off the fence and get high-def growth going. Yet neither put a hard stop on HD DVD.

Best Buy will continue to stock HD DVD, though without much, if any, merchandising and marketing support. Netflix will stop purchasing new HD DVD titles while it phases them out as rental inventory over the rest of the year.

Even Warner Bros., the studio that cast what is widely thought to be the fatal blow to HD DVD, will release titles in the format through May--titles that will  remain on store shelves for possibly months afterward. And some goodies, too--Warner will get I am Legend, Bonnie and Clyde and Twister all out before it abandons the weaker format.

As these companies make seemingly decisive moves to steer the consumer to Blu-ray, there is still some concession to HD DVD--to Toshiba, which is still selling a steady stream of players priced as low as $149, or to the million or so U.S. consumers who have already bought HD DVD players. 


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Posted by Marcy Magiera on February 11, 2008 | Comments (3)