Big Blue tests high-def formats

Chain to price Blu-ray, HD DVD rentals same as standard-def

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 11/3/2006

NOV. 3 | Blockbuster this month is beginning to test high-definition DVD rentals and sales at about 250 of its corporate stores with customers that were early adopters of standard-definition DVD.

To start, participating outlets will carry about 40 titles each of Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD releases.

Rental prices on high-def formats will be the same as the chain’s standard-def prices. Sell-through pricing will likely match other retailers.

“It’s a careful selection process,” Blockbuster spokesman Randy Hargrove said of store experiments. “We’re looking at DVD adoption rate and hardware penetration. We’ll continue to watch the market and monitor to see where additional expansion will be appropriate.”

Blockbuster Online has been offering high-def rentals for some time. Additionally, a number of Blockbuster franchisees have begun taking in limited amounts of HD DVD and Blu-ray titles for rental.

Initially, high-def titles were pushed into sell-through accounts, but industry executives believe that rentailers wise to experiment with the new formats.

“The investment is so minimal that it doesn’t really hurt them,” VPD senior VP of sales Tom Kielty said. “If I’m a video store owner today, I know that more high-def TVs are being sold. You want people to know that you can be a source for when consumers are ready” to adopt next-generation formats.

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