VideoScan releases HD DVD / Blu-ray "charts," results still inconclusive
Okay, so we're not waxing rhapsodic about a conspiracy theory just yet, but seriously, why can't the general public get a few hard numbers regarding the HD DVD / Blu-ray format war? Since both formats hit the market, we've all been wondering who would be the leader in terms of disc sales once the holiday season was behind us, and although Nielsen VideoScan has finally loosed the deets, we're still (relatively) in the dark. We've wondered exactly what was taking so long for these data to surface, but instead of VideoScan perfecting their report, it has apparently delayed the information only to release several inconclusive "charts" and "ratios" that, quite frankly, aren't what we all want. For whatever it's (not) worth, it looks like Blu-ray titles outsold HD DVD titles by a 2:1 margin during the admittedly slow first two weeks of 2007, but overall, we're still stuck analyzing Amazon's sales figures while trying to piece together the truth. Still, if you're more interested in having the best of both worlds regardless of which is on top (or still around) in a couple years, you know where to go.[Thanks, Jed]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Scott @ Feb 1st 2007 1:14PM
I don't understand why not having the numbers makes anything about these ratios inconclusive. If the ratios are based on true numbers, I think the writing is on the wall. Yes, we want the numbers, but the story would remain the same.
Ryan J. @ Feb 1st 2007 1:19PM
The REAL test of numbers will be when the HD DVD players go below the $299 point later this year. I'm lovin' my XBOX 360 HD DVD drive that I picked up from Circuit City for only $160 (after coupon). My prediction (for what it's worth): One or more movie companies are going to add support of HD DVD this year (because they want the $$$ of all of the people who already own HD DVD hardware) , and the battle will rumble on. I really don't care which one wins, both have proven to look / sound amazing on HDTV. I hopped onto the HD DVD side. No matter who wins, I've only spent $160 to jump in, and I won't lose any $ on any titles since I rent everything through Blockbuster Online (which ROCKS).
zombieflanders @ Feb 1st 2007 2:37PM
"The REAL test of numbers will be when the HD DVD players go below the $299 point later this year."
I haven't seen any evidence that this, outside of a Tosh rep who said that they *might* hit $299 at some unknown point. For now, it's still "if the HD DVD players go below $299."
"My prediction (for what it's worth): One or more movie companies are going to add support of HD DVD this year (because they want the $$$ of all of the people who already own HD DVD hardware) , and the battle will rumble on."
This doesn't make any sense. By all accounts, there are currently several times as many Blu-ray players in households than HD DVD players, and now we have direct evidence that not only is software selling twice as well or better, but that the lead on total software sales HD DVD had *since their launch* has almost disappeared.
So if there's more Blu-ray hardware, soon to be more Blu-ray software, and Blu-ray titles are selling much better, why would any Blu-ray company (especially studios) want to add HD DVD support?
Wair0 @ Feb 1st 2007 10:35PM
360 HD DVD add on FTW!!! Even if HD DVD goes away it does a nice job of 1080p upscale on all of my standard def DVDs.
Dave @ Feb 1st 2007 2:01PM
"Blu-ray titles outsold HD DVD titles by a 2:1 margin"
Cool! :D
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/5950/aaaaazg4.jpg
Larry @ Feb 1st 2007 2:47PM
The numbers are important because if we are talking 15,000 to 7,500 then we know neither format is selling all that well and the comparison can be ignored.
Stephen @ Feb 1st 2007 3:25PM
Following the link to High-Def Digest, and following their link to their story about hardware sales figures, you get these stats for 2006
1 million PS3s "on the market"
175,000 HD DVD players sold
28 DVDs sold for every HD DVD player
So that's a total of 28*175,000 = 4.9 million HD DVDs sold.
If Blu-Ray sales to date are now at 92.4% of HD DVD sales, then that's over 4.5 million. If a million PS3s have been sold, then that's an average of 4-5 DVDs per PS3.
That's probably partly because people haven't had PS3s as long as HD DVDs have been out there, and partly because lots of PS3 owners bought their consoles primarily for playing games. Whereas anyone prepared to be an HD DVD early adopter must be a bit of a film fanatic.
So you wouldn't expect PS3 owners on average to buy as many DVDs as people who've bought a dedicated DVD player - but surely at only 4 or 5 DVDs at the moment, there's still a lot of room for growth. And with over 5 times as many PS3s out there, that looks good for Blu-Ray.
I'm still not ready to commit my cash to either format though. If I could get a cheaper BD player (I don't want a PS3) and if Universal started producing Blu-Ray DVDs, I'd probably change my mind.
And with HD/BD DVDs in total still less than 1% of total DVDs sold, I'll be sticking with the real winner in the format war for a while yet.
Jason @ Feb 1st 2007 4:01PM
I think that means 28 regular DVDs, not HD-DVDs. I would seriously doubt that the average HD-DVD drive owner has 28 HD-DVDs.
bill @ Feb 1st 2007 9:29PM
I think that you HD-DVD guy's think that the majority of people are stupid. Even at $299 for an HD-DVD player, how r you going to convince someone to buy one, especially if they have a kid that wants a Ps3 that has a BD player in it anyway. Because you guy's say so. I think not. One of my best friends bought an HD-DVD player b/c it was CHEAP and he didn't look into it. He even got three free movies with it and a coupon for 2 more from Toshiba. He now realizes that almost every good moive from the last Five or Six years, as well as the coming years, will be on BD, so he RETURNED his set-up and is now telling people that he works with not to even bother with HD-DVD. If it has happend to him, I'm sure a lot of people will have similar stories. Hell i was reading AVS fourm when this news hit last night, and even THE MOST HARDCORE HD-DVD fans recognize that no one wants this format war to go on, and without software(good stuff) HD-DVD is all but dead. I for one am happy that it won't be going on much longer. I really think that people should boycott Universal untill they release BD, let's end this thing, so that the majority will bite on and we all can enjoy CHEAP Hi Def movies.
I mean if I started a business and two months later a new business the same as mine started up and took 30% of my sales right off the start and within 9 months was outselling me 2:1, with no end in sight. Would you HD-DVD guy's still think I was winning? It's pure econmics. I'm sure some of you will not agree, but that's fine.
Ryan J. @ Feb 2nd 2007 6:36AM
"Even at $299 for an HD-DVD player, how r you going to convince someone to buy one, especially if they have a kid that wants a Ps3 that has a BD player in it anyway."
Umm... it's A LOT cheaper than BD and looks and sounds as good if not better. (Remember how VHS was cheaper than the "superior" Beta format?) As far as PS3 goes, use some common sense. Look at DVD. Which sold more: Playstations that play DVD's, or standalone DVD players? Standalone high def movie players will easily out sell PS3's. You're crazy if you think this war is over.
zombieflanders @ Feb 2nd 2007 8:24AM
"It's A LOT cheaper than BD and looks and sounds as good if not better."
Wrong on both counts! Currently, the average reviews of Blu-ray picture quality put it at equal to that of HD DVD, and getting better. And in sound quality, HD DVD is far behind. They have much fewer lossless tracks, and only use DD+ because their specs won't allow for high-bitrate Dolby Digital. Dolby reps have stated that DD+ is essentially the same codec as DD, just tweaked for copy protection and slightly better compression.
"Remember how VHS was cheaper than the "superior" Beta format?"
Remember how VHS had more studios, and coexisted with Beta for 10 years?
"Look at DVD. Which sold more: Playstations that play DVD's, or standalone DVD players?"
Then by your logic, it's too bad that HD DVD's sales are also dominated by a console.
Ryan J. @ Feb 2nd 2007 5:29PM
"...the average reviews of Blu-ray picture quality put it at equal to that of HD DVD"
EXACTLY.
"Remember how VHS had more studios, and coexisted with Beta for 10 years?"
You've made my point; at the worst, these two formats are going to be around for a long time. Blu-ray has NOT "won".
"Then by your logic, it's too bad that HD DVD's sales are also dominated by a console."
You're confused. My point is that consoles will help drive BOTH formats, but standalone players will eventually FAR outweigh consoles. Think about it for a second: of EVERYBODY you know (parents, relatives, coworkers, etc.), what do people have more of, standalone movie players, or consoles?
"...why would any Blu-ray company (especially studios) want to add HD DVD support?"
Umm... there are people that own HD DVD players that want to give movie companies money for movies... movie companies want to make money...
Your logic is saying that because Blu-ray is ahead in sales now, it has WON. HD DVD was ahead last year, and it was clear to everybody that they had not WON. If you have not noticed, the initial surge of PS3 sales are OVER. The shelves are stocked, and they are just not selling like they are supposed to be -- they are simply too expensive. People are hitting the Wii's and the 360's and will be / are VERY tempted to hit HD DVD before Blu-ray since the cost to jump in is MUCH cheaper. You've neglected the fact that HD DVD stand alone players are GREATLY outselling Blu-ray stand alone players. (Please point out any Blu-ray players that are even close to being as cheap as the cheapest HD DVD players.)
Daniel @ Feb 2nd 2007 8:56AM
So glad I am with camp Blu-ray. Say what you want about this chart and all other statistics, but I truly believe Blu-ray will win, it is simply a better format with more potential. Blu-ray rocks!!
miiiguel @ Feb 2nd 2007 11:06AM
Why do you guys "root" for a... media format ?????
Damn, I try hard but I can't understand..., most of you owns neither!
Mike @ Feb 2nd 2007 11:38PM
I'm rooting for the cheapest and what will come into my price range the quickest.
If my price point is $249...then HD-DVD is going to get there 1st...probably by the 07 Christmas season. So I can jump into HD movies this year with HD DVD or wait till 08 maybe 09 for blue ray to become cheap enough.
Ryan J. @ Feb 3rd 2007 8:32AM
There are already two HD DVD players in the $350-$380 range; when you figure in the cost that they come with 3 free HD DVD's, you're almost at that magic $249 mark :) If that's not good enough, just wait a little longer and they will likely hit that price point this year. Check out the players at:
http://www.pricegrabber.com/p__Toshiba_HD_DVD_Player_Black,__27284509/sort_type=bottomline
http://www.pricegrabber.com/p__Toshiba_Toshiba_HD_A2_HD_DVD_Player_Single_Disc_High_Definition_DVD_Player,__27344348/sort_type=bottomline
Ed @ Feb 3rd 2007 10:41PM
Amazon is selling the Toshiba HD-A2 for ONLY $189.99 here is the link.
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-HD-A2-HD-DVD-Player/dp/B000IJV4BC/sr=8-1/qid=1170560445/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-8260542-0588462?ie=UTF8&s=electronics
Ben Hobbs @ Feb 5th 2007 10:52AM
Well I'm surprised Dave, The 360 offers so much more than what you claim - Media Centre Extender, Downloadable Movies, TV Series, Demos, Arcade Games - Add the HD-DVD drive and you end up with a lot more for your money than a PS3, Headphones, Remote Controller - add in the fact that you can buy a premium for considerably less than $400 and a HD-DVD drive for considerably less than $200 and it seems to be the better value. Regardless, If you already have a PS2 then why bother with a PS3? just for backwards compatability? doesn't make sense.
The Blu-Ray sales charts are skewed in favour at the moment because a load of Blu-Ray films have just been released, whereas new HD-DVD's are just around the corner. At the end of the day its substantially cheaper for anyone to get into High Def movies with a HD-DVD player, The Toshiba standalone is less than $350 at the moment and movies are averaging $3 cheaper than Blu-Ray movies.
Dave @ Feb 9th 2007 9:40AM
It's amazing the comments from people that don't have either. I orginially purchased the 360 because I'm a diehard Microsoft fan. I found little difference between the 360 and the regular xbox, except the hi def look of the games. I wasn't happy with the cost $400.00 for the premium, doesn't include extra controller or hd-dvd drive, so I purchased the PS3 for $600.00, included the blu-ray, wireless connection, free access to PS site with free game downloads. After spending a week with PS3, I took the 360 back. Also the 360 was suppose to be backwards compatible, not close. 20+ games that I had already purchased couldn't be played.
PS3 plays PS2 and Ps1 without a hitch.
The long and short, Sony created an awesome high end console to accomodate everyones wishes, out of the box no additional monies to spend. 360 and PS3 are the same price when you add in the extras, 360 maybe a bit more with wireless card etc.
From someone that has had both and who has been in the technology industry for 22 years, PS3 ROCKS!! No comparison.
crazydelishous @ Feb 18th 2007 4:42AM
simply put the ps3 will catch u to the xbox 360. And blu ray has already proven to be more versatile than hd dvd.i agree with that other guy who said that if one more undecided studio joins either side everybody wins especially the consumer.
p.s. go blu ray! check this out http://digitalbits.com/#mytwocents