While one week is not a trend, two weeks in the row could be the start of one. And according to this week's Nielsen VideoScan numbers courtesy of Home Media Magazine, Blu-ray has once again defeated HD DVD handily with a 83/17 split (4.9:1). The other thing to happen two weeks in a row that could also become a trend is that -- despite the fact that four of the top ten titles are also available on Blu-ray -- not one HD DVD made the list. You might be quick to say this is Warner's doing, but we can't forget that it has been a month since HD DVD released a decent title. So this situation is as much Universal and Paramount's fault as anyone else. Of course the real bad news here for the red camp is there aren't any hot titles to speak of until
American Gangster hits the street in about a month. And to top this off -- looking at the entire release schedule for the red camp -- there are only ten HD DVD exclusive titles. If HD DVD is really trying to win this thing, they need to push Universal and Paramount to release the hottest catalog titles in their vaults, otherwise we don't see how this thing can be turned around.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
ProfWho @ Jan 25th 2008 1:34PM
So, is NPD biased and Blu-fanboys now?
ProfWho @ Jan 25th 2008 1:36PM
I mean Nielson
JimC @ Jan 25th 2008 2:00PM
what?
RowdyReptile @ Jan 25th 2008 2:28PM
here, read this...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nielsen_VideoScan
apparently you are confused as to how this works
elvisizer @ Jan 25th 2008 7:09PM
Of course! any fact that doesn't fit your worldview must be the result of bias, it's the only explanation!
ProfWho @ Jan 25th 2008 10:23PM
I was being sarcastic. Sarcasm really doesn't work on a message board so well.
onlinespending @ Feb 1st 2008 10:40PM
It's sad what's lost in this whole format war. The bad guy, Sony, will likely win. Yet no-one seems to care. Instead, acting like mindless drones marching to the beat of Sony's drum, everyone is supporting another one of Sony's proprietary formats in its greedy attempts to make a little bit more money. But at what cost? Confusing and frustrating consumers to start with. But if Bluray does indeed win, this would be a rare victory for a Sony-lead format; MiniDisc, ATRAC, UMD, MemoryStick to name a few, are by in large failures. Now you could argue that creating these proprietary formats is good for Sony's business, and who are we to condemn Sony for wanting to help its bottom line? But even that can be debated, as there are plenty of people like me that refuse to buy a Sony digital camera because it can't use your otherwise perfectly fine SD flash memory cards. Sony's stubbornness to adopt MP3 and instead push ATRAC for as long as it did surely hurt its business. Regardless of whether it is a wise business move on Sony's part to create these proprietary formats, it's clearly a losing proposition for us as consumers. And Sony's Bluray is no different, as they could have easily worked with other companies to come out with a single, unified format. But instead they banked on Bluray giving them a business edge, while leaving the consumer out to dry again.
If you were to take away the decisions of the studios, and look only at the formats for consumer-friendliness, HD-DVD is the clear winner. They are both technically just as capable of delivering amazing HD picture and sound quality, yet HD-DVD is cheaper and is not riddled with as much DRM that could violate your Fair Use. Why then would anyone be as passionate about supporting Bluray as I see people are, especially given the decisions that Sony has made in the past that are a deservice to the consumer? If anything, I'd expect more people to support HD-DVD simply out of spite of Sony. The likely reason, however, is that most Bluray supporters are not truly Bluray supporters by choice, since a majority of Bluray players out there are PS3s and they simply want that $600 investment to seem all worth it (had the PS3 come with an HD-DVD player built-in I'm sure you'd find people just as passionate about protecting their $600 PS3 investment).
So for all of the people that have not jumped into the next-generation HiDef DVD format war, keep in mind that a "yeah" for HD-DVD is a kick in the nuts for Sony, and we all know that you'd only be returning the favor for all of the times they've done that to us the consumer.
TJ @ Jan 25th 2008 1:36PM
Paramount and Universal know they can't "win" this format war. They're probably taking the time to come up with an "exit" strategy. Find a way to introduce Blu-ray product without cheesing off HD DVD early adopters and Toshiba. But I wouldn't be surprised if they're holding out some of those hot catalog titles for dual-format releases later in the year (Braveheart, anyone?).
aplen22 @ Jan 25th 2008 1:41PM
Once again, this week is not surprising. Has anyone been watching the actual real time numbers on the red side. All those exclusive blockbuster titles are being pre-ordered like crazy on amazon. I'm afraid that calling this a trend is completely wrong in this situation. Although the blu camp pretty much has this in the bag, old red's not going to go down without a fight. Has anyone noticed that Planet Earth (HD DVD) has crawled up from #6 on amazon to #3, and all the other red titles are slowly moving up to the top 10 again.
How many times do I have to say this! There are 1 million standalone HD DVD players out there and as the mainstream consumers forget about the WB announcement these numbers are going to keep climbing. Yes I'm pro-red but a agree that Blu has probably won this war, but what I do have a problem with is the biased claim that this is going to become a trend when it's not.
Michial @ Jan 25th 2008 2:01PM
No disrespect but thats the whole problem that the red camp knows the war is lost but they are going to not go down with grace and dignity but "not without a fight" the only thinkg that does is hurt the masses and keep the hd industry in a stalemate-keeping all those blockbusters from being revealed,etc,etc. The only one benefiting is toshiba being able to liquidate their fire sale onto red party groupies who are so childish and selfish that they cant accept the truth. All they want to do is win and if theyve lost they will kick and scream in denial, mocking the winning side. HD is like a lizard tail that has just been cut off. Its still wiggling around, but in actuality its dead-its just got a lot of nerves! I would say the same thing if the shoe was on the other foot and the blu camp had lost the war and was acting as selfish and childish as all this. Paramount and Universal ought to be ashamed for this. And Toshiba for panning out their dead wares on unsuspecting masses is deceptive and downright shrewd(yes its business-but we know its shrewd). Thankfully there are lots of savvy salespeople telling them to beware. Sure red party groupies benefit because they are so convinced fo the the hddvd superiority and they love the cheap players and will buy a few for future insurance when they are no longer being manufactured. But all of that is so selfish and keeping the industry from moving on. The rest of us rational a/v folk are standing around waiting for the red party to just give it up so we can all UNITE and enjoy hd together and get on with an exciting future. So Iam sure their will be mocking red groupies making clever and insulting blogs here and there but remember the lizard tail always wiggles around right after its been cut off and killed.
aplen22 @ Jan 25th 2008 3:51PM
perhaps my last sentence didn't register, in that case it's copy and paste time...
"...I agree that Blu has probably won this war, but what I do have a problem with is the biased claim that this is going to become a trend when it's not."
Can I make myself more clear. Blu has only apparently won the battle of the last two weeks and that's being fair and not getting into the higher Blu-ray Hardware numbers that were only up due to free players being handed out with TVs. I'm NOT saying that red still has a chance, I'm saying that this is not any "trend," it's simply older numbers that don't reflect what's happening right now. And to call this a trend without factoring in that new information is biased. Any Questions?
ceilingfanboy @ Jan 25th 2008 3:55PM
I think you meant to say that the Planet Earth HD-DVD has fallen from number 6 to number 60. That's a big difference.
http://www.eproductwars.com/dvd/
aplen22 @ Jan 25th 2008 4:08PM
sorry buddy...I said on amazon...
http://charts.highdefdigest.com/versus.aspx
JimC @ Jan 25th 2008 4:25PM
aplen22
I think you're a victim of stale stats, it is now at #59....and by the time you read this it probably has changed....
borland502 (SDF - Macross Ring) @ Jan 25th 2008 4:30PM
Where you looking at the position order? HD DVD has PE in #4 for HDM only, but it's ranked #59 total in DVD. And even if you count only HDM titles, it's the only one before #17 to be non-Blu. Granted, that's only this hour, but even on Amazon HD DVD media has done very poorly of late. I think you are letting hope cloud your vision on the link you provided.
sycks @ Jan 25th 2008 4:34PM
Ok so 59, what's your point?
Gus @ Jan 25th 2008 9:24PM
@Michial
And we wont give up till the last gasp either, your post is just typical ignorant arrogant BR bullshit!
Why should we give up?? Because your side has paid the most bribes, done the most underhanded and shady deals and created a one side anti consumer monopoly, because you now have a majority market share we should roll over??
How does Get F'D sound!
If your side had won the war fair and square I would happily give in.
Your side has won with corruption and dirty tactics unheard of in the modern era.
Not only will I not give up, I will cheer from the rooftops when BR goes down the shit shoot, because it is going the same way as HD DVD, you BR wankers just can't see it yet, you are to busy enjoying your Pyhrric victory to realize that the 100s of millions of $ BR has all ready pissed down the drain in this corrupt battle for 1% of the market has got to be paid back by the likes of you, and as a result BR will never be a major market force. BR will be a long term profitable niche market and that's right where they want to be!
God dammit your so stupid, you should support competition and be happy with 70% of the market, then BR has to look after you the BR consumer, they will have to keep prices down.
And don't tell me BR v BR will keep prices down, this is a bunch of CE companies who got together to specifically exclude the cheaper end of the market and create a nice little profit centre for themselves.
Those of us in the real world call that a cartel, but of course you blu idiots all say it's not true, you refuse to see the truth because your all sony brainwashed idiots!
Once they have 100% market share, you and the rest of the filthy blu herd will all have to bend over and touch your toe's, not me, it's HD DVD or DVD, you and blu can go and get F'D!
I will have no part of this corrupt format, it's a thing called a "Princapal" "Morals" "Business Ethic", something your side corrupt side knows nothing about!
Sam Winter @ Jan 26th 2008 5:53AM
@Gus
I think I speak for many here, regardless of which format they happen to like.
Jesus christ, you need to STFU. That's the most sensationalist load of garbage I've ever read on this site. You are such a fucking loon, I swear to god you need to go outside and get a god damn life, man! You honestly don't think you are taking this a little too seriously?
Mitch @ Jan 30th 2008 11:41AM
Like Giuliani and John Edwards, HDDVD needs to respectfully bow out and leave the future up to someone else.
Chris @ Jan 31st 2008 3:33PM
HAHA It's like # 82 now.... just keeps falling... nice of you to point that out :) lol
Greg @ Jan 25th 2008 1:43PM
Okay. That's it. I give up. I'm putting my entire HD DVD collection on eBay while I can still sell them.
RockinOscar @ Jan 25th 2008 3:45PM
$5 each is all i will offer.
John B @ Jan 25th 2008 7:40PM
Why don't you try actually -- SHOCK!! -- *using* them for the next several years and getting your money's worth instead of panicking as though they're going to stop working tomorrow?
Gus @ Jan 25th 2008 9:30PM
Fool!
Truth Teller @ Jan 25th 2008 1:46PM
Even after every bit of bad news they could contrive & thrown at it HD DVD shows a small but positive improvement in the teeth of the gale of Blu-ray PR BS.
Nice one.
If Blu-ray really were taking significant chunks of the total disc market these numbers might be important but right now, with neither format even close to 1% of the annual movie disc market, these numbers mean so little it's almost nothing.
It's a far better strategy that HD DVD concentrate on getting HD DVD players out there in numbers (which is what they are doing) than ridiculous worrying (or trumpeting) about getting or not getting 83% or 85% of almost nothing at this stage.
Hard luck guys, despite ar the chatter HD DVD has not died or gone away.
Jnas @ Jan 25th 2008 1:54PM
......
LOL.
Devils Advocate @ Jan 25th 2008 2:05PM
I cant seem to figure out if you are pro-HD-DVD or pro-DVD.
Every time the numbers come out you look stupider and stupider. You just spin it and say "Yeah, HD-DVD is gaining, but it doesnt matter because bluray is losing to DVD"
JimC @ Jan 25th 2008 2:02PM
Sad, just sad, someone know of a support group for Truth Teller, I mean he is in some serious denial here...
okeygrak @ Jan 25th 2008 2:16PM
My day would be far less interesting ( and amusing ) if weren't for the complete absurdity and dire lack of rational thought that is Truth Teller.
DEEZNUTZ @ Jan 25th 2008 2:19PM
There, there, I know it's hard understanding all those colorful triangle graphs. No ones pressuring you, take your time.
Everyone can learn, and dammit, we are not giving up on you Truth Teller! You matter to us! We need you!
HedonismBot @ Jan 25th 2008 2:26PM
Ok, two things here. One, when in a debate and your opponent begins to fall back on faith, an unflappable belief that is wholly unsupported by facts, you have to stop arguing with them. You've won, although you'll never convince them of such.
Two, TT, arguing that 83% of nothing is nothing does nothing to defeat the argument that 17% of nothing is quadruply so. If you want to shift your position to DVD being good enough, please feel free. Take it over to AVS forum where you may find threads where such an argument is remotely relevant.
DrXym @ Jan 25th 2008 2:28PM
Truth Teller, your desperate rationalizing is both touching and laughable. HD DVD is dead. I fully expect to see a slight rise in sales given the firesales that are going on. It doesn't mean the format is going to rise from the ashes.
Blu Ray sales are continuing to dwarf HD DVD sales. And that's even without counting PS3s, which you love to ignore when it suits you.
Jove @ Jan 25th 2008 2:41PM
you writte a lot like a real annoying guy from afterdawn...
borland502 (SDF - Macross Ring) @ Jan 25th 2008 4:38PM
Did you go to the Baghdad Bob school of positive thinking?
I mean ok, HD DVD isn't a just a memory yet, but either you are delusional or you are just screwing with the crowd. I suppose I'm amused either way to tell the truth.
Truth Teller @ Jan 25th 2008 9:26PM
If only you could be at least a little interesting or funny with your patheticly empty jibes.
Sadly not one of you seem to have the wit for anything but the dreary, tedious & dull.
Gus @ Jan 25th 2008 9:36PM
@D A
He's just anti BR as anyone with any brains should be.
You keep supporting your cartel of choice and screaming for the death of competition, and you will end up paying the price fool!
borland502 (SDF - Macross Ring) @ Jan 25th 2008 10:28PM
"If only you could be at least a little interesting or funny with your patheticly empty jibes."
Truthteller rants loud
Angry threats does he espouse
Pot calls kettle black
-Haiku by borland502**
**Apologies for the double post
MI @ Jan 26th 2008 12:37AM
That's right!! HDVD has all that competition that is healthy, like toshiba and... Ummm, that XBox thing. While Blu-Ray doesn't foster competition, since they only have hardware made by Sony. And Samsung. And Dennon. And LG. And Sharp. And Panasonic. And Philips. And Pioneer.
Hmmm, on second though, ignore everything that 'luke trashtalker' said. He's a dope.
(I don't usually like to resort to mockery and name calling, but the facts and reality don't seem to have any effect on this guy, so we make due...)
Michial @ Jan 25th 2008 1:46PM
Agreed. The trend is undeniable when being looked at scientifically via the numbers. I wish all the red camp would just give in. I mean it's for the good of the whole HD industry. They can keep their players and movies but the rest of the masses can know its over and safely advance into the next generation of home entertainment. Until then its the masses and the whole industry who wait out the inevitable. gET WITH IT pARAMOUNT AND uNIVERSAL. You are only breeding resentment.
Gus @ Jan 25th 2008 9:39PM
Please explain how market place competition is a bad thing??!!
What is it with you idiots, you will all be much better off with %70 market share then 100% .
MI @ Jan 26th 2008 12:54AM
I'll give it a go.
A) when you have two competing incompatible formats, no one buys into it. As your pal keeps saying, hd media is still very small market share. These two incompatible formats are why.
B) Competition between those two incompatible formats is bad for that reason.
C) You're right (believe it or not) that competition is VERY good for the market, so that once a likely or inevitable winner emerges (i.e. Blu-Ray) you want MANY manufacturers producing product to compete for your Blu-Ray dollar. (i.e. Sony, Samsung, Dennon, LG, Sharp, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer.)
D) It's very astute of you to point out that if HDVD had won, only having one manufacturer (Toshiba) would be a VERY bad thing for consumers. Well said.
HD4ME @ Jan 26th 2008 1:48AM
@Mi
You couldn't be further from reality if you tried, you obviously are a "wages only" worker with no business acumen at all.
Please read recent engadgethd article about competition and perhaps get an education... if that is possible when you only have one eye!
Also, i will "borrow' a quote from Mike from the same blog.......
Competition is good for xbox 360 vs wii vs ps3
Competition is good for RPTV vs LCD vs plasma
Competition is good for vudu vs apple tv vs netflix downloads
Competition is good between blue ray vs HD D...wait...screw the consumer...monopoly is good for sony
http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/01/24/vudu-price-slashed-to-keep-up-with-apple-tv/
MI @ Jan 26th 2008 11:37AM
Wow, the HDVD guy has no good argument and resorts to name calling. What a shock.
If you have to have an incompatible format competing in consumer electronics (you guys keep forgetting that we were talking about that, not game consoles) how in the world did DVD ever work out? There was no competing format at all (unless you count the six month divx fiasco, which given your allegiances, you may well). So why was it the fastest consumer electronics adoption in history? Probably because the majority of CE manufacturers and studios were behind it? Same reason Blu-Ray won this format war.
1) Game consoles are a different world all together. No one has ever let OEMs make their game consoles, so it's an argument that is not pertinent to this conversation.
2) Comparing RP, LCD and Plasma is pointless as well. They are not incompatible formats, just different ways to view the same format(s). RP in the family room, LCD in the bedroom etc.
3) As far as downloads go, there's no such thing as incompatible formats. It's all software, so you don't need to invest in hardware. It doesn't mater who's you get. If BD and HDVD didn't require hardware the same would be true. But you can't just download both players, you need to buy them so people have been sitting it out.
4) It is absolutely pathetic to try to say that Sony is a monopoly when A) Microsoft is pushing HDVD (for any number of reasons) and B) sony is not nearly the only company making Blu-Ray and developing / directing it.
The fact is that the article you point to has nothing to do with HDVD or Blu-Ray. Why? Because no credible or sensible writer would even consider saying that this format war has been good, or could be if it were to continue. Thanks for at least trying to make an argument between your childish insults. The HDVD group is getting classier every moment.
Opie and Anthony @ Jan 25th 2008 1:47PM
You have got to be kidding me, Good Luck Chuck is the number 1 selling HD movie. I could understand Pirates or 3:10 to Yuma but C'mon!!!
Godfa7h3r @ Jan 25th 2008 1:50PM
Just goes to show that the majority of Bluray owners are immature teenagers with PS3's. They don't care about good movies, they just want to see boobs in HD.
JimC @ Jan 25th 2008 2:06PM
@Godfa7h3r
Shut up, just shut up....
Godfa7h3r @ Jan 25th 2008 2:28PM
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/1221/goodluckchuck.html
I would love to know how else you explain a 1 star movie becoming the best selling title of the week.
DrXym @ Jan 25th 2008 2:31PM
@Godfa7h3r, quit with the lame putdowns because they're making you look pathetic, not anybody else.
Siva @ Jan 25th 2008 2:34PM
Good luck chuck was also the top selling DVD for this week. So, it is not a bluray only thing!!
mntwister @ Jan 25th 2008 2:51PM
Gdfa talks about the PS3 owners who are teenagers who want to see boobs, yet he writes like a 12 year old, and I've never seen him make a valid point. I know you hd-dvd guys are bitter watching the crucifiction, but you should get over your anger because it's blu you are going to have to be to watch hd discs. Period.