Blockbuster Video to Support Blu-ray

[CochiseGuy]

From TVpredictions -

Washington, D.C. (June 17, 2007) -- Video rental giant Blockbuster will only rent HDTV DVDs in the Blu-ray format in 1,450 stores next month when it expands its high-def service.

That's according to an exclusive report today from the Associated Press.

The retailer has tested both formats in approximately 250 stores for the last several months. But Blockbuster officials say 70 percent of the high-def rentals are Blu-ray.

"The consumers are sending us a message. I can't ignore what I'm seeing," Matthew Smith, Blockbuster's senior vice president of merchandising, tells AP.

Blockbuster is expected to announce the decision to favor Blu-ray over HD DVD on Monday, AP reports. However, the retailer will continue to carry HD DVD titles in the original 250 test locations.

Smith said that Blu-ray titles are outpacing HD DVD rentals because there are movies available in the format. Four of the eight major film studios are backing Blu-ray exclusively with only one (Universal) supporting HD DVD exclusively.

"When you walk into a store and see all this product available in Blu-ray and there is less available on HD DVD, I think the consumer gets that," Smith said, according to the AP.

Blockbuster's decision could be a serious blow to HD DVD in the high-def format war. But one HD DVD backer said Sunday that Blockbuster is acting on limited information.

"I think trying to make a format decision using such a short time period is really not measuring what the consumer is saying," said Ken Graffeo, co-president of the promotional group for HD DVD.

I haven't been inside a Blockbuster Video store since the previous millennium. And I love Netflix. But, anyway you slice it, not good news for HD DVD.

 

[vurbano]

Phillip Swann....

 

[CochiseGuy]

Phillip Swann....

Never heard of Phillip Swan (or TVpredictions.com) until your psot & I Googled him to see he runs TVpredictions. Is he a flake or something?

Two more sources quoting the same AP News story.

Blockbuster to favor Blu-ray discs - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

El Paso Times - AP Exclusive:Blockbuster to favor Blu-ray HD discs over DVD format

Seems legit.

 

[meStevo]

Doesn't make much sense to me.

So for the exclusive HDDVD titles Blockbuster will just not have an HD version of them, that's more of a disservice to 30% of their HD customers than anything.

Netflix could take advantage of this and advertise this difference, I assume they offer both? They could feasibly say they will be offering MORE movies than Blockbuster.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Nice, Blockbuster finally figured out that HDDVD is an inferior format in sales AND storage. Wonder who's next?

 

[jmd102354]

It was announced on the Fox News Channel this morning !

Great News for BD:up

 

[Peter Parker]

Several news sources are running the story today. It appears to be a legitimate story.

 

[vurbano]

Im sure all of those J6P blockbuster renters are going to run right out and drop 500 bucks ona BD player?

 

[jdmart]

It was announced on the Fox News Channel this morning !

Great News for BD:up

Link to full Associated Press article:
Blockbuster to Favor Blu-Ray High-Definition DVDs for Rental

 

[stck4evr]

It's almost like blockbuster was brided to make that decision. It would it cost them to offer both formats. What does "favor" mean exactly in this case:
- they will offer only Blue Ray?
- they will offer Blue Ray versions of movies available in both?
- they will not offer movies that are available in HD DVD format only?
They can say favor Blue Ray, but offer HD DVD if the movie is available ONLY in HD DVD format. That would save them money buying both formats for the same movie. If they choose to not offer HD DVD movies, they are shooting themselves in the foot, opening a door for netflix, hollywoodvideo, etc...

 

[gadgtfreek]

From a business perspective I think its smart.

If I owned a video store, Id have dvd naturally.

If new formats came out, Id carry them but only new releases to keep my customers happy. If their became a trend in sales over time, Id dump one so I did not have to carry THREE versions of the movie.

Lets face it, this war is stupid. Yeah Ill bite, Toshiba is the greatest thing next to sliced bread and Sony is the devil.

Regardless of that, BR disc is a better storage format. People are looking at it from a I hate Sony side which isnt the whole story.

Would you rather have a AGP slot even though its slower and not supported by the majority of corporations or a PCIExpress slot because its currently the best? Would you rather have a HDDVD burner and media(30gig currently) or a BR burner and media(50 gig currently) for storage.

Capacity is the main reason I supported BR. I hope HDDVD goes down in flames and takes Universal with them.

 

[Brewer4]

I am not as critical in the war. I have HD DVD and I have supported it from day 1 and hoped it would emerge the winner just because it was cheaper. I am also not a fan of Sony since I think they tend make things more expensive.

That being said, I think this is just one of the clues that points to Blu Ray going to be the winner. Content rules and Blu Ray is winning the content war with major titles that folks want. I am going to get a PS3 for the Blu Ray when the price drops. With my Xbox 360 HD DVD add on and a Blu Ray player I don't care who wins but it looks like to me with player prices falling and more studio support and more blockbuster content, Blu Ray is truly in the lead. Only a major blunder on their part is going to slow it down.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Brewer, from what Ive read at the BRForums, a PS3 is a damn fine choice for movies and you get to play games too!

 

[navychop]

Never heard of Phillip Swan (or TVpredictions.com) until your psot & I Googled him to see he runs TVpredictions. Is he a flake or something?....

Let's just say it sometimes seems he gets his info by reading this forum, and still manages to get it wrong. Frankly, the guy seems to make a good living publishing stuff that's already been published elsewhere. Doesn't seem to ever announce anything new. It's like many of us could do as good a job by surfing and rewriting. Makes you wonder.

I must note, I don't see HD DVD as being cheaper. Certainly the titles aren't. And the players are only cheaper today. Next year, or 3 years from now, would they likely be cheaper? The hardware is almost identical.

It looks like the REAL war doesn't begin until the fall. Then we'll see the heavy advertising, more bundling with HDTVs, sales, etc. Well, I can hope.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Let's just say it sometimes seems he gets his info by reading this forum, and still manages to get it wrong. Frankly, the guy seems to make a good living publishing stuff that's already been published elsewhere. Doesn't seem to ever announce anything new. It's like many of us could do as good a job by surfing and rewriting. Makes you wonder.

I must note, I don't see HD DVD as being cheaper. Certainly the titles aren't. And the players are only cheaper today. Next year, or 3 years from now, would they likely be cheaper? The hardware is almost identical.

It looks like the REAL war doesn't begin until the fall. Then we'll see the heavy advertising, more bundling with HDTVs, sales, etc. Well, I can hope.

I agree about Swann, I skim his site for his article titles. If there is one that strikes me I look on the net for an article on the matter as his actual writing is subject.

I think the cheapness of the players has helped, I mean I wasnt about to buy a BR player at $900. I did not buy mine till they hit the $500 range, and Toshiba has been killing them on price.

Itll be interesting around Thanksgiving to see what kinda deals are going on.

 

[navychop]

It's almost like blockbuster was brided to make that decision. It would it cost them to offer both formats. What does "favor" mean exactly in this case:
- they will offer only Blue Ray?
- they will offer Blue Ray versions of movies available in both?
- they will not offer movies that are available in HD DVD format only?
They can say favor Blue Ray, but offer HD DVD if the movie is available ONLY in HD DVD format. That would save them money buying both formats for the same movie. If they choose to not offer HD DVD movies, they are shooting themselves in the foot, opening a door for netflix, hollywoodvideo, etc...

Read the links. It's clear: "Blockbuster Inc. will rent high-definition DVDs only in the Blu-ray format in 1,450 stores when it expands its high-def offerings next month, dealing a major blow to the rival HD DVD format."

They're not just "favoring" Blu-ray as you questioned. They're renting ONLY Blu-ray, except for the current 250 stores and online. From the tenor of the announcement, it sounds like few, if any more HD DVD titles will be purchased for rental by Blockbuster.

And they've obviously made the business decision that they are NOT giving a significant opening to their competitors. They've decided that HD DVD will not be a significant part of the future market, if they continue to exist at all.

Face it, as long as Universal is the only major studio (well, and Weinstein) that supports HD DVD exclusively, there's not much hope. Toshiba is trying to get cheap players out there quickly, to build up a critical mass. But it appears that even though player sales have increased, they haven't increased enough to convince Blockbuster there's a market for HD DVD, much less convince any other studio to add the HD DVD format. And if Universal ever stops taking their "bribe" to remain HD DVD exclusive, it's all over for sure.

However, cheap players is certainly a valid business plan, and may work yet, even if I doubt it. And I have mixed feelings about Blu-ray winning. I truly dislike seeing a victory for Sony, but I do believe the format is superior, especially for computer backup. There's never enough storage space.

 

[r.jones1116]

It's really not a big deal. Blockbusters are closing stores all over the country.

 

[gadgtfreek]

It's really not a big deal. Blockbusters are closing stores all over the country.

I would not be so confident. Blockbuster is making a decent turn around and I am considering swapping to their total access to try out the instore return.

 

[Brewer4]

Do NOT count out 1,450 stores even if 50 are closing year. Thats a boat load of Blu Ray DVDs.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Plus the fact that is only the START of their big rollout.

How long before All their stores(other than the 250 that own some HDDVD's) and the online store support BR only.

I think it might be coming.

When I look at my Netflix queue right now this is what I see with the mainstream releases:

HDDVD Only 1
BR Only 4
Both 7

Makes sense to own a BR as Ive been tracking this for a bit and this is pretty normal.