Best Buy's pushing Blu-ray to the front

The HD DVD camp, still reeling after losing support from Netflix this morning, may feel flattened as Best Buy has announced it will officially promote Blu-ray as the HD format of the future. Starting in early March the store will showcase Blu hardware and software on its shelves and website, and switch from its current neutral stance, to recommending Blu-ray to any customers that ask. While "an assortment of HD DVD products" will remain, a vote of confidence from major retailers, following the majority of studio support, will make it impossible for red to recover.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[MJZimmer88 @ Feb 11th 2008 4:39PM]

this is stupid. best buy's been pushing blu since the start. and they and everyone else knows it... why bother announce it now?

[oGMo @ Feb 11th 2008 5:21PM]

To make all the whiny HDDVD fanboys cry. It's monday, we need something to laugh at.

[Nate @ Feb 12th 2008 12:36AM]

The last horse crosses the finish line.

[namtastic @ Feb 12th 2008 12:22PM]

They're just trying to add to the momentum in the press.

Translation: "Hey, we retailers are tired of being pawns in an over-extended format war. On the whole, our customers don't care, they're waiting for it to be over, and we've got inventory that isn't moving. So screw being neutral, we're going to choose a winner, so we can all get on with our lives."

But wait, this leaves Wal-Mart as the last stalwart for HD DVD, doesn't it?

[DUCESTAMINA @ Feb 12th 2008 1:20PM]

Your right, Best Buy has always pushed blu ray. If thats their choice thats ok but why make a huge announcement now as if they just decided to back blu ray?

[Alicia @ Feb 27th 2008 11:49AM]

Thats not true. As a former Best Buy employee, our home theater specialists have recommended ALL formats. I have never seen someone solely recommend blu-ray over hd-dvd. Now, obviously they might as the studios have jumped board to blu-ray, but no one would (or should) recommended one product without determining whether or not it is the right product for the customer. Not to say all employees follow that policy, but that's what's supposed to happen.

[rv @ Feb 11th 2008 4:39PM]

Its been over for about a month now. Why is this surprising to anyone?

[System48 @ Feb 11th 2008 4:40PM]

Not surprising but an official end would be nice and hopefully cheaper Blu's would follow.

[Ryan Trevisol @ Feb 11th 2008 6:08PM]

*looks with fondness at his $59 hd-upconverting DVD player*

[PeterF @ Feb 11th 2008 6:37PM]

@Ryan Trevisol
Upconverting DVD players barely do shit, its no where near the quality of an actual HD movie. It is the same concept as downloading a small video on your computer and making it full screen, it looks no where near as good as an image which is the same resolution as your screen.

[Spyvie @ Feb 11th 2008 7:23PM]

@PeterF: I'm guessing you don't have one, or a decent display. A good upscaling player generally works better than the built in scaler included with your display, the result is not as sharp as true HD but it's way better than SD on an HD display.

Upscaled DVDs are %100 watchable.

[Randy @ Feb 11th 2008 4:39PM]

The just want to make sure the customer is making the 'best buy' and in this case, it sure the hell is.

[Galley @ Feb 11th 2008 4:39PM]

Let's see Nfinity spin this!

[DaLa @ Feb 11th 2008 4:39PM]

Na Na Na Naaaa, Naaa Naaa Naaa Naaa, Hey Heyyyy, Good by!

[looseinthedeuce @ Feb 11th 2008 4:45PM]

You missed a "Hey"

[Prey521 @ Feb 11th 2008 5:51PM]

and it's "Bye" lol

[absurdio @ Feb 11th 2008 10:56PM]

...or, in this case, "buy."

[klew @ Feb 11th 2008 4:41PM]

Well, Best Buy? Get going with the HD-DVD discounts then.

[Rob @ Feb 11th 2008 4:46PM]

They may end up pulling one of those moves from Paramount when they went Red exclusive. Remember? Paramount yanked all their titles off the shelves and retailers' warehouses.

[burkey @ Feb 11th 2008 4:42PM]

Good riddance HD DVD.

[Zeus.:God @ Feb 12th 2008 9:57AM]

WOO! GO BLU-RAY! THE ANTI-CHRIST OF OPTICAL MEDIA! WOOO!!!!

[Shinigami87 @ Feb 11th 2008 4:43PM]

woo!! were so close i can taste it!

[britboyJ @ Feb 11th 2008 4:45PM]

Anyone checked out how small the HD-DVD movie part of the HD Endcap is getting at Wal-Mart as well?

Now I just need Universal to see the light so I can get a re-done BSG on Blu-Ray... HD DVD versions looks worse than the ones on UHD...

[Chebwa @ Feb 11th 2008 4:46PM]

"...'an assortment of HD DVD products' will remain..."

"An assortment" will remain until they finally clear out all of their old inventory. Then the remainder of that assortment will be $9.99 next to the latest Seagal straight to DVD flick.

[Dan @ Feb 11th 2008 10:54PM]

You mean I can't enjoy Seagal on the big screen anymore? What has the world come to?

[Chebwa @ Feb 11th 2008 11:00PM]

Finally somebody who appreciates the finer things.

[looseinthedeuce @ Feb 11th 2008 4:47PM]

Unless they get the manufactures to help lower the prices of the hardware, what exactly does BB "promoting" Blu-ray do? Now bring down the price!!

[AJ in the East Bay @ Feb 11th 2008 4:47PM]

This only means that I'll have to wait until mid-2009 or later to get a low-priced profile 2.0 BD player. Oh, well. Bye-bye, beloved HD DVD.

[AJ in the East Bay @ Feb 11th 2008 5:31PM]

$300 is not a mass-market adoption price.

[Prey521 @ Feb 11th 2008 5:53PM]

Profile 2.0 entering market @ $300? Not bad, I'll bite on one of those when they drop another $100.

[Nate @ Feb 12th 2008 12:46AM]

With the HD-DVD format out of the way, all manufacturer risk associated with committing to a format that might not survive is eliminated.

Economies of scale kick in and prices drop...1080p ensues and my 56" Samsung dances a jig.

Don't get me wrong, I don't care who wins, I only care that _someone_ wins so that all the above goodness can happen.

[Churma @ Feb 11th 2008 4:49PM]

Just die HD-DVD Die Now!

[Brian @ Feb 11th 2008 9:53PM]

I sold my xbox 360 hd dvd addon about five days before the announcement that warner was going BR exclusive... for just over $130. (In order to pay an extra bill, that month)

To the eBayer who took hd dvd addon: Sorry. :(

[Aron Trimble @ Feb 11th 2008 5:00PM]

Wait, so is *this* the final nail in the coffin for HD-DVD? I'm so confused...

[Mtirv @ Feb 11th 2008 6:02PM]

Nope, it's one of the coffin-bearers dropping the already nailed coffin.

[Kinney @ Feb 11th 2008 5:00PM]

I wonder how smart of a move this is, considering I almost always buy exactly the opposite of what the Best Buy morons suggest to me. HD DVD's comeback is on.

[ej @ Feb 11th 2008 5:36PM]

You mean you don't buy Monster Cable and a two year warranty for everything you buy there? Blasphemy!

[Chris @ Feb 11th 2008 5:00PM]

But the real question is what about Circuit City?

[AJ in the East Bay @ Feb 11th 2008 5:33PM]

Who gives a crap about the numb-nuts at Circuit City anyway? They need to go the CompUSA route and disappear.

[HB @ Feb 11th 2008 5:02PM]

now thats what i call a game ender to the HD DVD camp.

[Rainier @ Feb 11th 2008 5:08PM]

So I was reading this Blu-ray player article this morning stating that there are three Blu-ray "profiles": 1.0, 1.1, and 2.0
It says that most Blu-ray players on the market now (save one) are Profile 1.0
Sony's PS3 is Profile 1.1, but with an upcoming firmware update will support Profile 2.0 (also known as BD-Live). Yeah, we know it's the cheapest Blu-ray player available (unless I missed something), but with the ability to update your firmware to support BD-Live/Profile 2.0, it's also a smart buy for future-proofing. Just an FYI for those, like myself, didn't know about these 'Profiles'.

(Note: I read this article in today's San Jose Mercury News)

[David S @ Feb 11th 2008 5:59PM]

No DTS 4 U...

[DrXym @ Feb 11th 2008 6:25PM]

Profiles are definitely confusing but the way to look at is that standards evolve over time - 802.11, USB, Firewire, Bluetooth etc. Blu Ray profiles are backwards compatible. You can buy a player now and be sure it will play future disks but lack some functionality or you can hang on and buy a player which supports a later profile that does everything.

Personally I think network support is a waste of time unless it supports mandatory managed copy. I don't actually see any benefit in letting Warner, Sony, Disney or whoever know what I'm watching, or for them to push some crappy online store onto their disks.

A better reason to wait than profiles is price. Prices are dropping and players are getting better. If you can resist the urge to buy a BD player you'll probably save some money as prices drop and more models appear. But if you do buy now and aren't some videophile, I'd recommend the PS3 - it will supposedly support profile 2.0 when it appears and also happens to be a kickass games console.

[Sweet @ Feb 11th 2008 7:26PM]

I can't see myself choosing a PS3 just to play Blu-Ray movies only. Granted it's cheaper now than other blu-ray players, but I really don't want a Blu-Ray player with a bluetooth remote controller that doesn't interface with my existing equipment. Do I seriously want to go back to having multiple remotes? And what's with the curved top?

I think the best thing to do right now is wait until stand alone players are far cheaper.

[nathan @ Feb 12th 2008 11:37AM]

@David S

FFXIII > DTS :)

[Emilio @ Feb 11th 2008 5:03PM]

good riddance HD-DVD. having to put up with the idiot fanbois on either side of this format war while the consumer was the only one getting shafted has gone on long enough. now please..toshiba. make it official once and for all so we can all go ahead and enjoy our high def dvds.

[Joel @ Feb 11th 2008 5:06PM]

Well, we're not going to see many B1G1 free sales on Blu-ray disks for a while...

HD-DVD being a legitimate competitor, while prolonging the war unnecessarily, at least helped bring prices to a sane level.

[teej @ Feb 12th 2008 9:49AM]

don't worry...i'm sure Sony will find a way to increase them, what with all their greediness and supremacist business model.

[allendale @ Feb 11th 2008 5:19PM]

May be it will be a little fair to post about "Recommended gift for Valentine's Day from Yahoo" ?

[Big Wizz @ Feb 11th 2008 5:19PM]

They did over at engadgetHD.com