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Blu-ray discs reach 1.5 million sold, HDM still trails DVD's first two years

As red continues to fade in the format war, an eye turns towards DVD as Blu-ray's most formidable opponent. According to Adams Media Research, while HDM hardware sales are on par with DVD's first two years -- even exceeding them due to the price slashing and pack-ins of the holiday season -- HDM discs have only sold 8.3 million compared to 16.3 million DVD's over a similar time period. While we're pretty sure Netflix has had some effect on that number, DVD is still an even more formidable opponent now, than VHS was in 1997. The good news is that HDM sales increased 9.5 times in their second year, and VideoBusiness' sources report 1.5 million discs sold in 2008. With HDTV penetration continuing to grow, we'll see if Blu can keep up the pace on its own.