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Blu-ray sales were up 67 percent in 2009
No matter what the benchmark, when you increase the number of households with a Blu-ray player up 76 percent, to 17 million, that's a good year. So what if it is was one of the worst economic times in US history, and that overall home media sales were down 13.7 percent -- not even Blu-ray could fend off that big of a loss in DVD buying -- that is the type of growth that any new technology would strive for in its 3rd full year. We'd just love to hear anyone try and say Blu-ray was fighting for survival with $1.5 billion in revenue in one year, especially when Adams Research estimates the digital download market was only worth $360 million during the same time. Now we're not ones to say that physical discs will ever be what they used to be -- that captive audience is gone after all -- but as fans of the format, we can't help but feel like our ability to enjoy the best quality at home isn't in danger. Especially when during the five week holiday shopping season, Blu-ray player sales were up 44 percent while the overall consumer spending was down by 1 percent.
Iron Man's Blu-ray release manages 20 percent of DVD's market share
At this point it seems that the only one not talking about how well Iron Man sold on Blu-ray is Paramount, as Adam's Research tells Video Business that the Blu-ray version of Iron Man managed to take 20 percent of the market share away from DVD. This number confirms our estimates that Blu-ray market share has doubled since HD DVD demise. The previous record holder, I Am Legend, that was released around the time HD DVD called it quits, only managed 9 percent. We have to say that this even exceeds our expectations though, and although there is no doubt that this title fits in the Blu-demographic, it once again is some indication that the future might just be Blu after all.
Retailers aren't wasting anytime dropping HD DVD
Analyst have suspected that much of this has been in the works since Warner went Blu and VB has given a number of retailers a call and discovered that this is just the case. It seems most retailers have been preparing for the end of the format war since Warner's announcement just before CES, but now that things are officially over, retailers aren't wasting any time. Some of the big boys in retail like Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Netflix, were quick to make their intentions known before Toshiba gave the word, but the rest are falling in line quickly and we're not just talking about Amazon and DVD Empire, but smaller retailers around the country like Texas electronics store Bjorn's which is getting more creative and allowing its customers to return HD DVD players for store credit towards a Blu-ray player. Some retailers immediately returned its stock for credit while others have marked it as clearance and are quick to communicate to its customers that HD DVD is to be discontinued. Whatever the plans, one thing is for sure, most retailers knew this was coming long before some HD DVD fans did.[Via Format War Central]
Retailers confirm high definition DVD player price cuts
HD DVD and Blu-ray players don't cost quite as much as they used to -- if you know where to look. Amazon and other retailers have recently slashed prices on Samsung's BD-P1000 Blu-ray player, as well as Toshiba's HD-A1 and HD-XA1 HD DVD players. VideoBusiness quotes a few smaller retailers as saying they're "just trying to stay competitive" with price adjustments, unexpected for technology that's only been out for a few months. They also mentioned that while HD DVD sales are as expected, Blu-ray sales have been less than expected. Whether it's the prospect of upcoming hardware revisions or reports of early glitches, some stores are bending over backwards to move first generation players off shelves while others (Crutchfield, Best Buy, Tweeter) see no need to. If you're confident enough to jump into the next generation of DVDs with one of the players already available, just be sure to price check first.[Thanks, Tyler]
Sony Pictures: At least two 50GB Blu-ray releases by year-end, no BD-J until 2007
Retail movie releases on dual layer 50GB Blu-ray discs will become a reality in 2006, according to Sony Pictures President Ben Feingold, quoted by VideoBusiness as stating that the studio will release at least two movies on the discs by the end of this year. He didn't specify any additional features, titles, prices or advanced codec support yet, but while another executive confirmed more Blu-ray features would be coming, we shouldn't expect to see discs using Blu-ray Java (BD-J) technology until January. They also commented on the criticism of the quality of some Blu-ray releases, noting that newer movies and more recent releases have received better reviews, while also putting some blame on the decisions of filmmakers and the monitors used during the mastering process. Movie houses are also waiting for more players (read: PS3) to hit the ground to be able to test compatibility before they start including highly interactive features. At least so far, HD DVD has been able to take advantage of their lead time on the movie side with (currently) larger discs, more efficient compression and some interesting bonus features. The real Blu-ray launch is coming this winter as several new players will be greeted by these much improved discs, we'll see how the format war stacks up then.
HD DVD's marketing campaign having an affect already? Image Entertainment thinks so
Image Entertainment recently announced they are bringing a few items from their concert library to HD DVD this year, however potentially more interesting is their reasoning why. According to VideoBusiness, VP John Powers specifically cited the HD DVD camp's courting of their library, lower production costs and upcoming $150 million "The Look and Sound of Perfect" advertising campaign that they decided to move up their release schedule and get titles out now. Of course, there is also a possibility this has to do with the company fending off a takeover attempt by Lionsgate, but still it highlights one of the main points of contention in this high definition format war. Each side has to not only sell to end users, but hopefully convince content providers to release on their format so consumers have a reason to buy the players. It's a bit of a chicken-egg scenario where they have to convince both sides the other is either coming or already here, and in this case it seems to have worked for HD DVD. The HD DVDs featuring Barry Manilow, Chicago/Earth Wind & Fire and Heart are now listed for release November 14.
Microsoft demos Xbox 360 HD DVD player, menus [Updated image]
At yesterday's North America DVD Forum Conference, Microsoft showed off video playback from their upcoming Xbox 360 HD DVD player add-on. The short clip from Phantom of the Opera was reported by Video Business to be similar in video and sound quality to standalone players shown earlier during the meeting. While they found time to mention that there is a "high interest level about HD DVD" among 360 owners and that 64% of them own HDTVs already, the only pricing information given was that it "will be the cheapest HD DVD player on the market for consumers who already own an Xbox 360 console". A quick bit of work with the calculator reveals that to mean the incredibly specific range of anywhere from $0 - $499. While there weren't any pictures available from the conference itself, Microsoft did find time to release these diagrams of the menu will allow users to select content from either the DVD or HD DVD drive when attached. Despite their claims of "high demand" -- if it's so high, why didn't the 360 ship with an HD DVD drive in the first place -- the total pricetag for 360 HD DVD vs. PS3 w/ Blu-ray will likely be a key battle this holiday season and next, even if PQ isn't.Update: John at the Gamerscore blog posted this animated .gif to show the dashboard in action. After selecting the disc as usual, the user selects up or down to go to the DVD or HD DVD drive.Read - More on the HD-DVD player from Major Nelson - Microsoft Gamerscore BlogRead - Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on unveiled - Video Business
Disney's Cars DVD dated, no Blu-ray release in sight?
It only took one line from VideoBusiness' note about the DVD details of Pixar's latest hit film Cars to dampen our spirits. The Blu-ray supporting Buena Vista Worldwide Home Entertainment (Disney) didn't mention any plans for a high-def release of the movie yet. The DVD isn't hitting until November 7, well after Disney's first Blu-ray releases featuring Paul Walker in Eight Below on September 19, but we are looking forward to other summer movies getting day-and-date releases, why not one from the friendly budget HDTV calibrators at Pixar?The end of the year and the launch of the Playstation 3 is far enough away however that we still hold out hope for plenty of Blu-ray content to become available, and maybe with codec and dual-layer issues straightened out as well. We're looking forward to some great 1080p CG this winter, and we don't mean from Killzone.[Corrected Cars release date]
Surprise surprise, new movies on HD DVD outsell catalog releases
In the least surprising news of this century, VideoBusiness is reporting that the titles that are selling the fastest on HD DVD, are new releases, and movies including HD DVD-specific interactive features. 16 Blocks, Syriana, The Bourne Supremacy and Constantine are all noted as having excellent performance in the marketplace, blowing away older titles like Blazing Saddles.Please take this time to allow the shock you are feeling in response to that wash over you. Ready to move on? Ok. We've begged, pleaded, cajoled and done...unspeakable things hoping to convince executives of the various movie studios like Warner, Universal and Sony Pictures to put out more (and better) content on HD DVD and Blu-ray but to no avail. Hopefully these cold unflinching numbers can achieve what our time on the casting couch didn't. Convince executives that early adopters won't buy just anything we want premium content in high definition and are willing to pay for it. It's not that we don't like Blazing Saddles, it's just not exactly what we were dreaming of showing on our 1080p HDTVs.
"Early adopters will buy anything"
That's the credo of independent studios rushing to release HD DVD titles onto otherwise-bare store shelves. According to VideoBusiness, many of these companies were able to profit by being first to release on DVD and will take advantage again on Blu-ray and HD DVD.We're sure this comes as a surprise to all the Toshiba HD-XA1 owners who ran out to get their players specifically for Kenny Rogers: The Journey, but shovelware is an unfortunate side effect of the early-adopter affliction. The big producers may want to wait for costs to come down and for a bigger audience before they risk a large release, leaving indies with the market all to themselves.
HD-DVD titles on the way from Magnolia
Magnolia Home Entertainment, the distribution side of our good friend Mark Cuban's 2929 Entertainment, has announced they will be releasing five HD-DVDs in May. Bubble, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, The War Within and the TV series Bikini Destinations and HDNet World Report Special: Shuttle Discovery’s Historic Mission.Reuters pegs the prices for the three movies at $29.98 and the two TV sets at $26.98. No specific release dates yet although it is good to see more content announced. If my math is correct, that should give us 25 movies on the shelves by the end of May, hopefully enough to keep early adopters busy as the Blu-ray launch approaches.
High definition DVD launches are back on again
In the on again-off again world of next generation DVD formats, everything appears to be on again. The AACS conflict from last week has been settled with an "interim" agreement that will allow manufacturers to start making players. With that, HD-DVD should be on shelves in late March, followed by Blu-ray in May. Excellent, the day when HDTV owners can buy high priced, high DRM but low functionality DVD players is nearly upon us, are you guys excited yet?[Via Engadget]
