Blu-ray Discs Outsell HD DVD, but DVD Dwarfs Both

Mon Apr 16, 2007 5:01PM EDT

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The battle between high-def formats Blu-ray and HD DVD still rages on, and the home video industry just got a new report that adds fuel to the fire. Some of the first detailed sales numbers for the competing formats have arrived from Nielsen VideoScan, courtesy of Blu-ray advocate Sony, and the report shows Blu-ray with a significant edge when it comes to number of discs sold.

Now, keep in mind that Sony has a massive stake in the Blu-ray vs. HD DVD showdown, so it comes as no surprise that the tech giant is waving this report around. Still, the numbers speak for themselves; for the week ending March 18, 2007, nine of the top 10 selling high-def discs were in the Blu-ray format, with the sole HD DVD entry (the "The Departed") landing in the fifth slot. Here's the full top-10 list for the week of March 18:

  1. Casino Royale (Blu-ray)...28,233 copies sold
  2. The Departed (Blu-ray)...3,057 copies sold
  3. The Prestige (Blu-ray)...1,701 copies sold
  4. The Holiday (Blu-ray)...1,467 copies sold
  5. The Departed (HD DVD/DVD)...1,267 copies sold
  6. Layer Cake (Blu-ray)...1,203 copies sold
  7. Black Hawk Down (Blu-ray)...1,073 copies sold
  8. X-Men: The Last Stand (Blu-ray)...899 copies sold
  9. The Fifth Element (Blu-ray)...883 copies sold
  10. Babel (Blu-ray)...880 copies sold
(Source: Nielsen VideoScan)

Pretty sobering numbers if you're an HD DVD fan. The Nielsen report also notes that all told, about 844,000 Blu-ray discs have been sold since the format hit the market, compared to 708,600 for HD DVD; not as big as a gap as the top-10 would lead us to believe, but still, a slight edge to Blu-ray.

So, does this mean that HD DVD is on the ropes? I wouldn't go that far. Consider this: while Blu-ray and HD DVD have together sold about 1.5 million discs to date, the current chart-topping standard DVD—animated penguin flick "Happy Feet"—sold 4 million copies in its first week. Looks like both of the next-gen DVD formats have some catching up to do.

Related:
Sony Report Reveals First Look at Absolute Blu-ray and HD DVD Disc Sales Figures [High-Def Digest]

Comments on Blu-ray Discs Outsell HD DVD, but DVD Dwarfs Both

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  • 6 Posted by frnkstank on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:03PM EDT Report Abuse

    Until I get Silence of the Lambs in Scent-A-Vision who really cares!

  • 7 Posted by s_pygui2727 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:53PM EDT Report Abuse

    I'm a bigger fan of Blu-ray than HD DVD myself, although it's a bit more expensive. And that's just my point: HD DVD and Blu-Ray are both expensive-and for a lot of people, DVD is fine. And it's a heck of a lot cheaper than the other formats---I mean, come on! 500 bucks just for an HD DVD player, and 1000 for a blu-ray?! You can geta used ps2 for under 100, and you can get a DVD player and a game system out of that (admittedly, the ps3 plays bluray for half the price of a bluray player, but still.). I know this is a long rant, but I do have my reasons. If you don't know them, then actually READ the first few sentences. DaNiEl

  • 8 Posted by firatgsys on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:00PM EDT Report Abuse

    BD HD-DVD in all aspects You have to consider future, 50gb vs 17 lmao, of course 50gb, and they will be in the same price in the FUTURE

  • 9 Posted by davepal33 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:37PM EDT Report Abuse

    This is a complete joke. Last month HD DVD was declared the winner. This month it's Blu-ray. Claiming a winner at this early stage is like saying you won the Indy 500 after the first lap. Sony is hurting right now and will grasp at anything for PR. If you have ever worked for a Japanese company (I have) you know how petty and vindictive they can get with their competition. How about we all wait until next year to start waving the victory flag. Microsoft is backing HD DVD and their pockets are a lot deeper than Sony's right now. They will not give this up without a fight that Sony cannot afford. Posting this type of article as I said at the beginning is a complete joke.

  • 10 Posted by schamber1719 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:08PM EDT Report Abuse

    I cannot see why this is still a raging dispute, the facts are clear, blue light lasers have a more focused beam, so you can store more, you can have higher definition of sound and picture. both are too expensive for my SDTV anyways. but as far as facts go. Blu ray should win hands down

  • 11 Posted by fordescortgt@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:01PM EDT Report Abuse

    The argument that DVDs are fine and the gap between DVD and Blu-ray/HDDVD is very small is misleading. I wouldnt say its as big as VHS to DVD was, but it is still very substantial. The other thing to keep in mind is DVDs look worse on HDTVs than they do on SDTVs. After i dished out a couple of thousand bucks for an HDTV (i had no intention to buy Blu-ray or HDDVD until a winner was declared) the first thing i noticed was that even with an upconvert player through an HDMI cable, the picture was worse than it was on my SDTV. Now i dont know about you but when i spend a few thousand on a new TV i dont do it to get a worse picture. When i watched HD broadcasted programs i was very happy with my TV, but my DVD collection (consisting of over 100 movies) looked terrible. When i bought my TV i was under the impression my DVDs would look just as good if not better than they did on my SDTV. I couldnt return my TV w/o paying a restocking fee and i couldnt keep watching my DVDs like this. I can still enjoy DVDs on SDTVs but watching them on my HDTV makes me want to throw up. I decided to just pick a side (and i was not about to side agianst disney) so i picked Blu-ray. Watching a Blu-ray disc on my HDTV standing next to my SDTV playing the same movie on DVD clearly illustrated the HUGE picture difference. And since the upconverted DVD looked even worse on my HDTV than on my SDTV, the difference between a DVD and a Blu-ray disc on an HDTV is even bigger. Alot of people are satisfied with DVDs on their HDTVs and dont understand why they should upgrade to Blu-ray or HDDVD. These same people do not understand HDTVs at all. As i have stated before in a previous post, I work at a Hollywood Video in a fairly rich Chicago suburb and about 50% of my customers are HDTV owners. They hook up progressive scan dvd players through A/V cables and watch Fullscreen versions of movies strecthed to fill their 16:9 TV when Widescreen versions of those movies are available. No they do not watch the Fullscreen version in a 4:3 frame with black lines on the sides, they demand teh fullscreen version because it gets stretched across their screens, they feel the black lines on the top and bottom are cheating them out of their money by not utilizing 100% of their screens. A VB article recently stated that 10% of Americans believe they are getting an HD picture out of their HDTVs when in fact the number that do is closer to 1%. If you own an HDTV and you do no understand why Blu-ray or HDDVD is a big improvement then you do not understand your TV. If you bought your TV from a big box retailor such as best buy, you should know that big box store minimum wage employees do not understand what they are selling you anymore than you understand what your buying. Its worth paying a little extra to go to a place like ABT that has all the answers. Bottom line the difference between Blu-ray/HDDVD is more than noticable, it is huge.

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