<ul><li><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007Jun18/0,4670,BlockbusterBluray,00.html">link</a></li></ul>

I'm a blockbuster customer but this decision won't make me run out to buy a BR player. I would've considered an HD player if blockbuster were heading in that direction.

For now I'll continue to sit out this war.

both techs are neck-and-neck and selling equally pathetically poorly.

Unless HD-DVD scores a good PR victory this war may be over in a year.

I don't care if there are always two formats, just one or even three. there will be a machine which playes them all. I'll buy one that records and is made by Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Pioneer or Denon. All have used quality transports in the past. Yamaha's DVD players for the most part are not very impressive.
I'd look at Oppo again too, particularly if they have a good transport (which they don't yet because of costs). But I'd gladly pay another $300 for a decent transport - like the kind you find in a Denon DVD3910 and upwards.
I'll be waiting a while of course, but I don't watch a lot of movies. I like the idea of recording from TV in High Def without maxing-out my DVR's hard drive.

They had 250 test stores - and the overwhelming rentals were for Blu-Ray. I listened to Blockbuster CEO on CNBC today. No way did he choose one format over the other or predict a winner. He did say that winner would be known in 18 months.
He also indicated they could carry HD in the future and on the web - also indicated that the 250 stores would continue to stock both.

1. how many rentals? representative of all consumers in the future? representative of all rental consumers? This doesn't account for Netflix rentals or similar, who have been renting both techs. Most rentals were to PS3 owners, no doubt, hardly an indicator of the rest of the market.
2. "late last year"? before, or after the PS3 intro? If after, what about people renting HD-DVDs since they were available, long before?
3. "lopsided availability" is BS.

because of pay-per-view, on-demand and Netflix.
The HD-DVD/Blu-ray players will be gathering dust. You read it here first!

way better selection. and trading in the store is an incredible bonus.

if I never go in there again it will be too soon.

netflix = dvd exchange via u.s. mail.

bbonline = dvd exchange via u.s. mail + store exchange for free. can't beat it.

for all you bbonline virgins: if you have 1,2,3, however many movies in your house from blockbuster online. you can either return them in them mail. or bring them to the store. the store will give you new rentals in exchange for EACH of the movies youre returning. PLUS they still scan in your returned items and release new movies from your QUEUE.

when i have finished a dvd of a tv series, and i'm craving the next dvd. I HATE waiting for the mail to bring the next one. this is when I'll job down to BB and trade in the envelope for a freebie.

I doubt that they were flippant in their data

the last gasps of a dying and out of touch company, imo. Maybe the Sony $ will keep them afloat for a little while longer, but if you think this is anything but a marketing ploy concocted to represent BB as still the trend-setter they once might have been, you're fooling yourself.

does anyone remember how long it took them to even start offering DVD rentals?

Now, when Wal-Mart picks one or the other (I don't care which, I'm not that invested in either), then I'll sit up and pay attention.

the consumer is confused. all the predictions of poor sales because of dual standards have come to pass...

no one cares which one wins, we just want one!

srsly, grow up.

That is decidedly not the case of late.

That kind of misleading post is part of the reason that the consumer is confused.

say the market is $1B/year in home movie sales for example:

HD-DVD = $80K
BD = $100K (BD wins! woohoo!)

both = sucking (oh snap!)

ok?

I don't care if BD's outselling HDDVD 3-1, neither tech is making a dent in the market.

sales rankings at amazon.com would be a good place to educate yourself if you don't want to believe me. Check out player sales too..

What do you expect for a market that is only 1 year old compared to one that is 10 years old?

Your post still implies that sales are equal and that the race is "neck and neck" at this point. Your own amazon sales ranks, as well as the Nielsen VideoScan numbers, clearly show that it is not. BD has a decided advantage.

With any luck, it will continue, the dominoes will continue to fall, and we'll be left with one disc format in less than a year.

At that point, I'd expect a lot more consumers to jump in.

You're upset that the format war has depressed overall HD adoption. Neither HD-DVD nor BD has made a huge dent in the overall home theater market. I agree that this is the case. However, I don't think this is surprising, given that HD is a fledgling technology that is still at a relatively high price point (displays, players, and media). Also, I think a great deal of consumers (myself included) are sitting on the sidelines, afraid of wasting money on the losing format.


For whatever reason, you refuse to acknowledge that BD is outselling HD-DVD by quite a large margin in the HD market (however small that market is).

I see this as a good thing, as we need to have a clear cut winner to ensure mass adoption.

Basically, BD has a large advantage and the war is theirs to lose. The Blockbuster announcement is a big shot in the PR battle and will help BD player sales.

What, exactly, do I not get?