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Total Blu-ray Disc movie sales across Europe have topped one million units, it was announced today by the Blu-ray Disc Association European Promotions Committee. Of the High Definition movie discs bought by consumers year-to-date in Europe, 73% were in the Blu-ray Disc format and 27% were HD DVD, according to sales data provided by Media Control Gfk International.While selling a million discs is a commendable feat, its still a drop in the bucket compared to the number of standard DVD's being sold. If you'd like to read more, the Blu-ray Disc Association's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
The only High Definition packaged media universally supported by the film, music, gaming and computer industries, BD is the #1 selling High Definition packaged media. The one million unit milestone relates to movies only. If BD game disc production is added into the equation, then total number of discs produced for sale in Europe already exceeds 21 million units. The so-called ‘PlayStation effect’ is important since it is creating major economies of scale and makes BD disc replication cost effective.
Blu-ray Disc movie sales experienced their highest weekly sales since the inception of the format, in week 44, topping 66,000 units. This is due to the launch of new release titles such as 300, Spider-Man 3, Die Hard 4.0 and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.
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Following landmark Black Fridaypromotions through major retail chains, the North American HD DVDPromotional Group today announced that sales of dedicated HD DVD playersexceeded the 750,000 mark. The data is based on retailer reports and otherpoint of sale data, and includes standalone set-top players as well as theXbox 360 HD DVD player.The latest round of promotions and price cuts have apparently paid off. Nevertheless, Toshiba and other HD DVD backers still have a way to go if they want to catch up with the Playstation 3, which has already sold millions of units. If you'd like to read more, the HD DVD Promotional Group's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
"HD DVD continues to gain momentum and market share with consumers,"said Ken Graffeo, executive vice president of HD strategic marketing forUniversal Studios Home Entertainment, and co-president of the HD DVDPromotional Group. "With more than four weeks left for holiday shopping, HDDVD is turning out to be a perfect consumer electronics gift."
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New Medium Enterprises, Inc.(NME) (OTC Bulletin Board: NMEN), provider of the affordable, high-qualityHD VMD (Versatile Multilayer Disc) format, announced today its sale of10,000 Multilayer Players for Central Europe to FKH Electronic, who will bedistributing its 1080p HD VMD Multilayer Players to retail outlets inPoland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia. This initial order is valuedat US$1.3 million. The order will complement the HD VMD film contentcurrently available in Central Europe.As I've said in the past, HD VMD is joining the party a bit late. With HD DVD player prices already dipping below $200, HD VMD really doesn't have much of an advantage anymore. If you'd like to read more, NME's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
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U.S. sales of Sony Corp's PlayStation 3 (PS3) more than doubled in the weeks following a price cut and the launch of a lower-priced version, the company said on Friday, in a sign of changing fortunes for the game console.While these price cuts have given PS3 sales a much needed boost, it still has a long way to go to catch up to the Wii and Xbox 360. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
Sony said it sold about 75,000 PS3 consoles in the week of October 29 in the United States, and more than 100,000 in the following week, compared with weekly sales of 30,000 to 40,000 before.
Sony cut the U.S. price of its PS3 with an 80-gigabyte hard disk drive by 17 percent to $499 in mid-October. It started selling a new model with a 40-GB hard drive on November 2 for $399 in an effort to ignite demand ahead of the crucial holiday season.
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The European HD DVD Promotional Group has announced that European HD DVD player owners have already bought an average of 3.8 movies each, compared to 0.6 movies sold per Blu-ray player.Take note that these figures are for all HD players which, in this case, includes both standalone players and consoles. Considering how many PS3 owners aren't using the console to watch Blu-ray movies, it shouldn't be too surprising that the numbers are skewed in HD DVD's favor. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
The figures were collated by independent research group GfK and analyse the number of movies sold for all HD players (standalone players and consoles) across the UK, France, Germany, Spain Italy and Benelux countries.
The overall attach rate is highest in Spain, where HD DVD owners have bought an average of 5.7 movies per player, which is over 14 times the attach rate for Blu ray (at 0.4 per player).
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When Paramount Home Entertainment and DreamWorks Animation SKG Blu-ray Disc titles were taken out of the picture in August, Blu-ray lost 29 titles in its repertoire. That doesn’t include three titles that had been announced, but not released.While Blu-ray's lead is small, it doesn't look like HD DVD will catch up any time soon. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
HD DVD’s stint as leader in terms of high-def releases proved short-lived, however, as in the first week of November Blu-ray regained its lead in terms of total titles available to consumers.
According to figures from The DVD Release Report, total Blu-ray titles available at retail passed HD DVD for the first time since the Paramount/DreamWorks decision, 332 to 328, the week ended Oct. 31. Companies that support Blu-ray also have 66 titles in the pipeline, compared to 42 for HD DVD backers. Those numbers include four HD DVD and 11 Blu-ray titles released Nov. 6.
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Broadcom Corporation(Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wirelesscommunications, today announced that its highly integrated Blu-rayDisc(R)/HD DVD system-on-a-chip (SoC) solution has been selected by LGElectronics to power its dual-format Super Blu(TM) BH200 high definitiondisc player. By combining full support for both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVDformats in a single SoC, Broadcom enables leading consumer electronicsmanufacturers to build universal high definition players capable of playingback all high definition movie titles thereby increasing the highdefinition entertainment choices for consumers.If you'd like to read more, Broadcom's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
The Broadcom(R) BCM7440 SoC solution is a single-chip platform thatfully meets the requirements of next generation Blu-ray Disc and HD DVDplayer designs. It provides the multiple processing cores and the necessaryperformance required to support next generation interactive technologiesand network connected applications currently being developed by Hollywoodstudios using sophisticated BD-Java (Blu-ray Disc) and HDi (HD DVD)technologies. This includes enhanced interactive menus, gamingcapabilities, real time director's comments, and full support of networkedinteractivity from select and forthcoming Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD titles.The Broadcom BCM7440 SoC continues to be the only solution in the industrythat fully supports both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD formats in a singlemonolithic IC, providing consumers with exactly what the film's authors hadintended -- the best possible high definition multimedia experience.
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The HD DVD format significantly pumped its installed base over the weekend, as dueling store clearances sold an estimated 90,000 Toshiba players, according to sources close to retailers.Blu-ray backers really need to get on the ball and cut the prices of their players. The holiday shopping season is already upon us and, with prices like this, consumers are going to go HD DVD. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
That tally covers Friday to Sunday sales of Toshiba’s second-generation HD-A2 model, which Wal-Mart and Best Buy sold for about $99 on Nov. 2. That’s $200 less than Toshiba’s $299 list price and $100 off widespread retail pricing of $199.
The $99 players made up most of the 90,000 units sold, a source said.
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When asked about Blu-ray player pricing from Sony for the holiday season, Glasgow said it should be “in the $399 range ... I don’t expect it to go much lower than that.”While its good to see that Sony is finally dropping the price of their players, they're going to need to do more if they want to compete with Toshiba. I really can't see the average consumer jumping on the Blu-ray bandwagon this holiday season when they can get an HD DVD player for $200-$300 less. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
When asked where the industry is in the format battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD, he noted, “It continues. I still find it curious that there are 170 companies backing [Blu-ray] and two companies behind [HD DVD]. I find some abnormality in that. Hopefully when all the [movie] titles reach the market this season and the beginning of 2008, [consumers] will see the [difference] in performance.”
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Take note that this is an in-store special so it is unlikely that you'll be able to order the HD-A2 through Walmart's website at this price. Also, this price is not valid in Wisconsin, Oklahoma or Utah as it is illegal to sell items for less than cost in these states. According to the manager at my local Walmart, those that live in these states will be able to pick the player up for about $198.
Needless to say, there will probably be a mob of people outside of your local Walmart tomorrow morning. Be prepared to get there early and wait in line.
Update - Best Buy has also lowered the price of the HD-A2 down to $99.99. There doesn't appear to be a limitation for those, like myself, that live in Wisconsin either. Add a comment
