Blockbuster's decision to support Blu-Ray was supposedly the beginning of the end for HD-DVD. But Ken Graffeo, executive vice president at Universal Studios and co-president of the HD-DVD Promotional Group, claims it's water off a disc's back.
During a briefing with the UK press, Graffeo pointed out that DVD rentals counted for less than 1% of its revenue, claiming it is an insignificant event in the format war.
Via
Bit-tech.net
Grafeo also steered attention to the fact that HD-DVD will still be available in the 250 stores that attract largest numbers of early adopters and online, which he believes it Blockbuster's growth market.
Grafeo remains adamant that HD-DVD is still leading the race, claiming that HD-DVD is outselling Blu-ray by three to one in the States. He's confident that HD-DVD will win the war as players are reaching the critical point of affordability and that 'once the price is right, consumers will buy into the technology'.
So, while a battle may have been won for Blu-ray– the war is still raging. It's still too early to call and the uptake figures are insignificant, especially when you consider that 90 million US homes still use standard DVD players in a market that's worth $26m a year.
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