HD-DVD Leads Blu-ray In Europe

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In the continuing next-gen DVD format war, it looks as though HD-DVD leads Blu-ray in Europe by a whopping 85% - 15%. The PS3 is set to launch at the end of the month over there which should help the Blu-ray format, depending on how well the console sells.

Toshiba, mainly through its US$499 HD-E1 HD DVD player, accounted for an 85% market share of next-generation blue-laser optical disc drives/players/recorders sold in Europe in January of this year, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
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The reports on next-gen DVD formats is getting a bit ridiculous. Last month we heard how, according to Nielsen VideoScan numbers, Blu-ray was beating HD-DVD in the next-gen DVD war. Buried in the report was the fact that, in January, the only HD movies released that month were on Blu-ray. The month before, HD-DVD was the clear “winner.”
 
I would tihnk the ps3 will boost sales big time for blue-ray. who wouldn't want a player at its cheapest price and you get a gaming console too. I certainly see it as a player first, then the gaming and I've yet to read anything that makes that player any less than a stand alone version. maybe in time...
 
Cheapest or not it's still at €599 which is around $800. I don't think they will selling many of those at that price.
 
I'll wait for the $400 player that accepts both formats. I bet by Christmas of this year.
 
Nielsen VideoScan counts every copy of Talladega Nights that shipped with the PS3 as part of their numbers so Blu-ray should technically be killing HD-DVD in the numbers game.

We will have to wait until AFTER this coming X-Mas season to know who has a definitive lead on who. With Blu-ray drives coming down to HD_DVD prices and the rumored HD-DVD price cuts to fend off Blu-ray....we might finally start to see someone pull ahead of someone. I think the sub-$300 dual format player is the way to go too.

The funny thing is, what happens when one standard beats the other one and then dies off because of lack of consumer support? Wouldn't THAT be funny?
 
Steve said:
The funny thing is, what happens when one standard beats the other one and then dies off because of lack of consumer support? Wouldn't THAT be funny?
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This is what I'm hoping for :D Neither format provides anything better for me and I don't have the funds (nor do I want to spend that kind of money) on something this expensive. ;)
 
whoever first integrate their player into every new HDTV wins. Because you wouldn't use the player on non HDTV anyways :)
 
I actually had a NON-tech friend, after I asked his opinion on the matter, explain his stance on the whole next-gen DVD format like this:

It's like the Chevy Gargantuan versus the Ford Gigantic!

Both feature:

600HP!
All Leather Interior!
Titanium Body Panels!
33” Run-Flat Tires / Custom Aluminum Rims!
Rear Mounted Camera / Machine Guns!

Meanwhile, I am happy driving my Suburban / Expedition. I don’t care if the Gargantuan beats the Gigantic, I’m not swapping my current vehicle for one just because it “WON” over the other luxury item….these are still luxury items.

Hard to argue with that and it made perfect sense.
 
Steve said:
The funny thing is, what happens when one standard beats the other one and then dies off because of lack of consumer support? Wouldn't THAT be funny?
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not if I have the one that dies off. :eek: but I doubt that will happen like beta/vhs. there is more at stake this go around

...I cannot wait to upgrade my 52' rear projection and dvd since I watch so many movies at home. I'm dying for the new clarity they offer but since LOTR is not going to be on one of these formats for awhile I may wait. who wants to watch a lame drama after all that money spent? talledega nights was a poor choice to bundle with the ps3 IMO. chronicles of riddick or a something with high CG would have been better. regardless its a great step in the evolution

I am all gidde! :D
 
Steve said:
I actually had a NON-tech friend, after I asked his opinion on the matter, explain his stance on the whole next-gen DVD format like this:

It's like the Chevy Gargantuan versus the Ford Gigantic!

Both feature:

600HP!
All Leather Interior!
Titanium Body Panels!
33” Run-Flat Tires / Custom Aluminum Rims!
Rear Mounted Camera / Machine Guns!

Meanwhile, I am happy driving my Suburban / Expedition. I don’t care if the Gargantuan beats the Gigantic, I’m not swapping my current vehicle for one just because it “WON” over the other luxury item….these are still luxury items.

Hard to argue with that and it made perfect sense.
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Yeah that's what poor people to say at night when they are crying in bed next to there 12in tv. Also even though you only have a small Suburban in the back of your head your really envying those other cars it's just you can't afford it yet.
 
i think when you start to look at sales for a single country instead of all countries it kinda says you should be throwing in the towel but i guess it gives HD-DVD hope?!?!
 
WicKeDcHilD said:
i think when you start to look at sales for a single country instead of all countries it kinda says you should be throwing in the towel but i guess it gives HD-DVD hope?!?!
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The article was about sales in Europe. Last time I checked, Europe had more than one country.
 
Seeing how the PS3 has boosted sales of Blu-Ray 10 fold in every market it has been introduced in so far I don't see why this won't be the case in Europe. Even with the what looks like extremely high sticker price to us living in the states who get all this stuff for the cheapest prices (Well minus japan that is:p )
 
Steve said:
Buried in the report was the fact that, in January, the only HD movies released that month were on Blu-ray. The month before, HD-DVD was the clear “winner.”
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But that's one of the crucial arguments in favor of Blu-Ray Steve. That Blu-Ray has more studio support, therefore will be releasing much more and more marquee titles than HD DVD (no hyphen please! lol not me but their official site gripes about it). This will become a more increasing factor in the future IMO. Think about it, even if PS3 sales are dissappointing, by the end of the year you can expect 4M at the low end being sold, and even up to 10M. At either extreme, that is a whole lot more then HD DVD player sales would be I believe. Regardless of the percentage of PS3 owners actually watchign blu-ray, that is significant, and doesn't take into account standalone player consumers.
 
WicKeDcHilD said:
i think when you start to look at sales for a single country instead of all countries it kinda says you should be throwing in the towel but i guess it gives HD-DVD hope?!?!
Click to expand...

Europe is a continent. Get back to us after you graduate the third grade.
 
Right now, BluRay has the upper hand in content and marketing. Combined with the simultaneous release of the PS3 and Universal Studios recent restructure/acquisition, BluRay has taken the lead in the format wars. However, Toshiba recently contracted several Korean manufacturers to start making affordable HD DVD players (i.e. sub $200.00). If Warner Brothers and Universal Studios can produce enough content for HD DVD, the tides might turn.

My money is on dual format media/players. Unlike Betamax/VHS, there’s no reason both formats can’t coexist.

At first, I was a firm believer in DVD. I was willing to let both formats die a horrible death. Now, I realize that one (or both) format(s) will enviably become the successor of DVD. In time, just like standard definition television, DVDs will become obsolete. The good news is that BluRay and HD DVD players will always be backwards compatible…
 
WicKeDcHilD said:
i think when you start to look at sales for a single country instead of all countries it kinda says you should be throwing in the towel but i guess it gives HD-DVD hope?!?!
Click to expand...

I've seen situation where people don't know a country but this is the first time I've seen a person that doesn't know a continent.
 
Anyone want to bet their house that Blu-Ray doesnt lead in Europe in rate of sales a month after the PS3 is released? Blu-Ray has been absolutely slaughtering HDDVD in every country where there are PS3s. We are talking 2-300% differences in the sales ratios. This story is HDDVDs last gasp in an attempt to still say "We are on top". Enjoy it while you got it.
 
psychoace said:
Yeah that's what poor people to say at night when they are crying in bed next to there 12in tv. Also even though you only have a small Suburban in the back of your head your really envying those other cars it's just you can't afford it yet.
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But it's the poor people that bought:

$17,260,000,000.00 in DVDs
$12,000,000,000.00 in sub $50 DVD players.
Wal-Mart sold almost $5,000,000,000.00 worth of DVDs last year alone (1/4 of the market)

The people with money AND are DVD enthusiasts are waiting for the war to be over before commiting to any standard....all the while continuing to buy standard DVDs.

Do the poor envy the high-def crowd? I'm sure some do but, at least in this case, they are also spending the most money on DVDs. Convincing them to buy $500 players, $25 - $30 players and a couple grand on a decent HDTV might be a little difficult...especially considering no one has come close to winning the format war yet.

So the analogy, while obviously flawed and used for the sake of humor, still stands. Envy doesn't = sales, sales drive the market.
 
What I still don't understand is how people on this forum get so inflamed arguing about one format vs the other as if they had a vested interest in one succeeding at the expense of the other...
 
Sabrewulf165 said:
What I still don't understand is how people on this forum get so inflamed arguing about one format vs the other as if they had a vested interest in one succeeding at the expense of the other...
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I think because this time they have dragged the console fanatics into it :D
 
psychoace said:
Yeah that's what poor people to say at night when they are crying in bed next to there 12in tv. Also even though you only have a small Suburban in the back of your head your really envying those other cars it's just you can't afford it yet.
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Funny, I have a 21 inch WS monitor, and half the time I forget to maximize the window of the DVD I'm watching on it. Probably because it really couldn't matter less to me. Hell, half the time it's less then half of my screen. Perhaps if you popped your head out of your ass every once in a while you'd realize that all the shiny toys that you're obsessed with aren't important to those of us that aren't so materialistic. You sound like one of those people that buys a $300 sound card and plays their 128Kbit MP3s over it while talking about how amazing it sounds.


4saken said:
I think because this time they have dragged the console fanatics into it :D
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No, it's because they made the mistake of actually buying a blueray/HDDVD player, lol.
 
psychoace said:
Yeah that's what poor people to say at night when they are crying in bed next to there 12in tv. Also even though you only have a small Suburban in the back of your head your really envying those other cars it's just you can't afford it yet.
Click to expand...

Wow! That's mature. What are you, 12.
 
Just to put some things in perspective... In NA, Blu-ray has been leading since January according to DVDEmpire and NVS numbers.
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bdvshddvd20070225bs3.png


Blu-ray has also topped HD-DVD total sales, which go back to when they both launched last year.
Update for sales ending March 4th:

YTD: Blu-Ray 100 vs HD-DVD 48.73
Since Inception: Blu-Ray 100 vs HD-DVD 91.46
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http://www.eproductwars.com/dvd/
salesrank-1-1-All.jpg


Casino Royale (blu-ray) just hit 10 in top DVD sales on Amazon.com.
http://www.hdgamedb.com/amazon/versus.aspx

I would not be surprised if we see the same effects in Europe once the ps3 launches.
 
Wow look at all those pretty graphs and stuff. All professional and shit:p haha good info
 
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