Blockbuster Blu-ray Exclusive Support... Think Again, Think For Yourself.

Since the moment the PS3 was released Sony has been heralding their Blu-ray Trojan Horse as an enormous success through its utilization of their patented Blu-ray technology, and it has enjoyed a relatively decent success as the cheapest Blu-ray player on the market. It is nearly impossible to determine whether or not the sales of the PS3 can be attributed to the inclusion of the Blu-ray technology or the simple fact of it being the successor to the incredibly successful PS2.

While trying to determine whether or not the percentage of Blu-ray related PS3 sales are substantial enough to warrant a cause for alarm amongst the HD DVD owners might prove to be futile, there are a certain number of facts that cannot be ignored.

Blu-ray is leading Blockbuster HD rentals with 70% of the market, and HD DVD holding only 30%.

At first glance these numbers can certainly seem daunting, enough for the most die-hard HD DVD fan boy to start second guessing his decision to support the "underdog" format, HD DVD. If you also couple these rental figures with the recent news from Blockbuster to support Blu-ray exclusively throughout their stores this would surely send chills down the spines of the HD DVD crowd.

However, this feeling is not a new sensation, as anyone who is closely following the dramatic unfolding of events that comprise this intense format war will quickly tell you. Both sides have been dealt "killing blows" which have truly amounted to nothing in particular, at least nothing that would tip the scale either way.

Some would ask me, "How can you possibly ignore the fact that Blockbuster, one of the biggest video rental chains is supporting Blu-ray exclusively now?" My answer is simple. Dismantle the Sony "Press Monster" that is force feeding you useless and irrelevant information.

What does this mean exactly? Well, it's quite simple really. Do not, for one second trust anything that they say in regards to their "victories." And while you're at it, you should do the same for the HD DVD Promotional Group as well. Essentially you need to be able to think for yourself and question the source of the information that is coming to you. Read between the lines.

Example: "Casino Royale is the highest selling HD title to date with 100,000 units shipped" (Sony)

This was a disheartening statement back when it was released a couple of months ago. However, this is only true at first glance. Many people on forums worldwide were quick to point out that it clearly says "shipped" and not "sold." Are you starting to get the idea? These marketing genuises at the respective companies are excellent at spinning the truth to benefit their own formats in the hopes of further driving up sales.

Here's the official reality check on the 100,000 "sold" benchmark. "The Departed" which was released on both formats through Warner Bros. was the first HD title to sell over a 100,000 units, with the ratio slightly skewed in favor of Blu-ray.

The important thing to note is that, regardless of what Sony fans will tell you, the HD DVD Promotional Group is far more accountable when it comes to their press releases. To the best of my ability I have been unable to find any discrepancy between their press releases and the facts abound.

Now, back to the Blockbuster fiasco. Here are the facts. Blu-ray will be carried exclusively by Blockbuster, however the stores that will carry Blu-ray exclusively only account for a fourth of the total stores throughout the country. Also, HD DVD will be offered along with Blu-ray on their online rental service, so there is no need to fear Blockbuster abandoning HD DVD at this time. According to the person in charge of this decision he is making this decision based on the Blu-ray rental success throughout Quarter 1 and 2 of this year. He has gone so far as to say that consumers are sending him a message that he cannot ignore.

Now, here is what I think of all this. 1) With only a quarter of the stores supporting Blu-ray exclusively this is hardly the deathblow that Sony hopes it will be. 2) With the support of HD DVD continuing through Blockbuster's online rental service there should be no reason to think that Blockbuster is writing off HD DVD. It would make much more sense to approach the entire situation from a sheer economic standpoint. Blockbuster has to pay far more to stock both formats in-store than simply stocking one format, and since Blu-ray was having more rental success (at least in Blockbuster) it was the obvious choice for Blockbuster in order to save money. The cost to stock and offer both formats online is virtually nothing so they are not at a loss online and can afford to support both. 3) I believe that the reason for the increase in Blu-ray rentals over HD DVD is due to combination of factors. While this is solely my opinion, I ask you to bear with me as I have tried to approach the topic in a neutral manner. I believe that due to the overwhelming amount of Blu-ray "owners" thanks to the baked-in Blu-ray drives in the PS3, there are a large number of "casual owners." Essentially people who are interested to see what Blu-ray is capable of and are naturally seeking to test out the otherwise unexplored capabilities of their hardware. Simultaneously, while Blu-ray was churning out twice or even three times the amount of releases of HD DVD through the first and second quarter of '07, HD DVD also suffered from a lack of high profile exclusive releases. This is not true for Blu-ray with the incredible success of "Casino Royale", "The Departed", "The Prestige" and both of the Pirates films. Now, I don't have access to the rental records for either format, but I am willing to bet that these titles, among others that were blu-ray exclusive drove the format to enjoy a great deal of success through Blockbuster's HD trial run, through their limited support of both formats for the past six months. Now, when you combine these two factors, the sheer number of available and hungry Blu-ray players, and the high volume of high profile and exclusive releases, it makes perfect sense for Blu-ray to surpass HD DVD in rentals. However, I can't help but attribute this marginal success by Blu-ray to circumstance. I don't know how someone could see it any other way after carefully considering all of the possible angles.

Outside of the whole Blockbuster dilemma, there are a large number of video rental services that have yet to voice their support of either format, or pledge their exclusivity, and this should comfort any early adopter. There is no doubt about it, renting the next gen discs is the best, and most conservative way to enjoy the HD formats in the event that one format should fall victim to the Betamax fate, it's just unfortunate that Blockbuster was so quick to remove HD DVD from it's walk-in stores, but rest assured HD DVD fans can surely take comfort in the fact that there will always be a number of ways to get their HD fix.